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How To Enable GodMode In Windows and Its Complete Features
What is GodMode?
Windows GodMode is an old trick, but I thought it’d be nice to share it with our readers who don’t know about it as Windows 10 is released. Also, I’ll be telling about all GodMode folders here, not just a single one. Windows GodMode, as the name suggests, provides you a shortcut and grander access to various control panel settings. It is also known as the Windows Master Control Panel shortcut (All Tasks) or All Tasks folder by different people.
By making this GodMode folder, you’ll get access to all the settings of the control panel in your OS within a single folder. This hack was first revealed in 2007 and it works in operating systems higher than Windows Vista i.e Window 7, Window 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10.
As you’ll know how to do it, you’ll come across the step of renaming the folder and using the phrase “GodMode”. Actually, GodMode name has nothing to do with this trick. Use your name instead of GodMode and it’ll work just fine because GodMode is just a name given to this trick as it got popular.
Rename it to: GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
Once renamed it’ll converted and looks like control panel icon, open and there you have it.
Note: You can enable GodMode using this trick in Windows Vista Window 7, Window 8, Windows 8.1,and Windows 10.
How to enable all GodMode folders?
There’s a lot more to this GodMode trick. There are a lot more GodMode folders waiting for you to utilize them. Copy and paste the script written below in a new notepad file. Rename this file as “godmodes.bat” and paste at the location where you want these GodMode folders to be. Now click on the renamed file “godmodes.bat” and there you have a list of GodMode folders, all with different uses.
Six awesome built-in Windows 8 utilities no one knows about
Windows 8 isn't for everyone. If you're mostly a desktop PC user comfortable with Windows 7, upgrading to Windows 8 is probably not worthwhile. If you're a mobile user who needs easy access to the...
Windows 8 may not be the easiest operating system to use, but no one can accuse it of being stingy. If you poke deep inside the new OS, you'll find a generous assortment of software tools, many of which make third-party utilities redundant.
One built-in tool helps you calibrate your PC’s display. Another helps you investigate system-stability problems. And yet another lets you record on-screen actions to create tutorials for Windows applications. All of these utilities are free and come preloaded in Windows 8, with no hidden add-on costs. (You should be aware, though, that the Hyper-V virtual machine manager requires Windows 8 Pro or Enterprise, not the standard version of Windows 8.)
Have we left out any worthy built-in utilities? Read our list, and let us know in the comments section of this article.
Windows reliability history
In the Windows 8 Start screen, type reliability, click Settings, and then select View Reliability History. You’ll go to the Windows desktop, and a window with a timeline will appear. You can also access the Reliability Monitor from the Windows Control Panel, by going to System and Security > Action Center.
You can narrow down dates and specific apps for troubleshooting when you use the reliability history.
The chart is interactive. If you click a column, you’ll see detail text below. In my particular case, the reliability history let me know when my Asus AI Suite stopped working—and, in fact, that one program was the source of many of my Windows 8 app crashes. I have to note that I never once saw an error message when the apps crashed, and when I uninstalled AI Suite, I suffered far fewer stability issues.
And, hey, if nothing else, it’s useful if you need to talk to tech support.
Display calibration
Out of the box, your PC monitor is usually too bright, and the colors are typically oversaturated. That may not be an issue if all you do is spreadsheet work, but if you’re editing photos or video, or even just watching movies, you'll want to fine-tune the colors for accuracy.
Sure, you could spend $60 or more for color-calibration software and hardware, and that might be money well spent if you’re a graphics professional or a movie buff who's finicky about faithful color reproduction. But the color-calibration tool built into Windows can give you most of what you need, and you don't have to shell out the cash for additional software.
Checking the color cast of the grayscale settings is just one of the steps in calibrating your display.
