Everyone knows that ideally there should be a person (frequently referred to as System Administrator) looking after IT system all the time, monitoring its performance and security, supporting users etc. However having such a specialist as a permanent employee is less than practical for small and medium businesses.

The cost of having a specialist experienced in many IT technologies can not be justified unless your IT park is vast and does require close attention to it on a daily basis. And no, your accountant or any other employee that "knows a lot about computers and staff" will not be able to handle everything and properly support your system.

This is why we provide our customers with a way to ensure that not only your system is working fine NOW but also WILL be working and will not cause any downtime in the future. We strongly recommend our customers to have at least one PMV every quarter. The sole purpose of this visits is to ensure service's continuity in the future.

A standard PM visit includes:

• Server logs analysis
  This includes close inspection of server's log files (such as security,e-mail, system, security etc.).
  
  
• Antivirus check
  Here we make sure that:
  • The antivirus software is running.
  • Antivirus databases are being updated on a daily basis and periodical full scans are scheduled.
  • Check scan logs to see if any viruses were detected and how the system dealt with them.
  • Additionally we check that e-mail is being scanned for viruses by sending a harmless virus body to administrator.
    
    
• Backup check
  Backups are one of the most important parts of your system. Many companies came and gone because their servers failed and the backup was not working properly. It is hard to underestimate the importance of it. And we take your backups as serious as it gets. During backup checks we ensure the following:
  • Backups are scheduled on a daily basis
  • Backups include all of the customer's data and the data necessary for successful restoration of the system.
  • Different tapes are being used for different dates to make sure that you can go back and restore a file which absence hasn't been noticed until now.
  • Make sure tape drive is being cleaned systematically
  • Make sure that there is enough capacity on the tape to fit customer's data now and in the nearest future.
  • Do a test restoration of random files from a tape confirming the integrity of your backups.
    
    
• Internet/e-mail check
  We test you connectivity to the internet. Security settings and internet access permissions. Test if e-mails are working properly. If you are using a dialup access we make sure that you don't stay online longer than you need to save you money on ISP services.
  
  
• Server health check
  Here we check the general state of the server. Application errors. Amount of disk space available etc.
  
  
• Security check
  Firewall state rules. Running processes. Access permissions are being thoroughly examined at this stage.
  
  
• UPS check
  UPS log files are being examined to see how did it perform during power failures and surges. A simulated power failure is being carried out.
  
  
• Network check
  This step includes checking your network structure. Load on hubs and switches, amount of collisions on your LAN. Appropriate recommendations included in final report.
  
  
• Systematic server reboot
  Modern operating systems are a big dial better and are more stable than they used to be. However they get more and more complex as well. Applications running on the server are not ideal either. Sometimes they "leak memory" or crash leaving dead "zombie" processes behind, occupying system memory and resources. It is highly recommended for these and other reasons to reboot servers systematically thus giving the a fresh start and making sure that all necessary for normal operation files are in place and everything is working perfectly.