What Are Server Management Tools & Do You Really Need Them?

Server management tools are software programs that help you manage your hosting server and its operations for the smooth functioning of your website or application. They can automate tasks, help you troubleshoot problems, and provide other helpful features.

So if you’re looking for a way to make your business run smoother, server management tools may be the answer.

Introduction 👨‍💻

With the popularity of cloud services, many companies are now renting server infrastructure from hosting providers. To ensure that your servers are always in excellent shape, you must stay on top of hardware and software updates. You also need to ensure security measures like encryption or firewalls are correctly installed, and backups for data are stored within the server environment.

When you have one or two servers, it’s easy to manage them manually. However, when dealing with hundreds of servers, you need an intelligent tool because logging into each server and manually checking performance is very time-consuming. More complications arise when you expand your infrastructure to include many servers, and you don’t want to get trapped into buying from one vendor and using a blend of systems later.

In business, it’s essential to save time and money, and server management tools are a great way to manage your servers’ utilisation, performance, and maintenance. This blog article will discuss the different server management tools available and help you decide which ones are right for your business.

Keep reading to learn more about server management tools.

Server Management Tools — What’s That? 🧐

Server management tools are software programs that help you manage server hardware and software, as well as server settings and configurations. You can automate server tasks using these tools, such as provisioning new servers or configuring server settings. Additionally, server management tools can help you monitor performance and identify potential issues.

Various server management tools are available on the market, ranging from simple server administration tools to comprehensive server management suites. Your organisation’s right server management tool will depend on your specific needs and requirements.

However, some popular server management tools include Web Host Manager (WHM), cPanel, Plesk, LogicMonitor, and Datadog. We’ll go through each of them in the subsequent sections.

Types of Server Management Tools 👩‍💻

Server management tools are software programs that help you manage server hardware, software, and the server environment. They can provide performance information, monitor server activity, and help you troubleshoot problems. Some server management tools also offer automation capabilities so that you can automate tasks such as server provisioning, patching, and backup.

Many different server management tools are available on the market, from simple command-line utilities to comprehensive graphical user interfaces (GUIs). The server management tool you use depends on your business needs and preferences.

Here is a brief overview of some of the most popular options:

• Configuration Management Tools: These tools help you manage server configurations and settings. Popular configuration management tools include Puppet, Chef, and Ansible.
• Monitoring Tools: Monitoring tools help track server performance and resource usage. Popular monitoring tools include Nagios, Cacti, and Zabbix.
• Log Management Tools: Log management tools help collect and analyse server log files. Popular log management tools include Splunk, ELK Stack, and Graylog.
• Backup & Recovery Tools: Backup and recovery tools help protect your server data in case of system failure. Popular backup and recovery tools include Bacula, Veeam, and Zmanda.
• Security Tools: Security tools help secure your server from intrusion and attack. Popular security tools include Tripwire, Snort, and OSSEC.

How To Choose A Server Management Tool? 💡

Command-line server management tools can be compelling but require specific technical expertise. GUI-based server management tools are usually more user-friendly but may not offer as many features as command-line tools.

When choosing a server management tool, it is essential to consider your business needs and the tool’s capabilities. Make sure the tool you choose can perform the required tasks and is compatible with your server hardware and software.

When looking at a server management tool, ask yourself these three critical questions.

• Does it monitor applications and systems that are already in use?
• Does it allow the discovery of root causes for server issues with built-in analytic capabilities?
• Does it help you visualise data through charts, graphs, and KPIs — and does it help you generate reports?

Once you have chosen a server management tool, you will need to install it on your server. The installation process will vary depending on the device you choose. After installation, you must configure the tool to work with your server environment.

Five of the Best Server Management Tools In 2022 🤩

#1 Web Host Manager (WHM)

With WHM, you can create or delete your cPanel accounts, manage or monitor your sites, and configure your customers’ support requests. You can also customise your hosting panel with extensive branding besides hopping quickly between every cPanel account.

WHM provides a more flexible and customisable interface for managing many sites. It also allows you to sell hosting services and create panels with specific features such as bandwidth limits or email accounts that can be assigned separately from other web admins. This is done by using the software without downtime on their account, only if they upgrade themselves accordingly.

In other words, WHM is a powerful program that allows you access to the back end of cPanel. There are two versions, one for resellers and dedicated servers. The second has more features than basic WHMs available on fewer hosts but requires root permissions. Those with full server control rights can only use this version as it enables complete administrative tools such as uploading files and changing system settings.

#2 cPanel

cPanel is a fully-featured and reliable web hosting solution that makes it easy to manage your website. Built on an intuitive platform, cPanel provides many features at no additional cost with customer-first support for any problems you might encounter.

cPanel is the best way to get started in managing your server. They provide tools that make it easy and help empower customers by automating their experience on every level, from building websites to design elements like content management systems or e-commerce features.

cPanel is a tool for easy installation that provides you with the necessary skills to manage your server. It automates every task imaginable, so all we have left are those pesky technical issues like what content should go where on our website and how can I make it easier?

