I'm trying to put together a checklist for network and Win2K servers maintenance. Basically something to generate some paperwork to keep management happy. Does anyone know of a decent template that I could use? I've already got some lists put together based on what we currently do with the servers.
Thanks.
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Not quite what I'm looking for. What I'd like to see is a maintenance/systems check break down based on periods of time (day, week, month, year) to show a schedule as to when things should be done.
But your suggestions are definitely worth some points. I had forgotten about checking stuff like the fans. Kind of hard to hear a bad fan in a small 8'x8' room that has 10 servers and A/C going all the time.
I'll post a question so you can get some points.
1. E-mail your computer users. Let your clients know in advance what will be happening on the preventive maintenance visit. Users get attached to their systems, and seeing something change can be upsetting to them. In the e-mail, ask them if anything strange is going on with their system or if they have any questions for you. Often a user may be hesitant to let you know something is wrong, thinking it's no big deal or afraid of having a finger pointed at them for being the problem. One of the most common complaints you'll receive is that the computer is getting slower. More often than not, the user is becoming a power user, becoming more familiar with the software they are using. This may be a good time to upgrade the computer to realize productivity gains from the user.
[It may also be due to extraneous (read parasitic) material that has accumulated since the last maintenance check and is using up resources on the machine with no advantage to the user. Where reasonable to do so, instruct the user how to do the following tasks. - ed]
2. Empty the Recycle Bin. Some users need to be reminded to periodically empty the Recycle Bin.
3. Delete .tmp files. Before running ScanDisk and Defragmenter, delete all *.tmp files that have been created prior to the current day. It will surprise most people to learn how much hard drive space has been used by .tmp files.
4. Delete files that begin with a tilde. When cleaning the system of garbage files, readers might also like to check for any files beginning with a tilde (~). Make sure that all your application programs, such as word-processing, spreadsheet, and graphics programs, are closed first since sometimes the temporary file you are currently viewing uses a tilde. If the application programs are closed, the tilde files can be deleted. Some users find they have a lot of these on their systems!
5. Delete old .zip files. Users tend to unzip the files but then leave the zipped file on their computer.
[Be careful here! If unsure, back up "old" zip files to a floppy or Zip disk - ed]]
6. Delete .chk files, and switch the swap file. For those with permanent swap files, it's sometimes a good idea to set the swap file back to temporary and then permanent again. This cleans out any garbage (and therefore any possible corruption).
7. Run ScanDisk and defrag the drive as needed. Some users report that they cannot get Defrag to get beyond 2 or 3 percent without re-starting over and over again. If you have trouble running Defrag - Click here to see the TOGGLE article on using msconfig to convert your system to a "bare bones" one, run Defrag and then reset the machine to the original configuration - ed
8. Check browser history and cache files. Check that the user history files and Internet cache settings are set properly (cache size). Delete the cache files and history files then reset the history files to no more than three days unless the user specifically needs to store that information longer. By freeing up the cache, downloads from the Web actually speed up since there is more space available to store the temporary files.
9. Clean out Windows temporary Internet files. If the browser is Microsoft's Internet Explorer, clean out the c:\Windows\Temporary Internet files folder.
10. Confirm that backups are being done. Do you have a network solution for automatically backing up user files to a server? If not, and if you're relying on end users to back up their own files, ask users when their last backups were done. Make sure they're rotating their disks.1 Drag their My Documents folder onto a server drive for them. Remind them to verify the backups by trying to restore a sample file or folder.
[1 This means, if you are using three disks, A, B, and C for backups: Disk A holds Monday's data, Disk B holds Tuesday's data, Disk C holds Wednesday's data, Disk A holds Thursday's data, B Friday's, C Monday's, etc. -- so that your data are never more than two working days out-of-date (normally less) if a disaster strikes and two backups are also lost. A further safeguard is to store backup disks off site, also on a rotating basis, so that a physical disaster (flood or fire) at the worksite cannot affect the backup.]
11. Update drivers as needed. Make sure you've installed the latest drivers for printers, modems, sound cards, video cards, and other devices.
[Again, be careful. Know what you are doing. See the article in the June 2000 TOGGLE about Version Conflict Manager, then be sure to read Carl Tenning's experience with it in Don't Mess Around in the July 2000 TOGGLE -ed]
12. Create or update the boot disk.
13. Check the operating system and applications. Update your OS and applications with the latest service packs or updates. Save your company some money; don't try to support multiple versions of the same application.
