Help setting up small business network for boss

mrwhitbymrwhitby
edited October 2006 in Science & Tech
I used to work for a company and I was kind of the office IT guy. I designed their website and did all of their marketing materials. Now, they are growing, I left about 6 months ago, but they still keep me on as their official IT guy. Right now they only have 4 people in an office and they need to be able to share a program and interchange files very frequently. The first thing that popped into my head is a server and like windows small business server 2003. However, I don't have much experience in setting up servers and I don't want to get in over my head. Basically, they do a bunch of loans and seperate girls open them and maintain them but they need access to the same files. Am I on the right track? Do I need a seperate server computer, or can I put the server OS on one of their desktops? How much would something like this cost to implement and how much do you think I should quote them? I appreciate any help you guys give me, thanks in advance!

Comments

  • airbornflghtairbornflght Houston, TX Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    mrwhitby wrote:
    I used to work for a company and I was kind of the office IT guy. I designed their website and did all of their marketing materials. Now, they are growing, I left about 6 months ago, but they still keep me on as their official IT guy. Right now they only have 4 people in an office and they need to be able to share a program and interchange files very frequently. The first thing that popped into my head is a server and like windows small business server 2003. However, I don't have much experience in setting up servers and I don't want to get in over my head. Basically, they do a bunch of loans and seperate girls open them and maintain them but they need access to the same files. Am I on the right track? Do I need a seperate server computer, or can I put the server OS on one of their desktops? How much would something like this cost to implement and how much do you think I should quote them? I appreciate any help you guys give me, thanks in advance!


    I would say just use windows file sharing, but you say that they are accessing the same files at the same time? That wouldnt work then. I'm not really sure what you would use for that, it would have to be something that woud 'check' the files in and out, kind of like a library does with books, to make sure that the same file isnt in use on more than one computer.
  • mtroxmtrox Minnesota
    edited October 2006
    I agree with Airborn that a network that small would be fine with just peer to peer design. As for people accessing files at the same time, it all depends. If they're just Word or Excel files, then a domain won't help with the simultaneous access question. If there are just 4 people in the office it’s probably not hard for them to just talk about how has what file open.

    But when you say they need to “share a program” it makes me wonder, is it a program that’s based on an SQL database? Those can often be shared by several users at once…whether you are on a peer to peer or domain.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    At the risk of being off topic, does this small business have a data backup system? If they don't, they're hurtin' puppies. Set one up for them when you do the small bus. network.
  • mrwhitbymrwhitby
    edited October 2006
    Would you recommend like a Norton Ghost backup system or something more? I have encouraged them in the past, but as the receptionist says the boss is "technically retarded" and can't see where the money is going. Right now, MCE 2005 is installed on all comps, should I switch to XP Pro for easier networking? Thank you very much.
  • mtroxmtrox Minnesota
    edited October 2006
    mrwhitby wrote:
    Would you recommend like a Norton Ghost backup system or something more?

    How much data are you backing up? Do you have a tape drive? If it's a small amount of data you can backup to a DVD.

    Norton Ghost would work, but most servers just backup the data, not an image of the whole drive. Its easier to just backup data.
    mrwhitby wrote:
    Right now, MCE 2005 is installed on all comps, should I switch to XP Pro for easier networking?

    MCE is kinda a waste of money for a business. If you do a domain on the server, MCE won't attach. You'll either have to change to Pro, or there are some guys who have hacked the registry to make it attach to a domain.
  • zero-counterzero-counter Linux Lubber San Antonio Member
    edited October 2006
    Any server product with license fees, setup, ongoing administration, etc. is overkill for this situation. Even a samba server (unless you got a good deal on reliable hardware) might be overkill due to TCO and ROI alone.

    As stated before, file sharing with NTFS permissions should suffice, and safe-guard their data. XP Pro is the way to go, especially for it ease of use, security features, compatability.
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