Type calibrate into the search box, and select Settings. You want to pick Calibrate Display Color, which is usually the top option. The color calibrator’s welcome screen includes a link to a help-center tutorial. All you really need to do, however, is walk through the steps and read the explanatory text. The first time you do this, don’t skip any of the steps. The steps are, in order: gamma settings, brightness adjustment, contrast adjustment, and color balance. (For more detail, check out “How to Calibrate Your Monitor.”)
Application steps capture
Steps Recorder lets you record each individual step of a particular Windows task. You can't record actions inside a game, but you can capture steps in standard Windows applications this way.
In earlier versions of Windows, this utility was called “Problem Steps Recorder.” Apparently, Microsoft viewed this program mostly as a tool for packaging up user inputs for troubleshooting. The Windows 8 version, however, lets users view the steps and keep a record. To run Steps Recorder, type Steps in the search box, and select Steps Recorder. You’ll get a very simple, small window.
The user interface for Steps Recorder is pretty sparse, and reflects the basic nature of the tool.
Through Steps Recorder you can capture screenshots with every action you perform: each mouse click, key press, and so on. If you’re typing in a text editor (such as Microsoft Word), only the complete text will be shown, not every keystroke. After you stop the recording, you can review what you’ve captured and do simple edits. The tool saves the whole affair in a .zip file, but saves the actual content as an MHTML (Mime HTML) file, which combines different types of content into a single HTML file.
Steps Recorder creates an MHTML file containing screenshots and descriptive text of the Windows user steps it records.
Steps Recorder is no replacement for a sophisticated screen-capture tool such as Camtasia, but it’s useful for quick-and-dirty tutorials when you need to communicate a small set of simple, discrete Windows actions.
Task scheduling
Task Scheduler is just what it sounds like: It helps you set schedules for running specific Windows applications. A typical example might be when you want to schedule a backup to run. However, Task Scheduler also lets you create complex scripts of tasks, which can run in order and at particular times.
For example, Microsoft uses Task Scheduler to set up the daily upload of information on how you use Windows to the Windows Experience team. You run Task Scheduler by typing Schedule, selecting Settings, and then clicking Schedule Tasks.
You can create scripts of tasks, and then run them at specific times, using Task Scheduler.
Some third parties misuse Task Scheduler to load and run apps on startup, when simply tapping into the Startup folder might be a better approach. So even if you don’t plan on ever creating a task script, it’s worthwhile to visit Task Scheduler on occasion to see what applications may have touched it.
Virtual machine creation and management
The Windows 8 Pro and Enterprise versions include the Hyper-V virtual machine manager that was originally built into Windows Server. However, it isn't installed by default. If you want to use Hyper-V, go to the Control Panel, click Programs, and select Turn Windows Features on or off. Choose Hyper-V and click the OK button. After Hyper-V is installed, you’ll need to reboot the PC.
You end up with two applications: Hyper-V (the virtual machine manager that runs the VM software) and the Hyper-V Manager, where you create or remove virtual machines and .VHD (virtual hard drive) files. Once you've created a VM, you can install any OS you want, including Windows 3.1 through Windows 8, Linux, BSD, and others.
Create virtual machines and virtual hard drives using Hyper-V Manager in Windows 8 Pro or Enterprise.
Note that the Windows 8 version leaves out a few features built into the server version, including GPU virtualization (no 3D acceleration in Windows 8 VMs) and some exotic networking features (such as fibre channel support). If you were a user of the Windows XP Mode feature in Windows 7, which used the older Windows Virtual PC, then Hyper-V can fill in the gap. However, unlike with XP Mode, you’ll need a valid Windows XP license key to install Windows XP into a virtual machine.
Reliability Monitor doesn’t just report problems. It also keeps track of when you’ve installed or updated applications and drivers, so you can pinpoint exact dates and use that knowledge for troubleshooting and system repair. For example, once you know the precise date of a troublesome driver installation, you can roll back your machine via Windows System Restore to a date before that driver started wreaking havoc.