14. Check the connections. Users love to move their equipment around. Make sure all the plugs are snug in their connections. And make sure your users are using surge protectors and not a string of extension cords to power their machines. While the computer is open, re-seat all connections including expansion cards, CPU, memory, data cables and power connections. You'd be surprised how often an expansion card isn't seated all the way, especially AGP video cards and PCI cards.
15. Take inventory. Update your master inventory of computer assets. Verify serial numbers, CPU speed, hard drive space, memory, etc.
16. Make sure the hardware works. Many computers haven't seen a floppy or CD inserted in years as most upgrades and new installations are done from the server. Clean or replace floppy disk and CD drives as needed.
17. Clean the screens. Do your users a favor and bring the appropriate screen-cleaning cloth or solution with you on the preventive maintenance visit.
[Owner/users be particular when selecting cleaning materials. Some should NOT be used. Some are abrasive and some chemically active and can damage the screen surface. Use common sense. This is delicate (and expensive) equipment.-ed]
18. Change passwords. Unless you can enforce a "change your password every X days" policy via your network software, use the preventive maintenance visit to remind your users to change their system passwords.
19. Check the printers. Print a test page on your users' printers. Make sure the printers are producing clean copies, and that the toner cartridges aren't about to run out.
[Most modern printers have simple-to-run maintenance routines as part of their installation software. These should be run periodically to clean inkjet nozzles and re-align printheads.]
20. Update the anti-virus software. Make sure your users know how to update their anti-virus software. While you're there, update it for them.
Some, like Norton AntiVirus provide a Live Update feature and alert you if your file of virus profiles is probably out-of-date. If you are not on a Network but directly on-line, you should update the signature files periodically. -ed]
21. Reboot the system. In some shops, the workstations are left on all the time. While you're there, reboot the system to force a memory reset and to make sure the machine will boot when you're not there in person.
This procedure often has miraculous effects. Over time your system accumulates cyberjunk (See item 1. above). Shutting down and rebooting gets rid of a lot of it and restores your machine to its original configuration, speed and operational ability. -ed]
22. Bring that can of air! It's still a good idea to blow the dust and debris out of keyboards every now and then. And make sure there isn't dust accumulating on the back of the machine or wherever the air fan is located. It's amazing how much dust can collect in a computer over time. Blowing out the inside of the computer has a couple of pitfalls that must be addressed. First, since the pressure is much higher with canned air, don't direct the air at an unsecured fan. Try using a pencil eraser to keep the fan from turning while you clean out the power supply and CPU. Blowout the power supply from the inside out first, or you'll get tons of dust blown into the computer. Take each computer to a place that doesn't mind the dust, outdoors preferably.
23. Clean the keyboard. With the power off, tip or turn the keyboard upside down and carefully use the palm of your hand to strike the keyboard several times. You'll be surprised how much junk will fallout.
24. Clean the CD-ROM drive. Clean the laser. Many programs are installed corrupted from a dirty CD reader.
25. Clean the floppy drive. In addition to using canned air for the floppy drive, use a 3.5" floppy drive cleaning kit. It consists of a cleaning disk and a bottle of solution that you apply to the disk. First, apply the solution to the cleaning disk. Second, insert the cleaning disk into the floppy drive. Third, type: DIR A: (or DIR B:), which will spin the disk (repeat this three times). In some locations PCs are located in areas where the floppy drive, a.k.a. air intake manifold, collects quite a lot of dust and grime, so canned air alone does not remedy this problem.
26. Clean the mouse. It never hurts to make sure the mouse is free of dust and grime.
27. Check the power sources. Make sure systems are plugged into protected outlets or power strips, if not uninterruptible power supplies.
28. Check the fan. Remember to check that the CPU's cooling fan is working and that the airflow isn't impeded by dust.
[Although uncommon, the fan's bearings need cleaning and "freeing up" often enough that they should be checked as a possible reason that a fan isn't working. Careful application of a light oil and manual turning of the fan blades may be necessary to get it working again. Check the environment to identify the source of contamination. Also clean/replace inlet filters as needed. -ed]
29. Check the network hardware. It is also necessary to check and reboot hubs, routers, switches, and print servers from time to time. They contain memory that needs to be flushed and have connections that can work loose. Most networks have a server reboot schedule but forget about the other, just as vital, network kit.
If this checklist works, plaese remeber the points .. thanks :)
http://www.svca.org/articl
Just provide a link; otherwise you look like a plagariser.
Here's another that's broken down for daily, weekly, monthly:
http://www.kempscaseworks.
It's for a database server. Not sure what kind you have. In any case, it has some good ideas for servers in general.
