Knowing how to fix and prevent server crashes is very important because one crash can stop your business and cause huge losses. Many companies face server failures due to hardware issues, software bugs, or cyberattacks.
In this blog, you will learn quick ways to fix server crashes, common causes to watch out for, and simple steps to prevent future problems—keeping your business running smoothly every day.
Causes of Server Crashes
If we had to list the causes of server crashes, we would have power outages, hardware failures, cyber-attacks or damaged data. Therefore, identifying the cause quickly is crucial to restoring your operations and avoiding further damage.
Power Outage: An unexpected power cut can cause your entire server to crash, taking multiple resources with it. How do we solve it? Easy, with a UPS or uninterruptible power supply. In these cases, for example, the UPS will serve as a backup, saving your immediate system resources.
Hardware Failure: The problem with hardware is that it can fail at any time. This can happen due to simple wear and tear, ageing or a power surge. Let’s imagine this scenario: a switch or router is destroyed and BOOM, several computers crash at once.
Virus/Hacker Attack: Where there is technology, there are cybercriminals on the prowl and this means that the documents on your server are always in danger. That is why it is necessary to have a secure server to avoid attacks of this nature.
Data Corruption: Although data corruption could be caused by a virus or hardware failure, it can also be a cause for server failure.
These are just a few causes of a system to fail, but what should be your first course of action if your system is down? What steps should you take?
Immediate Steps After a Server Crash
Speed is essential when dealing with a server failure. This means that you need a structured process to reduce downtime and avoid major damage. Let’s take a look at the following steps that will help you to identify the cause of the problem and eliminate trial and error.
Begin by identifying crash symptoms, verifying physical connections, and going over recent changes that could have caused the failure. It is essential to take these steps quickly as it will improve the chances of a smooth restoration of operations.
Identify Signs of the Crash
Among the most common symptoms are system crash marks, applications that do not respond or close unexpectedly, or error messages that appear on the server screen.
Early identification of these signs gives us clues as to the nature of the failure and helps prevent wasting time on troubleshooting issues that are not really the problem.
Verify Power and Connectivity
First, the basics: check the power supply, the cables and the server networks. It seems silly, yes, but the real culprit could be a power cut, a disconnected cable or a network disconnection. So it’s best to check twice, it could save you time and the problem could be solved more easily than you thought.
Check Recent Changes or Updates
Examine any recent updates, software patches, or configuration changes implemented before the crash. New installs or system tweaks may conflict with existing settings and result in failures. Reverting any changes you made may very well fix the problem instantly.
Start Small With Troubleshooting
Many issues that seem large have simple solutions. Every year, some of the scariest server crashes have simple explanations. Such scenarios, both terrifying for a business on a server, can be caused by the simplest action; a plug disconnection or slight error during maintenance.
But if that is the problem, the solution is also simple. Preferably trace all movements of your team that is recently active at/near the server. Ensure that everything was connected correctly after performing maintenance work if it was conducted recently in the area in or around the server.
Check Security
A server being down is not rare but it can be an indication of an even larger potential threat. Taking down a server can be leveraged to bypass system security and leak sensitive data. And nobody poses a bigger danger to your business than the you know you.
Check Server Logs Most servers have a system of collecting data during a server crash that is known as ‘server logs’. Get a system for gathering this information if you don’t have one yet! If it will not be what is causing the problem, crucial information is to bring the server up as soon as possible.
Recall, you can only check the server logs if the system can boot. If the system won’t boot, you might have to replace the RAM or power supply.
Check Server Logs
Most servers have a system for collecting data during a server crash called ‘server logs’. If you don’t have a system for collecting this information, get one as soon as possible! Knowing what is causing the problem is crucial to getting your server back up and running in as little time as possible.
Keep in mind, you can only check the server logs if the system will power up. If the system will not power up, you may need to replace the RAM or power supply.
Server Recovery Best Practices
Commercial server recovery is commonly used to recover from a server crash using specialized services and tools. Using best practices will protect you from future mishaps in your system, protect your data, and offer business continuity.
Once the initial mop up is done, focus on restoring data, documenting the event, and communicating with all parties on what has been done and what is happening moving forward.
Restore from Backups
Always iterate on recent and validated backup to minimize data loss. With trusted backups, you can recover files, databases and systems quickly—springboarding your business while avoiding extended downtime.
Document the Incident
Document the incident to init with the cause of the server crash, what needs to be done to get it back up, and steps taken to fix it. Strong documentation can help recognize patterns, help build your IT policies, and help for future responses.
Communicate with Affected Stakeholders
Notify all the impacted teams, clients, or partners about the crash, impact, resolution time, etc. As we say: Clear communication is the way to trust, less frustration and professionalism in dealing with IT incidents.
Prevention Tips for Future Crashes
But the best way to protect your server from a solution, which could lead to minimum downtime with minimal risk to your company, is to never crash the server in the first place. This includes several of the previous options.
For example, an uninterruptible power supply, or UPS, can protect your server from downtime during a power failure. Not to mention, ensuring proper security throughout your server will steer clear any unauthorized access from individuals who are looking to steal from or harm your business.
Upgrading or replacing outdated devices will resolve many hardware failures, and by ensuring your network equipment is kept in good condition you will be able to avoid many hardware failures. It is also crucial to always have cooling systems working so that equipment is never allowed to overheat.
There are many other business continuity options to consider if you want to proactively protect your server, but what if your server has crashed already, despite your precautions?
Contact Your IT or Business Continuity Team
Being able to depend on a seasoned IT Team that manages your server and contiguous network can be the difference between downtime for a bunch of minutes, and downtime for hours. TVG Consulting provides secure server setup and IT service in case of server failure.
Additional exploration into options such as security features and cloud storage, battery back-up, and other safety features in protecting your server from failure may be another area in which you will find value in investigating, and TVG Consulting may be able to assist you with this as well, enabling you to rest assured knowing you’ll be covered should your server crash for whatever reason.
Having a correctly installed server can keep your server from even crashing initially, and TVG Consulting has decades of experience in correct server implementation and optimization.
Related: 5 Reasons to Back Up Your Data
