Do i really need a server?

markwombat

markwombat

markwombat

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I am planning to centralise the data storage in my office, we have 15 users who are all going to connect to the "server" and work from a common-network share.

My question is do i really need to go out and buy a specially built server or will a normal computer with a nice amount of storage and a gigabit network card do the job?

I was thinking a core-duo cpu with 1-2GB of RAM would easily handle the demand, and coupled with either a single SATA2 HDD or a SATA2 Raid array, which ever would best suit this scenario.


Can you guys offer some assistance on this and reccomend what is the most suitable solution. Many thanks in advance.
 
You could just buy a NAS if all you want to do is store data. I'd lean towards getting a "proper" server & using it to its full potential: FileServer, EmailServer, Centrally managed Anti-Virus, etc..
 
There is nothing wrong with doing something like that, but bare in mind you would get no extended warrantys if the unit was to fail etc.. and no support for any server problems you may encounter.

Always better to go with a service deal with the big players (Dell, HP etc) IMO for business critical servers.
 
ok thanks for the replies so quickly. I don't want to have to go down the road of Exchange but the mail server comment does sound very attractive and calendar sharing and contact sharing would be incredibly useful, so wish to include something to support that in the spec.

Unde4d, do you have any reccomendations towards mailserver software other than exchange and also a good antivirus title that can be centrally managed?

thanks for your help so far :)
 
tbh, I've only ever worked with Exchange <stop boo'ing & hiss'ing>. I'd suggest having a look at MS Windows Small Business Server. It'll give you a lot of features (exchange, backups, etc..) & it's rather cheap compared to buying Server + Exchange + Veritas. There are limitations, but SBS is probably more than sufficent for a 15person company.

As far as Anti-Virus is concerned, I'd go for Sophos Security Suite linky. Sophos is good for catching viruses/malware/spyware, and Puremessage (spamfilter for exchange) is pretty good too.
Second choice would be Kaspersky. I used to think Kav was top-notch, but I'm not such a fan anymore.
 
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I would look at getting a proper server from the likes of HP/Dell which have already been recommended with a Small Business Server Standard Licence, as long as you don't need SQL server. SBS Standard isn't bad cost wise, just your CALS can sting a bit.

From the sounds of things SBS would be ideal for you, giving you File/Print and Exchange Server which would give you shared calendars, global email lists etc not to mention the ability to run a centralised backup of mission critical applications and centralised AntiVirus, Active Directory etc.
 
Your best bet is small business server for 2003.

With exchange you wouldn't need a seperate spam filter as the IMF is quite adequate and you can setup Real time blacklists. (IMF works better after installing SP2 for Exchange 2003)

All the neccessaries for data storage will come with a server, like backup drive (Should be looking at DLT2 minimum really for future proofing, at least the capacity to backup your current storage plus any foreseeable expansion of disk space), and a PERC4 raid controller for instance. A lot better than buying them all seperately.

You also need to consider the security requirements, which are much better implemented with a proper AD structure.

I've had absolutely nothing but problems with Sophos EM on client setups, it just doesn't work from my experiences and this is even after getting their own consultants out to fix it twice and ripping it off and reinstalling 4 times.
At the moment I'm finding that Symantec AV rollout just works. No tweaking, no failed installs, nothing like the problems with EPO. You can roll it out via GPO which is so handy.
Stay away from Trend!

With a server you'll also get benefits of WSUS (Now V2 w/SP1) to handle all the updates for your windows clients.

Something from the dell outlet would be considerably cheaper compared to shelling out loads of money for your first server.

It will change the way you work and you'll wonder how you got on before.

Make sure you get that UPS too ;)

The gigabit network card will be a bit redundant if you don't have a gigabit switch and although it's nice in theory it's a bit excessive for now.
 
Pint said:
Your best bet is small business server for 2003.

With exchange you wouldn't need a seperate spam filter as the IMF is quite adequate and you can setup Real time blacklists. (IMF works better after installing SP2 for Exchange 2003)

All the neccessaries for data storage will come with a server, like backup drive (Should be looking at DLT2 minimum really for future proofing, at least the capacity to backup your current storage plus any foreseeable expansion of disk space), and a PERC4 raid controller for instance. A lot better than buying them all seperately.