Side note on administering servers:
One thing I like to do is regularly chart server performance and load. Set Performance Monitor to watch CPU(s), network, disk use, and free memory. Put the update low so it doesn't interfere, like once per two minutes or three instead of the default once per 5 seconds. Save the charts weekly. The reason for doing this is preventative. You can see well ahead of time that users are demanding more and more. You can then go to whomever holds the purse strings and present a case for new CPU/memory/disks/whatever a few months or more in advance. Controllers HATE being hit with unexpected purchases, but if you can prove a trend you can get put in the longer term budget ahead of time so it's less painful. You're a LOT more likely to get your upgrades in a timely manner this way and with less bad feelings, trust me!
can you provide a working link mr maqarity
http://www.svca.org/articl
??
Business Accounts
Answer for Membership
by: KcferretPosted on 2002-12-06 at 12:03:21ID: 7544291
1. E-mail your computer users. Let your clients know in advance what will be happening on the preventive maintenance visit. Users get attached to their systems, and seeing something change can be upsetting to them. In the e-mail, ask them if anything strange is going on with their system or if they have any questions for you. Often a user may be hesitant to let you know something is wrong, thinking it's no big deal or afraid of having a finger pointed at them for being the problem. One of the most common complaints you'll receive is that the computer is getting slower. More often than not, the user is becoming a power user, becoming more familiar with the software they are using. This may be a good time to upgrade the computer to realize productivity gains from the user.
[It may also be due to extraneous (read parasitic) material that has accumulated since the last maintenance check and is using up resources on the machine with no advantage to the user. Where reasonable to do so, instruct the user how to do the following tasks. - ed]
2. Empty the Recycle Bin. Some users need to be reminded to periodically empty the Recycle Bin.
3. Delete .tmp files. Before running ScanDisk and Defragmenter, delete all *.tmp files that have been created prior to the current day. It will surprise most people to learn how much hard drive space has been used by .tmp files.
4. Delete files that begin with a tilde. When cleaning the system of garbage files, readers might also like to check for any files beginning with a tilde (~). Make sure that all your application programs, such as word-processing, spreadsheet, and graphics programs, are closed first since sometimes the temporary file you are currently viewing uses a tilde. If the application programs are closed, the tilde files can be deleted. Some users find they have a lot of these on their systems!
5. Delete old .zip files. Users tend to unzip the files but then leave the zipped file on their computer.
[Be careful here! If unsure, back up "old" zip files to a floppy or Zip disk - ed]]
6. Delete .chk files, and switch the swap file. For those with permanent swap files, it's sometimes a good idea to set the swap file back to temporary and then permanent again. This cleans out any garbage (and therefore any possible corruption).
7. Run ScanDisk and defrag the drive as needed. Some users report that they cannot get Defrag to get beyond 2 or 3 percent without re-starting over and over again. If you have trouble running Defrag - Click here to see the TOGGLE article on using msconfig to convert your system to a "bare bones" one, run Defrag and then reset the machine to the original configuration - ed
8. Check browser history and cache files. Check that the user history files and Internet cache settings are set properly (cache size). Delete the cache files and history files then reset the history files to no more than three days unless the user specifically needs to store that information longer. By freeing up the cache, downloads from the Web actually speed up since there is more space available to store the temporary files.
9. Clean out Windows temporary Internet files. If the browser is Microsoft's Internet Explorer, clean out the c:\Windows\Temporary Internet files folder.
10. Confirm that backups are being done. Do you have a network solution for automatically backing up user files to a server? If not, and if you're relying on end users to back up their own files, ask users when their last backups were done. Make sure they're rotating their disks.1 Drag their My Documents folder onto a server drive for them. Remind them to verify the backups by trying to restore a sample file or folder.
[1 This means, if you are using three disks, A, B, and C for backups: Disk A holds Monday's data, Disk B holds Tuesday's data, Disk C holds Wednesday's data, Disk A holds Thursday's data, B Friday's, C Monday's, etc. -- so that your data are never more than two working days out-of-date (normally less) if a disaster strikes and two backups are also lost. A further safeguard is to store backup disks off site, also on a rotating basis, so that a physical disaster (flood or fire) at the worksite cannot affect the backup.]
11. Update drivers as needed. Make sure you've installed the latest drivers for printers, modems, sound cards, video cards, and other devices.
[Again, be careful. Know what you are doing. See the article in the June 2000 TOGGLE about Version Conflict Manager, then be sure to read Carl Tenning's experience with it in Don't Mess Around in the July 2000 TOGGLE -ed]
12. Create or update the boot disk.
13. Check the operating system and applications. Update your OS and applications with the latest service packs or updates. Save your company some money; don't try to support multiple versions of the same application.
