How to pick a simple office server
December 30, 2008 12:16 PM Subscribe
What are a couple good, relatively inexpensive server options for our company?
I work at a real estate office that currently has about 65 computer users and have been tasked with determining the best network setup for our office. I am not an IT pro so please bear with me.
Details:
-Currently we are on an open network and everyone is connected through switches.
-We would like this to be scalable to handle up to 100-125 users down the road.
-Agents are independent contractors and as such we have almost no shared applications. Agents run their own independent contact management systems, software programs, file storage, etc.
-We don't plan on using many (or possibly any)shared applications in the future
-We already have access to a web-based application through webexone.com where we keep an office wide calendar of events, and store standard documents, forms and such.
-We provide a couple Lanier copier/scanner machines for agents use over our network. On our open network, setup and management of these has been a bit of a pain. I'm hoping a server would make setting up new users on these machines much simpler.
-It would be nice but not required to provide some data backup to the agents if possible.
-We have not had big security issues but I would hope to be able to gain better control over our network security as well.
-Cost is a pretty big factor as well as how we will manage it when it is in place. We do not have an in-house IT pro so it would need to be something we could teach the office manager or we would have to have someone take care of it for us.
I've talked with a few local IT guys and everyone tries to sell us on the multitude of uses of a good server. In reality, we are only really going to use it to control access to the internet, access to the shared copier/scanner machines and some shared folders but everyone keeps telling me if we get a server "everything will be easier".
Any good ideas?
I work at a real estate office that currently has about 65 computer users and have been tasked with determining the best network setup for our office. I am not an IT pro so please bear with me.
Details:
-Currently we are on an open network and everyone is connected through switches.
-We would like this to be scalable to handle up to 100-125 users down the road.
-Agents are independent contractors and as such we have almost no shared applications. Agents run their own independent contact management systems, software programs, file storage, etc.
-We don't plan on using many (or possibly any)shared applications in the future
-We already have access to a web-based application through webexone.com where we keep an office wide calendar of events, and store standard documents, forms and such.
-We provide a couple Lanier copier/scanner machines for agents use over our network. On our open network, setup and management of these has been a bit of a pain. I'm hoping a server would make setting up new users on these machines much simpler.
-It would be nice but not required to provide some data backup to the agents if possible.
-We have not had big security issues but I would hope to be able to gain better control over our network security as well.
-Cost is a pretty big factor as well as how we will manage it when it is in place. We do not have an in-house IT pro so it would need to be something we could teach the office manager or we would have to have someone take care of it for us.
I've talked with a few local IT guys and everyone tries to sell us on the multitude of uses of a good server. In reality, we are only really going to use it to control access to the internet, access to the shared copier/scanner machines and some shared folders but everyone keeps telling me if we get a server "everything will be easier".
Any good ideas?
Response by poster: Thanks for your response.
Per my initial question, we would hire a local IT company to support the server, outside any basic things they could teach us to handle in house.
The reason we are considering a server is that "everyone" (the office machine company and local IT companies) are telling us it will make our network administration easier.
What we were hoping to achieve from it is to make adding users to the Lanier machines easier and to ensure that users are running antivirus. I realize that we won't use many of the functions of a server other than that.
I'm not familiar with RAID type NAS boxes, could you give more detail on why that would be an option and it has not been proposed to us before.
posted by Wallzatcha at 12:47 PM on December 30, 2008
Per my initial question, we would hire a local IT company to support the server, outside any basic things they could teach us to handle in house.
The reason we are considering a server is that "everyone" (the office machine company and local IT companies) are telling us it will make our network administration easier.
What we were hoping to achieve from it is to make adding users to the Lanier machines easier and to ensure that users are running antivirus. I realize that we won't use many of the functions of a server other than that.
I'm not familiar with RAID type NAS boxes, could you give more detail on why that would be an option and it has not been proposed to us before.
posted by Wallzatcha at 12:47 PM on December 30, 2008
Response by poster: bleucube, we've had written instruction on installing the printers but we always seem to hit snags on individual machines (each owned by individual agents) from the differences in XP, Vist and varying firewall programs.
