Need IT advice on set up.

[flango]

OK guys I need some IT advice on set up the reason for which will become clearer later this year. So heres what I currently have and what I need to do.


I want to run a system where for example you have

• 1 x PC with a receptionist for booking in work, tracking work and invoicing.
• 2 x Laptops on docking stations one for the manager one for sales marketing guy
• 1 x PC located in the workshop for engineering document printout (can be stand alone so no prob there)
• 1 x general PC for use ad hoc by other staff members.

No fancy software other than MS Office, finance & invoicing software (prob sage) electronic diary, internet access.

Would also like remote access but if difficut could live without it.

Currently have 2 x Dell desktops which are good spec only 14 months old and 2 x Dell D410 lapops which should suffice, guess I need to buy anoher desktop for the reception then that will complete the PC requirements.

I am fairly up to speed IT wise but do not have a clue where to start on this set up, how do I network it, do I need a server how do I access it.

I'm a complete novice in this area so please go easy but all advice welcome and appreciated.

Thanks
Ian

 

[Shude]

If it were me I'd find a centrally located cupboard somewhere, put a small network cabinet and a server in it. Have cat5e run to all the locations you mentioned with a couple of sockets on the wall at each. Install one of the windows server flavours designed for small businesses (comes with a mini version of exchange etc) and you're done. A business broadband package with router would cover your internet access and costs just a bit more than domestic.

You users' home folders, shared folders and profiles should be kept on the server for easy backups etc. Might want to network your printers but it's not really needed for that many users.

What do you use for e-mail at the moment?

 

[Tan]

I would recommend a cloud computing solution fo something like this, as it would provide you with everything that you need including the remote access from any location in the world, plus the added security that all data is backed up and stored off site.

I work in the industry and we supply both in house and cloud systems and cloud is by far the way forward.

 

[flango]

If it were me I'd find a centrally located cupboard somewhere, put a small network cabinet and a server in it. Have cat5e run to all the locations you mentioned with a couple of sockets on the wall at each. Install one of the windows server flavours designed for small businesses (comes with a mini version of exchange etc) and you're done. A business broadband package with router would cover your internet access and costs just a bit more than domestic.

You users' home folders, shared folders and profiles should be kept on the server for easy backups etc. Might want to network your printers but it's not really needed for that many users.

What do you use for e-mail at the moment?

We already have a business broadband package so have that one covered thanks.

e mail and e mail adresses are currently provided by the company that hosts the website and is downloaded via the full version of MS Outlook

Location for a network cabinet would not be a problem neither would running cat5e cable. My main problem I think is I dont know how to interface the PC's Laptops with the server and set up remote access. I really am novice at this end of the game.

 

[flango]

I would recommend a cloud computing solution fo something like this, as it would provide you with everything that you need including the remote access from any location in the world, plus the added security that all data is backed up and stored off site.

I work in the industry and we supply both in house and cloud systems and cloud is by far the way forward.

I had started to look at cloud solutions but was getting a little confused maybe you could explain in laymens terms how they work and the benefits cost implications of going with a networked server system.

As I said before I haven't a clue in this area and I've been tasked to sort it and just want to get the solution right, thanks.

 

[Ted]

I'm with Shude apart from the cupboard location (it will probably overheat)

I would recommend SBS for above 5 users. Comes with exchange and sharepoint (sort of)
Also has all on the normal domain security malarkey with a simplified management interface - includes a ras for secure remote access.
You will also need to budget for network switch(es) and backup hardware and software - including rotation media.

Flood the office with network points - two per current user, then add 50%

This solution would then be pretty scalable as the business grows.
It may be worth paying for 1/2 a days consultancy (not at stupid rates) so that the solution is specced correctly, and the tco is kept down.

 

[flango]

It may be worth paying for 1/2 a days consultancy (not at stupid rates) so that the solution is specced correctly, and the tco is kept down.

You might be right I could be getting out of my depth

 

[fuzzer]

You might be right I could be getting out of my depth

whats your background?

 

[flango]

whats your background?

Mechanical & Process Engineering. I'm pretty IT savvy on using them Operating systems software etc I've just never put together a network or anything like this before

 

[Dryce]

You might be right I could be getting out of my depth

Given that your email is handled externally then just setting up a few PCs with Office on a network with a couple of printers and internet isn't a big deal.

The problems come when you want to share information, coordinate backups, and allow external access. Now it sounds like your critical internal application may be Sage.

If you can handle your shared information using an external service then you possibly deal with two of these problems (sharing and backup).

If you only intend to setup a single user Sage setup then you could live with the above for a while. It's not too hard to setup.

However if you want to deal with Sage or something similar wth multiple users then local file sharing becomes something that needs to be considered. Basically at this point a basic server becomes a good idead but then you have to start worrying about other things - such as the security/authentication setup, centralised backup, and so on. Then you end up having issues about which edition of Windows you're using - and so on.

These days the cost of a person for a day or two is disproportionate compared with the cost of the hardware. However the payback is that you get somebody to look at your requirements and then sort out the details, ask the right questions, and sort things out. You also then have somebody you can call afterwards who knows your system to get things sorted if you can't handle it yourself.

 

[flango]

Given that your email is handled externally then just setting up a few PCs with Office on a network with a couple of printers and internet isn't a big deal.