14. Check the connections. Users love to move their equipment around. Make sure all the plugs are snug in their connections. And make sure your users are using surge protectors and not a string of extension cords to power their machines. While the computer is open, re-seat all connections including expansion cards, CPU, memory, data cables and power connections. You'd be surprised how often an expansion card isn't seated all the way, especially AGP video cards and PCI cards.
15. Take inventory. Update your master inventory of computer assets. Verify serial numbers, CPU speed, hard drive space, memory, etc.
16. Make sure the hardware works. Many computers haven't seen a floppy or CD inserted in years as most upgrades and new installations are done from the server. Clean or replace floppy disk and CD drives as needed.
17. Clean the screens. Do your users a favor and bring the appropriate screen-cleaning cloth or solution with you on the preventive maintenance visit.
[Owner/users be particular when selecting cleaning materials. Some should NOT be used. Some are abrasive and some chemically active and can damage the screen surface. Use common sense. This is delicate (and expensive) equipment.-ed]
18. Change passwords. Unless you can enforce a "change your password every X days" policy via your network software, use the preventive maintenance visit to remind your users to change their system passwords.
19. Check the printers. Print a test page on your users' printers. Make sure the printers are producing clean copies, and that the toner cartridges aren't about to run out.
[Most modern printers have simple-to-run maintenance routines as part of their installation software. These should be run periodically to clean inkjet nozzles and re-align printheads.]
20. Update the anti-virus software. Make sure your users know how to update their anti-virus software. While you're there, update it for them.
Some, like Norton AntiVirus provide a Live Update feature and alert you if your file of virus profiles is probably out-of-date. If you are not on a Network but directly on-line, you should update the signature files periodically. -ed]
21. Reboot the system. In some shops, the workstations are left on all the time. While you're there, reboot the system to force a memory reset and to make sure the machine will boot when you're not there in person.
This procedure often has miraculous effects. Over time your system accumulates cyberjunk (See item 1. above). Shutting down and rebooting gets rid of a lot of it and restores your machine to its original configuration, speed and operational ability. -ed]
22. Bring that can of air! It's still a good idea to blow the dust and debris out of keyboards every now and then. And make sure there isn't dust accumulating on the back of the machine or wherever the air fan is located. It's amazing how much dust can collect in a computer over time. Blowing out the inside of the computer has a couple of pitfalls that must be addressed. First, since the pressure is much higher with canned air, don't direct the air at an unsecured fan. Try using a pencil eraser to keep the fan from turning while you clean out the power supply and CPU. Blowout the power supply from the inside out first, or you'll get tons of dust blown into the computer. Take each computer to a place that doesn't mind the dust, outdoors preferably.
23. Clean the keyboard. With the power off, tip or turn the keyboard upside down and carefully use the palm of your hand to strike the keyboard several times. You'll be surprised how much junk will fallout.
24. Clean the CD-ROM drive. Clean the laser. Many programs are installed corrupted from a dirty CD reader.
25. Clean the floppy drive. In addition to using canned air for the floppy drive, use a 3.5" floppy drive cleaning kit. It consists of a cleaning disk and a bottle of solution that you apply to the disk. First, apply the solution to the cleaning disk. Second, insert the cleaning disk into the floppy drive. Third, type: DIR A: (or DIR B:), which will spin the disk (repeat this three times). In some locations PCs are located in areas where the floppy drive, a.k.a. air intake manifold, collects quite a lot of dust and grime, so canned air alone does not remedy this problem.
26. Clean the mouse. It never hurts to make sure the mouse is free of dust and grime.
27. Check the power sources. Make sure systems are plugged into protected outlets or power strips, if not uninterruptible power supplies.
28. Check the fan. Remember to check that the CPU's cooling fan is working and that the airflow isn't impeded by dust.
[Although uncommon, the fan's bearings need cleaning and "freeing up" often enough that they should be checked as a possible reason that a fan isn't working. Careful application of a light oil and manual turning of the fan blades may be necessary to get it working again. Check the environment to identify the source of contamination. Also clean/replace inlet filters as needed. -ed]
29. Check the network hardware. It is also necessary to check and reboot hubs, routers, switches, and print servers from time to time. They contain memory that needs to be flushed and have connections that can work loose. Most networks have a server reboot schedule but forget about the other, just as vital, network kit.
If this checklist works, plaese remeber the points .. thanks :)