DirectX diagnostics
While I'm on the topic of troubleshooting, let’s take a look at the DirectX Diagnostic Tool, also known as DXDiag. In previous versions of Windows, DXDiag was installed whenever you installed DirectX, which usually occurred when you installed a game. But now that DirectX is part and parcel of the Windows 8 operating system, DXDiag is included from the get-go.
DXDiag gives you detailed information on the state of your DirectX-capable hardware and drivers.
DXDiag pops up a wealth of useful information for evaluating DirectX problems. Under the Display tab, you’ll see the installed GPU, the display interface (DVI, HDMI, or the like), your graphics memory allotment, and so on. The Sound tab gives you information related to the audio device and drivers. DXDiag offers a deeper level of detail than you might find in Device Manager, and it's all specific to DirectX-capable devices.
Microsoft has strived to develop Windows into an intuitive, user-friendly operating system. For some, though, "user friendly" is just another way of saying "dumbed down" in an attempt to force all users into a limited, cookie-cutter system. Power users and IT administrators need to be able to go behind the curtain of the friendly user interface and get down to the business of tweaking and customizing the operating system to meet their needs. That is where Windows 7's "GodMode" comes in.
Microsoft has strived to develop Windows into an intuitive, user-friendly operating system. For some, though, "user friendly" is just another way of saying "dumbed down" in an attempt to force all users into a limited, cookie-cutter system. Power users and IT administrators need to be able to go behind the curtain of the friendly user interface and get down to the business of tweaking and customizing the operating system to meet their needs. That is where Windows 7's "GodMode" comes in.
But, wait. There's more! The truth is, there isn't just one "GodMode." Windows 7 has an entire pantheon of God Modes, with a variety of hidden folders you can set up using different, unique text strings, including special folders for biometric settings, printers, credentials and logins, the firewall and security, and many other features and functions of Windows 7.
A post in a Microsoft forum by Auri Rahimzadeh provides a short script that will quickly create the GodMode folders. Copy and paste the following text (immediately below this paragraph) into Notepad. Name the file "godmodes.bat" and save it on your hard drive in the location where you would like the folders to be. Running this script will create a new folder called Special Folders that will contain all of the developer shortcut folders (as shown in the clickable thumbnail figure below). Also, by changing the text where it says "Special Folders" in the first two lines of the script, you could rename the new folder anything you'd like.
mkdir "Special Folders cd ".\Special Folders mkdir "God Mode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C} mkdir "Location Settings.{00C6D95F-329C-409a-81D7-C46C66EA7F33} mkdir "Biometric Settings.{0142e4d0-fb7a-11dc-ba4a-000ffe7ab428} mkdir "Power Settings.{025A5937-A6BE-4686-A844-36FE4BEC8B6D} mkdir "Icons And Notifications.{05d7b0f4-2121-4eff-bf6b-ed3f69b894d9} mkdir "Credentials and Logins.{1206F5F1-0569-412C-8FEC-3204630DFB70} mkdir "Programs and Features.{15eae92e-f17a-4431-9f28-805e482dafd4} mkdir "Default Programs.{17cd9488-1228-4b2f-88ce-4298e93e0966} mkdir "All NET Frameworks and COM Libraries.{1D2680C9-0E2A-469d-B787-065558BC7D43} mkdir "All Networks For Current Connection.{1FA9085F-25A2-489B-85D4-86326EEDCD87} mkdir "Network.{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D} mkdir "My Computer.{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D} mkdir "Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D} mkdir "Application Connections.{241D7C96-F8BF-4F85-B01F-E2B043341A4B} mkdir "Firewall and Security.{4026492F-2F69-46B8-B9BF-5654FC07E423} mkdir "Performance.{78F3955E-3B90-4184-BD14-5397C15F1EFC}
Putting GodMode to Use
Okay, so now you have a bunch of folders filled with tools and tweaks that you already had access to. Congratulations. The question to consider is whether or not these GodMode folders serve any purpose. Do they make it easier to work with and configure Windows 7? Do they make your life as an IT administrator easier? Well, let's see.