From your comment it sounds like the server admin and cost would probably outweigh any possible time and effort savings from easier office machine setup.
thanks for the input
posted by Wallzatcha at 12:51 PM on December 30, 2008
From your comment it sounds like the server admin and cost would probably outweigh any possible time and effort savings from easier office machine setup.
thanks for the input
posted by Wallzatcha at 12:51 PM on December 30, 2008
It is pretty clear that you do not know what your IT needs are, so what you need is an IT consultant that you can trust. And that is not just some company saying "Life will be much easier with a new Dell PowerEdge R905 with...." mumbo-jumbo that you can't really decipher.
If you are convinced to get a "server", it is likely that any server from Tiger Direct or NewEgg running Linux, WinXP Pro or Vista Business should be sufficient. This one seems sufficiently equipped, expandable, and cheap. But you could do everything you've mentioned on a cheap "desktop computer" too. The biggest advantage of brand name servers is the optional support contract, and those are really only worthwhile for mission critical equipment.
posted by McGuillicuddy at 1:16 PM on December 30, 2008
If you are convinced to get a "server", it is likely that any server from Tiger Direct or NewEgg running Linux, WinXP Pro or Vista Business should be sufficient. This one seems sufficiently equipped, expandable, and cheap. But you could do everything you've mentioned on a cheap "desktop computer" too. The biggest advantage of brand name servers is the optional support contract, and those are really only worthwhile for mission critical equipment.
posted by McGuillicuddy at 1:16 PM on December 30, 2008
Some of the answers here make no sense to me. Given the issues the OP has described, it isn't hard to imagine how having a server (particularly one managed by an outside company) would make their lives simpler, or at least more predictable:
* Having a server gives people another place to stick their files that isn't their laptop. Whether they use it or not is there problem, but it does give them a fairly easy to use backup option. Assigning home directories to each user should be simple and straightforward.
* Installing network printers on Windows (particularly pre-vista) is way more difficult than it should be, unless you are sharing the printer out from a windows machine. With a windows print server, its really just browse, point & click. Any needed drivers can be downloaded automatically from the server.
* A server should make it easier to do centralized authentication, administration and accounting for the printer function, and possibly the scanner function.
A windows server can provide the ability to control internet access, but I wouldn't use it for that.
It sounds to me like the network is mostly going to support internet access + some printing & scanning. So the network config, and the equipment to support it should be too expensive.
The servers aren't going to be doing that much work, so it sounds like a couple of low end (<>
It doesn't sound like something you'd want to do yourself, but some small biz IT consulting should be able to get you set up easily using fairly inexpensive hardware. I don't know what a reasonable fee would be for the setup, but it sounds pretty cookie cutter. The office manager could be trained to deal with basic issues (setting up and disabling accounts, running any reports needed) You'd want to pay them for a few hours of monthly maintenance too.
posted by Good Brain at 2:39 PM on December 30, 2008
* Having a server gives people another place to stick their files that isn't their laptop. Whether they use it or not is there problem, but it does give them a fairly easy to use backup option. Assigning home directories to each user should be simple and straightforward.
* Installing network printers on Windows (particularly pre-vista) is way more difficult than it should be, unless you are sharing the printer out from a windows machine. With a windows print server, its really just browse, point & click. Any needed drivers can be downloaded automatically from the server.
* A server should make it easier to do centralized authentication, administration and accounting for the printer function, and possibly the scanner function.
A windows server can provide the ability to control internet access, but I wouldn't use it for that.
It sounds to me like the network is mostly going to support internet access + some printing & scanning. So the network config, and the equipment to support it should be too expensive.
The servers aren't going to be doing that much work, so it sounds like a couple of low end (<>
It doesn't sound like something you'd want to do yourself, but some small biz IT consulting should be able to get you set up easily using fairly inexpensive hardware. I don't know what a reasonable fee would be for the setup, but it sounds pretty cookie cutter. The office manager could be trained to deal with basic issues (setting up and disabling accounts, running any reports needed) You'd want to pay them for a few hours of monthly maintenance too.
posted by Good Brain at 2:39 PM on December 30, 2008
I'm a Systems Engineer for a reseller of Canon copier equipment. I don't know Lanier machines well, but on the Canon products, there's actually a function where you can sync all the copiers on the same network. The Canons can also be updated/configured and have users added from a web page, which makes them easy to work with. There may be something similar available for your models- call your dealer.
