Smart Hands
Built once, properly, and documented
Server installation in Perth
Dell, HPE, and Lenovo hardware racked, firmware and RAID configured, out-of-band management set up, and the operating system installed – handed over ready for your team, or fully built to your spec.
01What we do
Six steps, in this order, every time
Skipping straight to the operating system is how a server ends up needing a second visit. Out-of-band access configured early is what makes every later problem fixable from a desk.
01
Hardware in place
Rails, mounting, network and console patching, and redundant power. The physical job done properly so nothing has to be revisited.
02
Firmware and RAID
BIOS and firmware brought to your baseline, RAID built to your layout, boot order set so the machine recovers on its own after a power event.
03
Out-of-band access
iDRAC, iLO, or XCC given an address, credentials, and a tested login – so the next fix is remote instead of another site visit.
04
Operating system
Windows Server or Linux installed from your image or built clean, patched, named, joined, and hardened to your standard.
05
Agents and monitoring
Backup, monitoring, and management agents deployed while someone is already in front of the machine, rather than chased down later.
06
Documented handover
Addresses, credentials, serials, RAID layout, and photos, handed to your team in whatever format your documentation lives in.
02What runs on it
Windows Server, Linux, and virtualisation
A build is only finished when what runs on the box is right. We work across all three rather than handing off at the operating system boundary.
01
Windows Server
Domain join, Active Directory roles, DNS and DHCP, file and print, Group Policy, Hyper-V, and failover clustering.
02
Linux and Unix
Debian, Ubuntu, RHEL and derivatives: users and permissions, systemd units, networking, storage, SSH hardening, and logging.
03
Virtualisation
Hypervisor hosts built and VMs provisioned, with storage, networking, and tested snapshots underneath. Docker Compose stacks where the workload is containerised.
Need the hardware in the rack first? That's rack and stack.
03FAQ
Questions we get asked
- Which hardware do you work with?
- Dell PowerEdge and PowerVault most often, plus HPE ProLiant and Lenovo ThinkSystem. The out-of-band tooling differs – iDRAC, iLO, XCC – but the job is the same shape on all of them.
- Do you install the operating system too?
- Yes. Windows Server or a Linux distribution, either from your image or a clean build to your spec, then joined to the domain and handed over. Where your team would rather build the OS themselves, we stop at configured out-of-band access and give them the console.
- Can you configure RAID and firmware?
- Yes. Firmware and BIOS brought to your baseline before anything is installed, RAID built to your layout, and boot order set so the machine comes back up correctly after a power event.
- What is iDRAC and why does it matter?
- iDRAC is Dell's out-of-band management controller, with a dedicated network port that works even when the server is off. Configured properly it means the next problem can be fixed remotely instead of needing another site visit. iLO and XCC are the HPE and Lenovo equivalents.
- Do you install backup and monitoring agents?
- If you tell us which ones and give us the credentials, yes. It is far cheaper to have agents deployed while someone is already in front of the machine than to chase them later.
- Can you work under our MSP's process?
- That is most of this work. Your build sheet, your naming convention, your change process, your ticket updated. The client need never know we were the ones holding the screwdriver.
Got servers to bring up?
Send us the hardware list and your build sheet. We'll tell you what it takes, what it costs, and when we can be on site.