Let's say you want to defragment a hard drive. You could go through the normal steps of clicking on Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defrgamenter. However, that is a fair amount of clicking, and it assumes that you remember where the Disk Defragmenter tool is located. Or, you can open the GodMode folder, go to the Administrative Tools section, and click on Defragment your hard drive.
Another example is adjusting the display settings--perhaps to mirror or extend the display landscape onto a second monitor. You can click Start, Control Panel, Display, and then select Change display settings from the panel on the left. Or you can go into the GodMode folder and just click on Change display settings under the Display section.
In both examples, you don't have to enable the GodMode folder to accomplish the task. The tools exist already, and GodMode is really nothing more than a regrouping of those tools.
But it is a convenient regrouping. IT admins and power users can also make effective use of the Windows Search function to navigate to tools more efficiently. However, that requires knowing up front what tool you are looking for, and making sure you enter the right keyword or phrase for Windows to locate it for you.
What God Mode does--aside from conveniently regrouping common tools that are already available--is list the tools in logical categories based on the types of tasks an IT admin might need to perform. And the tools are named for the way that IT admins think when they want to perform those tasks. For instance, you can get to BitLocker Drive Encryption through the Control Panel, but in the GodMode folder it is listed in the form of a task that makes sense: "Protect your computer by encrypting data on your disk."
There you have it. It is not quite as magical or all-powerful as the name implies. But GodMode--in all of its forms and folders--can be a valuable tool and make your life simpler.
Windows 10 is officially out today. It’s the biggest update to Windows in years and represents a number of new directions for Microsoft’s premier software product. Windows 10 replaces Windows 8 and 8.1, and serves to attract those Windows 7 users that never bothered to update to Windows 8. There are a host of new features in Windows 10, ranging from updated interfaces to new apps and services. For all of our in-depth thoughts on the new platform, be sure to check out our full review.
Perhaps the most notable thing about the new platform is that you don’t have to pay for it, so long as you already have Windows 8 or Windows 7. But if you’re looking for a reason or two to update your current Windows 8 machine or aging Windows 7 box, here are the top new features in Windows 10 that might make you want to.
The 9 best new features in Windows 10
1.REFRESHED USER INTERFACE
The most obvious change from Windows 8 to Windows 10 is the new user interface. It’s still flat and modern looking, but Microsoft went through great efforts to make it work for both touchscreen devices and computers that rely mostly on a mouse and keyboard. While Windows 8 essentially forced a touch interface on users whether they had hardware that took advantage of it or not, Windows 10 works equally well on both touch devices and mouse-and-keyboard PCs. Fullscreen apps can now be easily windowed on the desktop, and there are new ways to arrange and manage multiple windows for easier multitasking.
For power users, Microsoft has implemented new windows-switching gestures similar to Expose on the Mac and native virtual desktops. All of these updates are pretty minor in themselves, but they add up to a much better user experience for the vast majority of Windows users, something that Microsoft whiffed on with its last version of Windows. If Windows 8’s take on the user interface was too different from prior versions of Windows for you, Windows 10 should be just what you’ve been looking for.
2.NEW START MENU
A big part of Windows 10's interface overhaul is the new Start menu, which replaces the fullscreen Start screen of Windows 8. It’s a blend of the traditional Start menu from Windows 7 and earlier with the Live Tiles of Windows 8 and Windows Phone. Users looking for quick access to recently used apps, the file explorer, and power controls will be just as happy as those that want the extra information displayed by Live Tiles. It’s a really great blend of the old and new and rectifies one of the biggest complaints many had with Windows 8 (and Windows 8.1, which fixed some issues, but didn’t really go far enough).
3.CORTANA
Windows 10 includes something that Microsoft has never offered in a desktop operating system before: a built-in virtual personal assistant. Cortana, which first became available on Windows Phone last year, is Microsoft’s answer to Google Now and Apple’s Siri, providing useful information at a glance. In Windows 10, Cortana is built into the system’s native search function, pulling in both local and web-based data whenever you perform a search on your machine. It also crawls your mail and calendar to provide updates on upcoming events, plane tickets, travel plans, and more without you having to ask for it.
