Let me know if this
sounds familiar. Your computer seems to be grinding to a halt-even typing
becomes painful. You do a quick check and, as always, your antivirus software
decided to zealously check your whole PC for viruses. Eager little guy.
It always happens at the
worst time, and antivirus software is notorious for putting huge strains on the
CPU and disk drives. But we hate viruses, right?
Anti-Virus: Server,
Workstation, or Both?
Well, the problem is compounded for servers. Servers tend to have significantly more files to scan, since storing and serving files is part of what they are designed for. But anti-virus on a server presents you with a Catch 22:
Well, the problem is compounded for servers. Servers tend to have significantly more files to scan, since storing and serving files is part of what they are designed for. But anti-virus on a server presents you with a Catch 22:
·
Applications such as
Exchange and SQL would run much more slowly during the day, impacting your
office
·
If done at night, it
will impact backups if both tasks are run at the same time. Argh!
This could even cause
backup jobs not to complete in the allotted timeframe. All too often we see
incorrect setups such as this when new clients come to us complaining of slow
server 'everything'.
Apples and Oranges
You and I know that the vast majority of viruses and malware that infect PCs comes from people accessing email attachments, internet downloads and infected or malicious websites.
You and I know that the vast majority of viruses and malware that infect PCs comes from people accessing email attachments, internet downloads and infected or malicious websites.
Since people do not read
email or browse web sites directly from the Server, our office debate was this:
we should conserve server resources and not bother deploying anti-virus
software, relying instead on individual staff computers to do their own
scanning.
The counter argument to
this is that by default, yes, such software can put unnecessary strain on
servers. However, most anti-virus software vendors allow skilled IT support technicians to
fine-tune their software, giving it only so many resources as it needs to do
its job. While this is on the advanced side, it will keep both your peace of
mind and sanity intact.
The Exception
Many businesses use terminal servers, which allow their staff to run applications directly on the server. In these situations, extra care must be taken to correctly lock users with group policies and folder level permissions.
Many businesses use terminal servers, which allow their staff to run applications directly on the server. In these situations, extra care must be taken to correctly lock users with group policies and folder level permissions.
It is never a good idea
to leave permission settings as they are 'out of the box', or worse yet-assign
administrator rights to regular users. This is a very poor practice, at which
point you're just asking for your whole server to be infected.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that you really should install some sort of anti-virus protection on your server. If you current anti-virus suite does not provide server support, there are a number low cost options out there. Some are even free, if a little basic.
The bottom line is that you really should install some sort of anti-virus protection on your server. If you current anti-virus suite does not provide server support, there are a number low cost options out there. Some are even free, if a little basic.
Just do yourself one
favour: make sure that your IT administrator sets it all up correctly.
Alternatively, our managed IT services team can help you
out.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Alan_Smith
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7923965
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