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Server Management in IT Operations Management

Server Management in IT Operations Management

$251.00
How you learn:
Self-paced • Lifetime updates
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Trusted by professionals in 160+ countries
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Course access is prepared after purchase and delivered via email
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Toolkit Included:
Includes a practical, ready-to-use toolkit containing implementation templates, worksheets, checklists, and decision-support materials used to accelerate real-world application and reduce setup time.
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What does the Server Management in IT Operations Management course cover?

Server Management in IT Operations Management is covered here in 8 modules: Server Hardware Lifecycle and Procurement Strategy, Operating System Deployment and Standardization, Configuration Management and Infrastructure as Code and 5 more. The outline lists 48 specific topics, opening with selecting server form factors (rack, blade, tower) based on data center space, power availability, and scalability requirements.

How do you approach Server Management in IT Operations Management step by step?

The work is sequenced in 8 stages. It starts with Server Hardware Lifecycle and Procurement Strategy, moves through Operating System Deployment and Standardization and Configuration Management and Infrastructure as Code, and ends at Capacity Planning and Scalability Engineering. Each stage carries its own topic list, so the sequence is followed rather than summarised.

What is in Module 1 of the Server Management in IT Operations Management course?

Module 1 is Server Hardware Lifecycle and Procurement Strategy. It works through selecting server form factors (rack, blade, tower) based on data center space, power availability, and scalability requirements., evaluating vendor-specific firmware update processes and long-term support commitments before procurement., implementing standardized hardware configuration templates to ensure consistency across procurement batches. and 3 more.

How is the Server Management in IT Operations Management course delivered?

The Server Management in IT Operations Management course is fully self-paced with immediate online access after enrolment. Access does not expire and future updates are included at no cost. It can be taken on any device, and a certificate of completion is issued by The Art of Service when you finish.

How much does the Server Management in IT Operations Management course cost?

The Server Management in IT Operations Management course is $247 as a one time payment. There is no subscription, no per seat licence and no hidden fee. Enrolment carries a 30 day satisfied or refunded guarantee, so it can be assessed in full before you commit.

Closely related courses: Server Management in Service Operation, Server Farms in IT Operations Management, Server Virtualization in IT Operations Management, Virtual Server in IT Operations Management.

More answers: what you get with every course, refund policy, all help answers.

This curriculum spans the full operational lifecycle of enterprise server management, equivalent in scope to a multi-phase infrastructure modernization program, covering hardware procurement through capacity planning with the technical specificity found in internal engineering playbooks.

Module 1: Server Hardware Lifecycle and Procurement Strategy

  • Selecting server form factors (rack, blade, tower) based on data center space, power availability, and scalability requirements.
  • Evaluating vendor-specific firmware update processes and long-term support commitments before procurement.
  • Implementing standardized hardware configuration templates to ensure consistency across procurement batches.
  • Establishing refresh cycles that balance capital expenditure constraints with end-of-support risks.
  • Integrating hardware telemetry (e.g., IPMI, iDRAC) into monitoring systems during initial deployment.
  • Documenting and maintaining asset registers that track warranty status, serial numbers, and physical location.

Module 2: Operating System Deployment and Standardization

  • Designing OS image pipelines using tools like Ansible, Packer, or MDT to enforce configuration baselines.
  • Choosing between full OS installations and minimal/core variants based on workload requirements and attack surface concerns.
  • Implementing secure boot and TPM-based integrity checks during OS provisioning.
  • Managing third-party driver inclusion in deployment images for vendor-specific hardware.
  • Scheduling and testing patch compliance workflows during initial OS rollout.
  • Version-controlling configuration templates and deployment playbooks to support auditability.

Module 3: Configuration Management and Infrastructure as Code

  • Defining server roles and profiles in configuration management tools (e.g., Puppet, Chef, SaltStack) to enforce consistent state.
  • Handling environment-specific configuration variations (dev, staging, prod) without compromising code reusability.
  • Implementing drift detection and remediation policies for servers that deviate from declared state.
  • Managing secrets securely within configuration workflows using vault integrations.
  • Orchestrating rolling updates across server fleets to minimize service disruption.
  • Enforcing change windows and approval workflows for configuration deployments in production.

Module 4: Monitoring, Alerting, and Performance Tuning

  • Configuring threshold-based alerts for CPU, memory, disk I/O, and network utilization without generating alert fatigue.
  • Integrating application-level metrics with infrastructure monitoring to correlate performance issues.
  • Establishing baseline performance profiles for each server role to detect anomalies.
  • Deploying distributed tracing agents on servers supporting microservices architectures.
  • Managing retention policies for monitoring data across short-term operational and long-term capacity planning needs.
  • Validating alert routing and escalation paths during on-call rotations and system changes.

Module 5: High Availability and Disaster Recovery Planning

  • Designing failover clusters with quorum models appropriate for the number of nodes and network topology.
  • Implementing shared storage solutions (SAN, NAS) with multipath I/O for cluster resilience.
  • Testing failover procedures under real-world network partition scenarios.
  • Defining RPO and RTO targets and aligning backup frequency and replication methods accordingly.
  • Validating offsite backup integrity and restoration processes on a quarterly basis.
  • Documenting recovery runbooks with step-by-step instructions for different failure modes.

Module 6: Security Hardening and Compliance Enforcement

  • Applying CIS benchmarks or DISA STIGs to server configurations and automating compliance checks.
  • Disabling unnecessary services and ports based on the server’s functional role.
  • Configuring host-based firewalls to enforce least-privilege network communication rules.
  • Implementing centralized logging with immutable storage to meet audit requirements.
  • Rotating SSH keys and service account credentials on a defined schedule.
  • Conducting vulnerability scans and prioritizing remediation based on exploitability and asset criticality.

Module 7: Patch Management and Change Control

  • Scheduling maintenance windows that align with business operations and SLA obligations.
  • Testing patches in a staging environment that mirrors production network and load conditions.
  • Using change advisory boards (CAB) to evaluate risk and impact of critical updates.
  • Automating patch deployment workflows while retaining manual approval gates for production systems.
  • Rolling back failed updates using system snapshots or configuration backups.
  • Generating post-change reports that document patch levels, downtime, and incidents.

Module 8: Capacity Planning and Scalability Engineering

  • Forecasting CPU, memory, and storage growth using historical utilization trends and business projections.
  • Identifying vertical vs. horizontal scaling strategies based on application architecture constraints.
  • Right-sizing virtual machines and containers to avoid resource over-provisioning.
  • Implementing auto-scaling policies with cooldown periods to prevent thrashing.
  • Conducting load testing to validate infrastructure readiness before peak usage periods.
  • Reconciling actual usage against forecast models to refine future capacity estimates.
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