The problems come when you want to share information, coordinate backups, and allow external access. Now it sounds like your critical internal application may be Sage.

If you can handle your shared information using an external service then you possibly deal with two of these problems (sharing and backup).

If you only intend to setup a single user Sage setup then you could live with the above for a while. It's not too hard to setup.

However if you want to deal with Sage or something similar wth multiple users then local file sharing becomes something that needs to be considered. Basically at this point a basic server becomes a good idead but then you have to start worrying about other things - such as the security/authentication setup, centralised backup, and so on. Then you end up having issues about which edition of Windows you're using - and so on.

These days the cost of a person for a day or two is disproportionate compared with the cost of the hardware. However the payback is that you get somebody to look at your requirements and then sort out the details, ask the right questions, and sort things out. You also then have somebody you can call afterwards who knows your system to get things sorted if you can't handle it yourself.

Sage will only be single user as I see it, data generation isn't going to be massive so I was thinking maybe external service ?

Think I probably need to define our requirements a little further.

Thanks for the input

 

[Tan]

I had started to look at cloud solutions but was getting a little confused maybe you could explain in laymens terms how they work and the benefits cost implications of going with a networked server system.

As I said before I haven't a clue in this area and I've been tasked to sort it and just want to get the solution right, thanks.

Hi

Basically, you work from servers that are housed in a data centre rather than from a server that is located on site. The machines that you use, be them PC's, Laptops or Thin clients are just dumb terminals and have no data stored on them and don't need any software other than internet explorer and anti-virus software.

Also with cloud you can get software on demand, very useful if you need software for only a short period of time.

Our generation 1 product was called Liquid Mainframe and was a version of terminal services designed to allow multiple companies to be supported on single servers, so giving all the benefits that large companies enjoy without the hassle or more importantly the cost.

Hope that makes it a little clearer, if you want any further info, drop me a PM and I'd be happy to call you.

Best regards

Tan

 

[bolide]

IMHO you're approaching this from the wrong end. Decide what software you're running to do the tasks (is it Sage or isn't it?) and then specify a system to meet the requirements of that software

Nick Froome

 

[davidjpowell]

I use SBS 2003 for 4 machines. Advantages from the business perspective are the exchange interface makes it very easy to have the higher standards that big business employs, out of office etc and integrate with Windows Mobile.

Security is a pain, as you need specialist antivirus suite - about £250 and the built in backup solution is not great. I think if you need to you can push out security policy etc through SBS.

The cloud solutions sounds interesting, but what would always put me off as a small business is being reliant on broadband connection. Given that we are at bt's lowest priority an on site is more safe.

 

[Muppetz]

your remote access is a doddle, either use a router with VPN capability (Draytek Vigors are what I use for this) and/or you could also install logmein on any machine you want to access remotely.

 

[timskemp]

se SBS 2003 for 4 machines. Advantages from the business perspective are the exchange interface makes it very easy to have the higher standards that big business employs, out of office etc and integrate with Windows Mobile.
I u
Security is a pain, as you need specialist antivirus suite - about £250 and the built in backup solution is not great. I think if you need to you can push out security policy etc through SBS.

For those who need it, we are an AVG dealer and there is an SBS edition of AVG.

RRPs are 274.85 for 2 years, 5 users, 1 server. inc VAT, that's £27..49 per user per year and I think the cheapest server managed and exchange integrated solution.

The full security product including anti-spam is 378.35 for 2 yrs, 37.84 per user per year - renewals and bigger packs are cheaper too.

 

[timskemp]

your remote access is a doddle, either use a router with VPN capability (Draytek Vigors are what I use for this) and/or you could also install logmein on any machine you want to access remotely.

If you're putting any windows server in that will do VPN for you, and is easier to manage than the router based VPNs (we use Draytek and Billion for service engineer access to remote sites)

 

[Dryce]

If you're putting any windows server in that will do VPN for you, and is easier to manage than the router based VPNs (we use Draytek and Billion for service engineer access to remote sites)

I've never liked exposing a Windows Server to the outside world even if it is a pass through to a VPN.

I prefer to stick with the VPN on the router.

It also means that if the server starts playing up you still have access to other parts of the network. And if you're using a server with a separate management port with iLO or IPMI you can access this remotely to deal with a recalcitrant or shutdown server.

 

[timskemp]

I've never liked exposing a Windows Server to the outside world even if it is a pass through to a VPN.

I prefer to stick with the VPN on the router.

It also means that if the server starts playing up you still have access to other parts of the network. And if you're using a server with a separate management port with iLO or IPMI you can access this remotely to deal with a recalcitrant or shutdown server.

Thing is that MS designed SBS to be easily managed, and the VPN options are integrated into the management console. I'm not sure why you'd not expose one to the outside world, after all the whole point of SBS is to have a single server business solution, it needs to be exposed for other reasons too. Only forwarding the necessary ports helps here of course.

 

[Dryce]

Thing is that MS designed SBS to be easily managed, and the VPN options are integrated into the management console. I'm not sure why you'd not expose one to the outside world, after all the whole point of SBS is to have a single server business solution, it needs to be exposed for other reasons too. Only forwarding the necessary ports helps here of course.

The only inbound ports we allow opened to a production Windows server are restricted in that that the firewall allows through only connections from specific IPs.

Easily managed via a nice console does not IMHO say anything about the underlying security and vulnerability of the system.