Cortana in Windows 10 is also able to be fully voice controlled and can even be activated with a simple "Hey Cortana" command. You can set reminders, perform searches, send email, add calendar events, and more with just your voice. If your experience with a PC has been mostly silent so far, Cortana might just get you talking to your computer and liking the results.
4.NEW MAIL, CALENDAR, PHOTOS, MAPS APPS
Every major new version of an operating system comes with new versions of core apps for email, calendar, photos, mapping, and more. But with Windows 10, you might actually want to use these core apps, because the updated versions of them are actually quite good. The Mail and Calendar apps have been completely overhauled with new interfaces and features. They borrow a lot of ideas and design from Microsoft’s very highly rated Outlook app on iOS, and support a variety of email and calendar services. Threaded conversations, easy ways to delete or archive mail, and gesture controls make the new Mail app fast and efficient to use. Mail and calendar also provide a lot of data to make the Cortana personal assistant more useful, so even if you plan to use web tools to manage your inbox and appointments, it’s worth the time to set up your email and calendar accounts when you install Windows 10.
The built-in Photos app has been redesigned with a new interface and plugs into Microsoft’s OneDrive service to make it easy to view all of the images or videos backed up from your phone. It also has automatic image enhancement features and basic editing tools. Maps has also been overhauled with a new interface and better integration with other parts of the system, such as Cortana.
5.CONTINUUM
A big piece of Windows 10’s new interface is the Continuum feature, which lets devices that can be both tablets and PCs seamlessly switch between the two modes. Continuum allows Microsoft to keep the tablet-style interface ideas of Windows 8 without interfering with the desktop interface that works best with a mouse and keyboard. On a device like the Surface Pro 3, disconnecting the keyboard will switch apps to their fullscreen mode and turn the Start menu into a fullscreen experience. Pop the keyboard back on, and the interface will revert back to the windowed desktop and standard Start menu. Continuum will also allow smartphones to act as full-fledged computers when connected to appropriate displays, once Windows 10 is available on mobile later this year.
6.EDGE BROWSER
Ever since Windows 95, Microsoft has included a web browser with its operating system. For years, that’s been Internet Explorer, which has been left behind by more modern browsers such as Google’s Chrome or Mozilla’s Firefox. For Windows 10, Microsoft is leaving the bloated and slow remnants of Internet Explorer behind and including Edge, its first new browser in 20 years. (Technically, Windows 10 still ships with Internet Explorer mostly for enterprise compatibility purposes, but most people using the system will be using Edge.)
Edge is a completely overhauled browser that’s lean, fast, and supports modern web experiences. It also includes useful features such as integration with Cortana and a note-taking mode that lets you doodle on a web page and share it with others. The first version of Edge will still be too bare-boned for power users — conveniences such as extension support are not yet available — but for the vast majority of people, it should provide a much better web browsing experience than anything Microsoft has offered before.
7.ACTION CENTER
Windows 8 included a basic notification panel, but Windows 10 takes it to another level with its Action Center. Accessible via a swipe in from the right on the screen or trackpad or by clicking the icon in the task bar, Action Center organizes notifications by app and provides quick access to a number of commonly used settings. It’s completely customizable in terms of appearance and which apps display notifications, and you can even perform actions on certain alerts, such as calendar notifications.
8.XBOX STREAMING TO PC
Windows 10 is coming with an all new Xbox app that lets you stream games from your console to a PC or laptop. It’s still a beta feature for now, but it works quite well over Wi-Fi and makes use of Windows’ native support for the Xbox’s USB controller. It also offers the ability to record your gaming session up to two hours in length right to your laptop’s drive. If you’ve been fighting for time on the TV to play games but other people are hogging the screen, this might be just the reason you need to get Windows 10.
