You would be wrong to think that a company like Microsoft with billions in profits doesn’t care about data center construction costs. The company, which has previously been accustomed to spending $500 million and up on new facilities, will now try to reduce construction costs on new facilities to $250 million.

Microsoft will be able to meet its target while still maintaining the power and speed needed because of advances in efficiency and scalable technology. New data centers will consist of a wall-less open-air structure full of server-packed containers. They’ll be “containerized” so to speak.

As more computing juice is needed, more containers can simply be shipped and added to the mix. This ease of expandability significantly cuts down on up-front costs.

Source | Data Center Knowledge

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A game server is a computer connected to the Internet that hosts multiplayer games for a particular game or multiple games. While some multiplayer games only have official servers, many allow community gamers to host their own games. There are two types: 1. temporary servers that any user can setup to host a particular tournament or match, and 2. a dedicated server that is always live and always available for connections.

The common tendency of a gamer who wants to hosts multiplayer games is to setup a normal PC box in their home with a regular DSL or cable line. Although this may work for temporary servers or small to medium numbers of connections, gaming on a larger scale can be taxing on an ill-equipped PC and a a home network.

In such cases it might behoove the gaming host to get a dedicated line and server-class computer to host their games. The other option is to purchase a hosting account for a dedicated server. The server can either be an un-managed server with a free Linux distribution or a customized gaming server that has been setup for that specific purpose. Either way, the eventual result is higher quality gaming and more enjoyment for the players.

Photo Source: Flickr

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To handle its millions of video views per day, YouTube has thousands of servers. But what if you want to start your own video sharing site? A Webhostingtalk.com user asked today:

Hi i would plan to make something like YouTube (video sharing site) but restricted only for my members. Basically if let’s say there are 1000 users every day streaming videos on my site, how much bandwidth do I need and how big the server has to be considering this isnt just regular site but video sharing site for members?

Unfortunately, the answer isn’t simple. Videos take up more bandwidth than CPU or memory, so you will need a server with a lot of bandwidth. How “big” of a server is needed depends on the site’s traffic and size of the videos.

For a site just starting out, I’d probably rent a basic server and upgrade later on once I had a better idea of my needs. If the site grew to a large size, however, multiple servers with tier-1 dedicated bandwidth connections would be needed. Without a powerful connection, users wouldn’t be able to stream video. This sort of infrastructure is very expensive, explaining why video sites need to display so many ads to make ends meet.

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There are many security factors you should consider when deploying Linux-based virtual private servers (VPS) on systems such as OpenVZ. Some protect your users and some protect your server as a whole. Here are five steps you can take to make sure your server is secure:

1. Disable the root password on the real server. Users may decide to use root passwords on their VPS systems, but do not make it easy for attackers to get past them to the real system.

2. Create a user designed just for admin tasks and give it “sudo” rights.

3. Create an ssh user to handle any remote logins and an sftp user for uploads to the real server. Disable remote access for all other users.

4. Run OpenSSH on a port other than the default 22. You can use 2222 or something else.

5. Rely on SSH keys for the two secure users and disable clear password authentication.

Photo Source: Flickr

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As far as the data center realm is concerned, 2010 will be a great year. According to a recent survey conducted by Digital Realty Trust, nearly one-third of corporate data centers will expand this year. In addition, more than 80% of all data centers plan on expanding within the next two years.

Much of the facility expansion is due to a need for more power, not space. Many companies have had to halt their data center expansions due to a lack of credit. Hopefully the economy will continue to improve this year and firms will have less trouble getting investment and loans for data center space. Regardless of what happens, it still looks like 2010 will be all about the data center.

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Given the high cost of electricity, companies are always looking for ways to increase efficiency. This may involve optimizing CPU usage or reducing active cooling, but in the case of Google, Facebook, and soon Goldman Sachs, these companies have found another way go green: integrate batteries into servers.

Data centers spend millions on large UPS systems to provide temporary power during utility outages. A UPS only needs to provide power for a few minutes until generators can be started.

In 2008, Google became the first firm to integrate 12-volt batteries into servers for the same purpose. The technology works likes a charm and now others in the industry are catching on. This new system is not only cheaper and more reliable, but uses less power as well.

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Question: How do I upgrade my CentOS installation to a higher version?

Answer: Using YUM you can upgrade CentOS with only a few steps.

1. Backup your important data. If most or all of is in a database, make sure to backup all databases.

2. List all of the updates:

# yum list updates

3. Upgrade your distribution:

# yum update

4. Reboot the server:

# reboot

5. Verify that all systems are working:

# uname -a
# netstat -tulpn
# tail -f /var/log/messages
# tail -f /path/to/log/file
# cat /etc/redhat-release

Note: Because the kernel will be upgraded, you will need to reboot the server after completion, so you should plan a scheduled down time when your website(s) will have the least amount of activity.

Source: nixCraft

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Question: I want to setup my own server. What software and tools will I need?

Answer: The first major decision to make after you have purchased server hardware is what operating system to use. Many servers come with one already, but if yours does not, you will need to decide on one. Linux or other Unix variants, such as BSD or Solaris are by far the most popular, but there are also many Windows servers out there. If you are on a limited budget, go with a free Linux distribution, such as CentOS.

The next thing to choose is the web server. Choices include Apache, Nginx, and Lighttpd. After that, you will probably one a database server such as MySQL or PostgreSQL Finally, you will want a web-based control panel. Depending on the one you choose, it might also install its own versions of Apache, PHP, and MySQL.

There are many control panel solutions on the market, and most of them are commercial. Popular control panels includ cPanel and Plesk. There are also free solutions available like Virtualmin. Decide what you need for whatever type of websites you plan to have and then choose the software that meets those needs.

Photo: Flickr

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Following the current trend among corporations to consolidate IT infrastructure, the U.S. government is making plans to drastically reduce the number of data centers in operation and make its computing more efficient.

Over the last decade, the number of federal data centers has more than doubled to 1100. These facilities consume 6 billion kwH of power yearly. If action is not taken to increase efficiency and save energy, this figure could jump to 12 billion kwH.

Data center consolidation is good for hardware vendors because the government will have to invest in new servers and other equipment to make the change. As far as human resources go, however, a number of server admins and other employees could find themselves jobless as a result of this new trend. Having fewer data centers means there will be less of a need for technicians, security guards, janitorial staff, and other positions.

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Question: I have spammers sending multiple email messages to my mail server. How can can I limit the number of emails they can send in a given amount of time?

Answer: This is a trick that many spammers and malicious hackers will use to flood your server with their nonsense. Although a spam blocker will certainly help, it still has to process each email. If thousands of emails are sent an hour, that takes up valuable CPU power, memory, disk space, and time.

Postfix mail server allows you to limit the rate of incoming emails, keeping the spam messages from flooding your server. To configure it, edit /etc/mail/main.cf:

# nano main.cf (or vi main.cf)

Add the following directives:

smtpd_error_sleep_time = 1s
smtpd_soft_error_limit = 10
smtpd_hard_error_limit = 20

With these settings, after a client has made 10 connections, Postfix will pause and delay the next connection. If the connection is made 20 times without delivering mail, Postfix will disconnect.

Source: nixCraft

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