Computer systems are vital to the daily operations of any company, monitoring to prevent issues is the key to keep businesses running. A proactive versus a reactive approach makes a lot of sense. Overlooking or postponing maintenance because of a lack of monitoring can turn into huge issues.
Monitoring Windows systems is easy; it can be divided into two categories:
- Hardware and Software
- Server and Workstation.
Let’s focus on the Server and the Hardware category. First, you will need to log in to the server and check all the volumes for their space. Second, open the Server Management software which should contain a Hardware category. Inside Hardware, you should see a Logs option. Check for any alerts / conflicts. These checks are very important because if you identify any issues in the logs indicating that the hard drive might have physical issues you might need to replace the hard drive.
Conflicts can also be caused by software that is released by Microsoft as optional updates. If these updates are not properly managed, they can cause significant issues with the system. Sometimes, firmware upgrades can resolve some physical issues with components on the servers. Firmware is software that the manufacturer releases to resolve or provide other functionality on their hardware.
If hardware needs to be replaced, such as the hard drive, you will need to make sure all your files are properly backed up. It is common that your server will have several hard drives. First, you need to know what Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) configuration, if it exists, is in place. All the next steps depend on what RAID configuration you have.
To prevent these issues, it is recommended that a monitoring solution is set in place. Monitoring a computer system or a whole network begins with a piece of software and a set of instructions. At Swick Technologies we offer all the monitoring that a Network Infrastructure / Servers or all your workstations require to keep operating and producing. The Swick Technologies Agent is a piece of software that is ready to monitor any environment, can be enabled to notify you or us to take any action required to keep your business moving. If a Server sends us an alert, we will respond by remoting to the server and taking care of the issue. We will send you a courtesy email or phone call letting you know about the issue and what was performed to correct the problem. You do not have to worry about anything.
Computer hardware and software can be challenging to monitor. Not with The SwickTech Agent – Hardware like hard drives are equipped with technology that provides information and health status that is captured and reported by the minute.
Without the proper monitoring tools, no proactive work can be identified. Only break-fix or reactive work can be performed. This does not allow for planning; instead, all extra time is used on fixing issues that could have been identified and prevented.
On the network side of things, Routers, Firewalls and Switches should also be monitored for memory usage, CPU usage and bandwidth utilization. Companies have higher and more reliable Internet service grade and usually faster speeds, compared to homes internet service. With the proper monitoring tools, this can be enabled to help identify if an internet upgrade is necessary or know who is downloading unnecessary big files, streaming music, videos over internet at work, utilizing resources that cost companies thousands of dollars per year.
Utilizing The Swick Agent, we can monitor servers and computers that are your most valuable assets for production. When systems are reporting back to our platform, they will receive Windows Critical updates, tested and white-listed updates only. The Agent also monitors memory and all the essential components of each individual system. On the software side, the Agent monitors the Anti Virus protection and can be customized to monitor your line of business application. If system is not functioning optimally, we will be notified so that we can proactively asses and address the situation.