#3 Plesk

With its easy-to-use interface, Plesk has become the go-to control panel for thousands of web hosts who want an affordable yet powerful solution. It offers simple configurations that allow these companies unlimited virtual servers on one server, which means they can handle more traffic without breaking a sweat.

With the Plesk multi-server extension, you can administer multiple servers and routine tasks with just one control panel. It lets you switch between several hostnames without ever having to leave your control panel. This means that no matter if your hosting provider or not, there is an easy way to manage everything from one place.

You can take your web server management from traditional to the next level with this one-stop shop, all done in the comfort and convenience of an intuitive interface. Web admins can perform all sorts of routine tasks on their websites. They can set up a mailbox, create FTP accounts, and manage DNS autoresponders without any hassle whatsoever with the help of control panels included in every type of plan available.

#4 LogicMonitor

LogicMonitor is the perfect hybrid software-as-a-service (SaaS) network monitoring and management platform for organisations that host most of their infrastructure in the cloud but want to keep some servers on-premises. The interface can be accessed through a hosted environment, or you may choose an all-digital approach by deploying collectors directly into your networks.

It has an easy-to-use dashboard with pre-built templates that you can customise to suit your needs. The centralised view is represented in either a hierarchical structure or graphical topology maps for easier identification of root cause issues. This makes this software perfect if you’re looking forward to starting up!

LogicMonitor is an excellent tool for organisations that always need to be online. The app requires access and can communicate with the internet, so it will never stop working due to an offline outage, as many other programs do.

#5 Datadog

Datadog is a monitoring and analytics platform that combines crucial data from across your entire stack. With 400+ integrations, you can use it as one tool for troubleshooting application performance or collaborating with other teams to measure user experience’s quality metrics such as page speed and time complexity. You no longer have to worry about where these critical pieces of information are hiding — they’re all right at the tips of our fingers.

What is the most important thing you need to know about Datadog? Well, it can monitor your SaaS servers and applications hosted in the cloud or on-premise! The user-friendly interface makes it easy to get started, but configuring the program for your specific needs takes some time. The difference between many other server management software tools and Datadog is that it makes reporting easy by allowing you to search for particular metrics. This means less clutter, which makes finding what’s essential even easier.

Datadog’s interface is designed to make it easy for users of all levels and backgrounds. The dashboard includes customisable graphs that show data from any number of sources in real-time and an option to send notifications about performance issues on your favourite metrics, such as email alerts or PagerDuty tags!

Benefits of Server Management Tools 💼

When managing servers professionally, there are multiple benefits. The best server monitoring software is only as good as the skill of a person using it. When some tasks are shifted away from your personal abilities to a professional service provider, you will see an increase in efficiency throughout all aspects of maintaining systems on-site or off-premises.

In addition, server management tools help system administrators manage hardware and software, monitor performance, and track server utilisation. By using these tools, admins can improve server uptime and prevent server downtime. In addition, server management tools can help system admins troubleshoot and fix server issues.

Using these tools, system administrators can keep track of server components and ensure they are up-to-date. Also, server management tools can help admins monitor server performance. They can identify issues that may cause server downtime by monitoring server performance. Finally, server management tools can help troubleshoot server problems.

Overall, server management tools offer many benefits to system administrators. These tools can improve server uptime, prevent downtime, troubleshoot server problems, and fix server issues. As a result, it will help you save time and money.

Does a Headless CMS Require a Server Management Tool? 🤔

Server management tools can be expensive and add complexity to your server environment. A headless CMS or website hosting server doesn’t necessarily require a server management tool if you are proficient in managing the server through a command-line interface (CLI). You can then save money and keep your server environment more straightforward.

Another benefit of using a headless CMS or website hosting server is having more control over your server environment. With a server management tool, you may be limited in what you can do with your server. With a headless CMS or website hosting server, you can fully control your server and customise it to meet your specific needs. If you want to learn about all the benefits of a headless CMS, please read the extensive guide we’ve prepared.

The bottom line is that if you are not fluent in CLI, server management software will help you monitor and manage your server with easy-to-use tools despite using a headless CMS for your company. That’s our honest opinion!

In Conclusion 🌺

The key to avoiding downtime, security breaches, and server performance inefficiencies is having an effective tool for managing your servers. The most critical are the software tools that allow complete control over what goes on and how they are maintained — the efficiency of which depends on the expertise and experience of a software solution provider.

In this case, we’re a team of experienced professionals when it comes to dealing with servers and associated management tools. You need a trusted and dedicated service to take care of them for you so that they run smoothly and robustly 24/7 without you having to worry about it. Chat to us for more information on server management, headless CMS, and the right tools to scale your business.