9.HELLO
Windows 10 has a new, cleaner lock screen that’s available to everyone. But if you have a laptop or PC with supported hardware, the new Hello feature will let you log in without ever typing in a password. Just sit in front of your computer, and Windows 10 will recognize you and log in. It’s similar to image recognition login systems we’ve seen for years on Android, but Microsoft insists it’s far more foolproof thanks to the requirement of special cameras and infrared hardware. There aren’t many laptops that can take advantage of Hello just yet, but that will likely change quite a bit in a short time
Куркумата е много полезна, но знаем ли как да я приемаме правилно?
Едва ли има човек, който да не е чувал, че куркумата е полезна
Куркумата е много полезна, но знаем ли как да я приемаме правилно?
Чели сте и знаете, че тя лекува рак. Има дори такива хора, които са убедени, че тя едва ли не е панацея – може да ни излекува от всичко, включително и от болести, които не са характерни за нашите географски ширини. Не вярвайте на всичко, което четете… Да,куркумата е нещо повече от подправка и може да бъде полезна, но само ако знаем как да я ползваме правилно.
Достатъчна ви е само една рецепта, за да се възползвате от ползите на куркумата. Направете я и бъдете здрави!
За да бъде активна куркумата тя трябва да се приема по два начина – с черен пипер и след като ферментира. Когатоп се смеси с черен пипер повишава своите лечебни свойства поне 2000 пъти!
За да си направите напитка с куркума имате нужда от следните съставки:
1 чаша прясно настъргана куркума 3/4 чаша мед 1 лайм и 1 обикновен лимон. Добре е да са смесени, защото вкусовете са различни. Ако няма лайм може да ползвате и два обикновени лимона. 6 чаши вода 1 стрък мента 1 щипка джинджифил
Как се приготвя?
Във водата се слага куркумата и се вари поне половин час, докато стане жълта. нека да къкри още десетина минути и оставете да изстине. Сложете докато е леко топла джинджифила и намачката мента. Добавете след това и меда, който предварително сте разбъркали с лимоновия сок. Отново разбъркайте.
Предете и прелейте течността в 2-литров буркан или в два по-малки. Разбъркайте отново, затворете с капачка и оставете да втасва 2-3 дни през лятото и седмица през зимата. Готово е когато започнат да се вдигат мехурчета. Разбърквайте или разклащайте от време на време. Прецедете течността в шишета, без да ги запушвате плътно. За по-добра газировка ги оставете за още 2-3 дни на стайна температура, после сложете пълните шишета в хладилника.
How to choose a server for your small business
So, your business has grown large enough that you need your first server. Congratulations! Acquiring a server is a big decision, so some trepidation is understandable. This guide will explain the basic principles of the technology, help you decide which class of server will best fit your needs, and give you some ballpark pricing, so you don’t overspend or acquire a product that’s insufficient for your needs.
I’ll also explore the chief alternative to running your own server--relying on the cloud--and provide a primer on one of today’s hottest server trends: virtualization. You’ll find this guide useful even if you ultimately decide to hire an IT consultant to analyze your requirements and make a purchase recommendation.
Server Basics
Although a small server might look no different from a high-end desktop PC, the machines are designed for very different tasks. A desktop computer is designed for one person who needs a user-friendly operating system to run desktop applications such as a word processor, a spreadsheet, an email client, and a Web browser. A server runs a specialized operating system designed to support many users. It’s engineered to run multiuser applications such as email, messaging, and print servers; shared calendar programs; databases; and enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management software.
A server also makes it easy for your employees to share data and collaborate, since it operates as a central repository for all of your documents, images, contacts, and other important files. It can host a company intranet, for sharing information with your employees quickly and economically. Set up a virtual private network, and you and your employees can access the data on the server remotely from anywhere you have Internet access. On top of that, a server can automatically back up your desktop and laptop systems, so you’ll never lose critical data if one machine fails or is lost or stolen. Servers are designed to be reliable, secure, and fault-tolerant, with redundant storage options. If you expect your business to expand, choose a server that’s scalable and can grow with you.
