Do you have a weekly, or even monthly, I.T. maintenance-schedule in place for your workplace?
Is your hardware and software being serviced regularly and are preventative measures being taken to ensure the smooth running of your systems?
If not, you risk your system letting you down when you need it most, losing vital documents and media and leaving you with a potentially nightmarish scenario of data-recovery followed by complete installation. It could take days before you’re working again.
The ideal solution is either in-house or external I.T. support – however, as much as it’s better that this is done by an experienced technician, any maintenance is better than none. Be sure to read appropriate guides and tutorials before beginning, and do not attempt any procedure that you do not understand.
Starting off:
There are some tasks that should be done routinely to ensure proper running of your computer network. It is essential that these tasks are completed regularly, regardless of circumstances. Some of these tasks can be automated, others need to be completed or verified manually.
Finding the frequency of these tasks is your first priority, start off with a schedule and monitor it. If disks are fragmented after two weeks of use, defrag them after one; if malware is suspected more often, scan bi-weekly.
Here’s a sample schedule to start you off; remember to monitor and amend it to suit your needs:
Weekly:
- Backup workstations and servers
- Defragment workstations and servers
- Install available Operating-System and software updates / patches
- Update anti-malware definitions and scan for malware on servers and workstations
- Check event logs and other logs (security, monitoring, backup) for errors and issues
- Clean disks of old files and empty older files from temp folders
Monthly:
- Check fan speeds
- Check system temperatures
- Disk check / scan for errors (may give early indication of disk failure)
- Memory check / scan for errors (may give early indication of memory module failure)
- Assess unwanted software for removal
- Check for updated hardware drivers
- Audit network user-accounts for unused, insecure accounts
Quarterly:
- Simulate disaster-recovery (if no such opportunity occurs naturally)
- Audit system and password security as appropriate
- Thorough hardware check and test
Yearly:
- Simulate external attacks as part of security testing / audit
- Review monitoring and maintenance strategy
Remember that some of these tasks are best executed by experienced technicians as the more complex tasks, such as interpreting the event logs, can be difficult and time consuming to an inexperienced user. For best results, employ the services of a professional I.T. provider.
