Making the most of your Server Management Package

If you don’t have a server management package, you may wonder what the advantage is, especially if you are weighing up the costs, or have your own IT team already. And, if you already pay for one, you still might not be getting the full advantage of your management package with your host. A lot of people don’t use their management package fully, only taking advantage of the main and most obvious features. Here are a few common features included in a server management package that you might not realise you have. Check with your host that these are included and if so, make sure you use them as needed!

Test restores – many management packages will include a yearly or quarterly quota of test restores for you to use as you see fit. You may wish to do these periodically as a general test on the restoration abilities of your server, or you may wish to save them to use as a test to do before implementing a large change on your server, or before an expected busy period, to check that, should the worst happen, you will be able to get your server back up and running as quickly and easily as possible.

Monthly SysAdmin allowance – This means that your host’s Sysadmin team will assist you in any task you want that falls within the scope of what’s covered by your management package. This could be anything from performing a task on your server that you’re not comfortable with doing yourself. This could be anything from control panel upgrades, to service updates, or installing additional software packages. This can also sometimes be used to allow the team to assist you in investigating the root cause of an issue you have experienced.

Faster response times – Usually having a server management package will mean you have a much better SLA on ticket response times. Depending on the level you choose, ticket response time on your account could have a maximum time limit of as little as 15 minutes. If you run mission critical services or your customer facing website on your server, it’s certainly worth strongly considering the value.

Server security scans – These are usually done on request from yourself as the customer and you will usually have a set number that you are allowed per year/quarter etc. This is a really important feature to take advantage of so that you can always be confident that your server security is robust and impenetrable, and your security features are up to date and working as they should be.

Advanced server monitoring – With many management packages, your hosting provider will proactively monitor your server for issues with CPU, RAM, HDD and services. This allows them to tackle issues as they arise, 24 hours a day, often because of this they’re able to resolve issues on your server before you’ve even noticed any ill effect as a result of them, resulting in seamless service.

You should always ensure you’re fully aware of what your management package includes if you’re paying for it. And if you’re thinking of taking a management package with your hosting provider, make sure you’re fully aware of everything that is, and is not, included.

A management package with CWCS includes all of the above features and much more. You can read more about the packages and what’s included by taking a look at our datasheet here. Or, if you want to speak to a specialist about what level of management may be right for you, get in touch with us today for a no obligation chat.