Virtual and Physical SharePoint Servers

When developing a Microsoft SharePoint development environment, one has to make a decision on the servers to be used. The dilemma that most people face is whether to use physical or virtual servers. First, you need to have a supported server OS connected to either an existing domain or a domain controller. There are instances where you do not necessarily need a Workflow Manager or even Office Web Apps. Such a scenario is when you are working on a single project on a single server which implies that you can simply run your SharePoint development process from your computer.
The complexity in creating a SharePoint development environment arises when you are using virtual servers. Virtual servers can either be hosted on your computer or on a different server in the cloud. The reason why most people view running virtual servers on their own computers is because at some point, there is the need to have more than one server running your SharePoint development environment. This means that hosting such servers on the cloud is not feasible. If you run your development process on daily basis, it is recommended that host your servers close to your location in order to reduce the challenge of latency.
Advantages of Virtual Servers
• Running your development process on virtual servers ensures that you can use a different server to run different projects. It is highly recommended that for developers working on multiple projects, the configuration and solutions of different projects should not be in a single environment. This is because, the settings of one project and affect the behaviour of a different project and there is no way that the developer can know what the problem is.
• Virtual servers create snapshots very easily and at the same time easy to go back to them. On virtual servers, developers can create snapshots and after establishing what the problem is can go back to the snapshot and troubleshoot the issue. Snapshots therefore allow for a person to re-run the tests after troubleshooting. If you happen to deploy a script that messes up your environment, you can use a snapshot to go back to the previous situation before the problematic script was installed.
• While using virtual servers, it is very easy to create a new development process particularly when a new developer is added to the project. This is in instances where there are several developers working on a single project.
In relation to cost, using virtual servers is a lot cheaper than physical servers. There are people who are of the view that using physical servers is more feasible than virtual servers. If you are running a large physical server, you can add several virtual servers to it to maximize functionality. The problem is that you would be required to save on hardware cost for both types of servers to run effectively. The beauty of virtual servers is that if you need to run several of them simultaneously, they are able to share resources. When it comes to adding a new server, virtual servers are very quick to set up without having to wait for new hardware required in setting up physical servers. For more details, please visit here: hire sharepoint developer.
The complexity in creating a SharePoint development environment arises when you are using virtual servers. Virtual servers can either be hosted on your computer or on a different server in the cloud. The reason why most people view running virtual servers on their own computers is because at some point, there is the need to have more than one server running your SharePoint development environment. This means that hosting such servers on the cloud is not feasible. If you run your development process on daily basis, it is recommended that host your servers close to your location in order to reduce the challenge of latency.
Advantages of Virtual Servers
• Running your development process on virtual servers ensures that you can use a different server to run different projects. It is highly recommended that for developers working on multiple projects, the configuration and solutions of different projects should not be in a single environment. This is because, the settings of one project and affect the behaviour of a different project and there is no way that the developer can know what the problem is.
• Virtual servers create snapshots very easily and at the same time easy to go back to them. On virtual servers, developers can create snapshots and after establishing what the problem is can go back to the snapshot and troubleshoot the issue. Snapshots therefore allow for a person to re-run the tests after troubleshooting. If you happen to deploy a script that messes up your environment, you can use a snapshot to go back to the previous situation before the problematic script was installed.
• While using virtual servers, it is very easy to create a new development process particularly when a new developer is added to the project. This is in instances where there are several developers working on a single project.
In relation to cost, using virtual servers is a lot cheaper than physical servers. There are people who are of the view that using physical servers is more feasible than virtual servers. If you are running a large physical server, you can add several virtual servers to it to maximize functionality. The problem is that you would be required to save on hardware cost for both types of servers to run effectively. The beauty of virtual servers is that if you need to run several of them simultaneously, they are able to share resources. When it comes to adding a new server, virtual servers are very quick to set up without having to wait for new hardware required in setting up physical servers. For more details, please visit here: hire sharepoint developer.
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