If you operate a small to medium-size business, the question isn’t "Do I need a server?" but "Which type of server do I need?" Before we get into that, however, let's address the number-one alternative to operating and maintaining an on-site server: relying on the cloud.
The Cloud Alternative
Why not put everything in the cloud? Services such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft’s Windows Azure, and Rackspace Cloud Hosting offer a number of benefits. For starters, they don't involve a significant capital outlay, and you won’t need an IT staff to manage the server. You won’t need to worry about the equipment or software becoming outdated or obsolete, either. In the days when businesses relied on big-iron mainframes, this strategy was called "time sharing." And the cloud is burdened with many of the same limitations as that model was.
The stability and reliability of whichever service provider you choose is your first and most important concern. If that firm goes belly-up or experiences a disaster, your business could quickly grind to a halt. What’s worse is that you could temporarily or permanently lose access to all your data. If you lose your connection to the Internet, you’ll be cut off from your applications and data, and your employees won’t be able to share files. You could lose the ability to manage your business until your Internet connection is restored. And if your business uses large files, and your broadband connection is too slow, your operation’s productivity will suffer.
Storing your data on equipment outside your immediate control also brings up privacy and security concerns. And although you’re not paying for an IT staff, ongoing maintenance, and investments in new capital equipment directly, you’re still incurring a share of those costs indirectly--they’re reflected in the fees you’re paying the service provider. The cloud is no cure-all.
Choose the Right Server for Your Needs
The big names in the server market are Dell, Fujitsu, HP, IBM, Lenovo, and Oracle. Choosing the right server depends in large measure on the applications you intend to run on it. If all you need is file sharing, automated client backup, and light-duty remote access for PCs (typically ten or fewer), consider a NAS or even a Windows Home Server machine; HP, Netgear, QNAP, Seagate, and Synology are the major players in this arena. If your business has more than ten employees using computers, if you need to operate an email or print server, manage a complex database, or run sophisticated server-based applications (such as ERP or CRM), if you have very large storage requirements, or if you require large-scale virtualization capabilities, you’ll want a more robust option such as a tower, rack, or blade server.
A Virtual-Machine Primer
Before I go into a detailed explanation of each of those server types, here’s a quick primer on virtualization for anyone who might be unfamiliar with the concept. Small to medium-size businesses have been behind the curve when it comes to adopting virtualization to date, but the technology can deliver significant benefits to companies of nearly any size because it allows the enterprise to make more efficient use of IT resources.
Virtualization enables one server to behave as several servers, each with its own operating system and unique set of applications. A virtual machine consists solely of software, yet it has all the components of a physical machine: It has a motherboard, a CPU, a hard disk, a network controller, and so on. The operating system and other applications run on a virtual machine just as they would on a physical machine--they see no difference between the two environments.
In virtualization, a program known as a hypervisor places an abstraction layer between the operating systems and the hardware. The hypervisor can operate multiple virtual machines with the same operating system or different OSs on the same physical server. Microsoft, Oracle, and VMware are among the top virtual-machine developers.
How does virtualization make more efficient use of your IT resources? Servers are designed to accommodate peak--versus average--loads, so they’re underutilized most of the time. In fact, the typical server utilizes only between 5 and 15 percent of its overall resources. Running several virtual machines on one physical server uses those resources more efficiently, boosting utilization to between 60 and 80 percent. Instead of operating one physical server for email, one for database management, one for your intranet, and yet another for CRM, you can run all of those applications on several virtual machines running on the same physical hardware.
Virtualization eliminates the need for additional physical servers, and the tech-support overhead, power, cooling, backup, physical space, and other requirements that go along with them. What’s more, you can deploy a new virtual server in a few minutes.
Now let's examine the various server options on today’s market, starting with the most basic.
List of all GodMode folders
