A Guide on Linux Server Maintenance

Servers are amazing inventions. They run continuously, typically without a hitch, but like any machine, they do need some maintenance. Frequently, routine maintenance and monitoring can save your server failure from turning into a server disaster.

The process of keeping a server’s software updated and operational ensures that a computer network runs efficiently, preventing downtime or data loss. Regular upkeep will keep the server operating as it should and prevent a complete or partial network failure.

You won’t need to stress about these issues if you use our managed services. Even while we keep an eye on things around-the-clock, if you are in charge of your own server, this Server Maintenance guide is for you.

Let’s explore this further.

Servers & its Operating:

One or more additional computers on a particular network can access data and other services from a server, which is a standalone computer. The key advantage of using a server is the ability to centrally control and monitor network access and network data. Additionally, servers can have redundant power supplies, hard drives, and processors, which are often not available in PCs.

Tips on Successful Linux Server Maintenance:

Analyze Disc Usage:

The most frequent reason for troubles and downtime is a filesystem filling up and reaching 100% usage. 90% used typically indicates a problem, and 80% used is a caution. It is crucial that you set aside enough space for your databases, site files, logs, and other items. You’ll need to rush to find files and records to delete before it’s too late and services start to hang if your filesystem fills up too much. To check your filesystem usage you can apply the ‘df’ command, for example, df -h will show usage in a human-readable form.

Monitor Raid Alerts:

All production servers must use RAID.  More significantly, you need to keep an eye on the RAID status. A system failure can be triggered by a single failed disc.

Check The Smart Stats For Storage Devices:

Your storage devices’ SMART statistics might alert you to impending failure, one must keep an eye on the SMART stats. Sectors that have been reallocated, are still pending, or cannot be corrected typically raise suspicion. The sooner you should change the disc, the higher the number. The ‘smartctl’ command can be used on Linux systems to conduct tests and view statistics.

Check That Your Backups Are Effective:

It’s a good idea to check that your backups are functioning properly. Additionally, you should periodically test backup restores to ensure they function as intended in a test environment.

OS Update:

Linux systems often receive updates. It can be tough to keep up with these updates. For this reason, we have monitoring in place to notify us when a system needs to be updated as well as automated patch management systems. You risk missing crucial security upgrades if you update your server manually (or not at all). In the hours following the discovery of a problem, hackers frequently search for weak computer systems. Thus, prompt action is crucial. This will guard against system hacks.

Make Sure Security Patches Are Installed:

A major priority is to patch any vulnerabilities in the server software. The easiest way to find out when you need to start patching is to join the mailing list for your distribution’s security announcements. To install and upgrade new packages, use your operating system’s package manager, such as yum or apt.

A Control Panel Update:

Make sure to update any hosting or server management panels you may be operating. This can usually entail updating both the control panel and the programme it manages. For instance, updating PHP versions manually in WHM/cPanel is required to address known difficulties. Updates to the control panel alone do not affect the OS’s underlying Apache and PHP versions.

Check For App Updates:

More than 95% of the security breaches we look into involve web apps. If you use a CMS or any open-source tool for your web apps, especially well-known ones like WordPress, you should update them.

Analyze Remote Management Software:

Use the remote console, remote reboot, and remote rescue mode to maintain your remote server. These are crucial management tools. Make sure your remote management tools are functional.

Verify For Hardware Issues:

You can check the log for any hardware issues like disc read errors or network failure as these are frequent but serious issues.

Verify The Server’s Utilisation:

Analyze the use of the disks, CPU, RAM, and network on your server. If your server is running out of resources, you may need to think about upgrading or adding more.

Check User Accounts:

Remove those users from your database when there have been staff changes, client cancellations, or other user changes. There are security and legal risks associated with keeping existing websites and users.

Changing Passwords:

Strong passwords are essential, whether they are generated at random or via the “diceware” technique. In particular, if you have shared passwords with others for maintenance, you should change any passwords every six to twelve months.

System Security Assessment:

It is vital to regularly check the security of your server utilizing a remote auditing tool. System configuration, OS updates, as well as other potential security threats are checked out through regular security audits.

To Conclude:

Failures are avoided by being proactive. I sincerely hope you find the knowledge I’ve just shared useful. Do you still have concerns about server maintenance or lack the time or resources necessary for server maintenance? Click here to view our fully managed dedicated servers.

We track more than a dozen server health parameters as part of our management services. Our team of professionals frequently identifies problems before they become failures by monitoring things like swap consumption, loads, mail queue depth, and more.

Happy Learning!