As for your server, it all sounds pretty basic. Having 65 users is more than enough to justify having your own server and domain. The file sharing and backup alone would cover your ROI. If you're already running Windows, stick with that. Even better, it's fully scalable if you want to add more servers, or MS Exchange in the future.
In my experience, a lot of people seem to go with the Dell line of servers. Usually they have a pre-existing contract, but all major computer companies have them available. Check CDW.
posted by JuiceBoxHero at 4:07 PM on December 30, 2008
As for your server, it all sounds pretty basic. Having 65 users is more than enough to justify having your own server and domain. The file sharing and backup alone would cover your ROI. If you're already running Windows, stick with that. Even better, it's fully scalable if you want to add more servers, or MS Exchange in the future.
In my experience, a lot of people seem to go with the Dell line of servers. Usually they have a pre-existing contract, but all major computer companies have them available. Check CDW.
posted by JuiceBoxHero at 4:07 PM on December 30, 2008
The way your network probably is right now, a 'server' doesn't make make much sense. Putting a hardware firewall in, maybe (this is not something you should do yourself). Putting a big generic NAS on the network where anyone can dump their files (but not have network-wide automated backups of individual data), maybe (if you're not worried about security, you can do this yourself - if you're worried about security, you shouldn't do this yourself). Printer & copier configuration is not a reason to centralize a network.
If you're going to switch to a centralized network (i.e. everyone has a network user identity, network space that has managed backups, etc.), you'll probably need to hire a consultant, because there are a lot of ways to really muck stuff up and make the entire thing unusable or very, very fragile. If you go with linux, Kerberos & OpenAFS, and use a disk-based backup system, your hardware costs could be very minimal (and your licensing costs non-existent) but then of course you need people who know what they're doing to set it up and administer it. If you want tape backups, a Windows network, etc., your hardware & licensing costs start going up, but you may get more turnkey solutions that costs less in consulting time. You probably don't have the ability to make a decision about what system would actually fit your needs, though, so you really would need to talk to someone if you went this route.
posted by devilsbrigade at 6:02 PM on December 30, 2008
If you're going to switch to a centralized network (i.e. everyone has a network user identity, network space that has managed backups, etc.), you'll probably need to hire a consultant, because there are a lot of ways to really muck stuff up and make the entire thing unusable or very, very fragile. If you go with linux, Kerberos & OpenAFS, and use a disk-based backup system, your hardware costs could be very minimal (and your licensing costs non-existent) but then of course you need people who know what they're doing to set it up and administer it. If you want tape backups, a Windows network, etc., your hardware & licensing costs start going up, but you may get more turnkey solutions that costs less in consulting time. You probably don't have the ability to make a decision about what system would actually fit your needs, though, so you really would need to talk to someone if you went this route.
posted by devilsbrigade at 6:02 PM on December 30, 2008
It sounds like most (if not all) of your needs can be met with an Untangle gateway. I've got two set up right now and they're wonderful. Easy to use once set up, and the core functionality is free.
posted by Xuff at 1:26 AM on December 31, 2008
posted by Xuff at 1:26 AM on December 31, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
It doesn't even sound like you need a server.
It sounds like you could get away with:
1) Firewall that can perform DHCP/DNS
2) Stackable switches
3) Web storage
4) Printers with network connectivity (Hp Jet Direct cards?)
5) Write up docs on how staff can install printers themselves.
If you go the server route:
1) You will need to setup a domain\work group
2) All the users will need to authenticate to the domain\work group
3) Setup user rights for the share folder - unless you allow everyone (guest) but than you open yourself up for security issues
4) Server can run dns/dhcp
5) You can push out a GPO to control security on workstations/laptops
6) You can push out a GPO to automatically install printers
- This will become an admin nightmare for you
posted by bleucube at 12:45 PM on December 30, 2008