You also need to consider the security requirements, which are much better implemented with a proper AD structure.

I've had absolutely nothing but problems with Sophos EM on client setups, it just doesn't work from my experiences and this is even after getting their own consultants out to fix it twice and ripping it off and reinstalling 4 times.
At the moment I'm finding that Symantec AV rollout just works. No tweaking, no failed installs, nothing like the problems with EPO. You can roll it out via GPO which is so handy.
Stay away from Trend!

With a server you'll also get benefits of WSUS (Now V2 w/SP1) to handle all the updates for your windows clients.

Something from the dell outlet would be considerably cheaper compared to shelling out loads of money for your first server.

It will change the way you work and you'll wonder how you got on before.

Make sure you get that UPS too ;)

The gigabit network card will be a bit redundant if you don't have a gigabit switch and although it's nice in theory it's a bit excessive for now.
Click to expand...


Thanks for your reply, already got a gigabit switch in the office and all clients are using gigabit nics so thats one area im already covered :p
 
Pint said:
I've had absolutely nothing but problems with Sophos EM on client setups, it just doesn't work from my experiences and this is even after getting their own consultants out to fix it twice and ripping it off and reinstalling 4 times.
Click to expand...

I don't know why you've had such an problem, I've been using it for a while on a couple of sites & its been trouble-free <touches wood>.
 
Pint said:
I've had absolutely nothing but problems with Sophos EM on client setups, it just doesn't work from my experiences and this is even after getting their own consultants out to fix it twice and ripping it off and reinstalling 4 times.
At the moment I'm finding that Symantec AV rollout just works. No tweaking, no failed installs, nothing like the problems with EPO. You can roll it out via GPO which is so handy.
Stay away from Trend!
Click to expand...

Never had a problem with Sophos EM over 4 sites and 600 Users, constantly keeps you informed and the console is perfect...
 
tbh as others have said, SBS is the one to go for here, maybe a server with a raid 5 array or somthing so you've some redundancy there, along with a good backup procedure just incase.
 
Ok thanks guys, I am definately going to opt for a SBS system now and will look into various AV solutions in the next week. Can you offer any light on backup solutions? I am using Acronis True Image on my desktop at home and am very pleased with it, can I use this in a server environment?
 
Backup Exec, Tape Drive, Daily Backups, Week-end Backups and Monthly Sets To keep

And setup Intelligent Disaster Recovery on it :D
 
Backup Exec 11d just been released.

I hate ArcServe. Not very intuitive once you've used Backup Exec and has problems with log files getting corrupted every now and then.

11d has some nice Exchange features, you don't have to backup mailboxes at Brick Level anymore, they can be restored straight from the IS.
You can also restore individual AD objects.

Best bet is Backup Exec, it just works and is easiest to see what's wrong when there's a problem.
 
SBS has a built-in backup function. It's pretty good, & I'm happy enough with it. It's not as feature-rich as a 3rd party solution, but it's good enough. Linky
If you do want backup software with all the bells & whistles, get Symantec (formally Veritas) Backup Exec.
 
You need to use a tape backup system suitable for the amount of data you'll need to backup. DDS Drives, DLT Drives SDLT Drives or AIT Drives are generally what we install on new server installs but make sure what ever option you go for it leaves room for future expansion of your data.

We generally recommend Brightstore ARCserve for the backup software on our server installs with little problems however veritas is also very good.

As for tapes generally 10 Tapes and a cleaning tape for the chosen drive is all you need. We recommend setting up your backup system like this:

Tapes 1-4: Monday to Thursday
Tapes 5-7: Friday Tape - Wk1, Wk2, Wk3
Tapes 7-10: Monthly Tape - Wk4

This is a scalable system so in the unlikely event of a server crash you have the ability to restore from either your daily, weekly or monthly backups.

Hope this helps :)
 
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You also might want to keep your mail server seperate from your main server.

Where I used to work, we had 3 servers. Mail / Main Server / Backup Main server. :)
 
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