For truly reliable computing.

RAID drive arrays.

SCSI or IDE whatever, just more than one. "Hmm, I guess I'll have to order a new hard drive." Instead of. "OH NO! OH NO! The server crashed, the server crashed whatamIgonnado? 'Nuff said. If you have over fifty or a hundred users it's time to start looking at | Storage Area Networks| with LAN free live backup. If it's just you and you have a broadband connection internet backups can be a low cost alternative.

Uninteruptible Power Supplies

Every server and mission critical system needs one. Ever hear 'bout a little state called California? Rolling blackouts you say. I like APC allot, bullet proof.  Don't forget to connect the USB or serial port and load the auto-shutdown  software. Don't plug the laser printer into it either.Every system that does not have a UPS at least needs a surge suppressor. Be sure to have surge suppressors on every phone and DSL connection too. Check the ground connection on Broadband Cable connections where they come into the building. Lighting goes where it wants to but it is important to give it somewhere safe to go.

Dual internet gateways.

More than one ISP with different backbone providers.  Forwarding to backup email addressees with automated message retrieval of the backup email. The internet and email are great when they work. Aren't they?

Two of everything else important.

Operating systems and database providers fib quite a bit about the capabilities of their software. Minimum hardware requirements are just that, not necessarily very productive. The idea is to create a failover situation. When failure occurs (and it does doesn't it?) the worst thing you want to happen is reduced productivity for a short period of time, not zero productivity. Multiply the downtime you have had this last year by the salary of the employees affected, divide by two and spend at least that much on redundancy every year. Money saved, not even counting lost business and unhappy customers. Be sure to count all of those "five minutes to restart the server" that often take half an hour 'cause it takes few minutes to realize that you have to do it twice this time. A backup server doesn't have to be a real powerhouse. An older system can keep things going during what would otherwise be dead time.

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