IT Strategy

wnb

wnb

wnb

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I know very little about networks, at work I basically have 3 pc's and a photocopier connected to a netgear adsl modem with wireless for 3 laptops. For backups I have a harddrive enclosure with 2 hd's in a raid array connected to one pc and an older portable hard drive for the backup connected to another.

Out of the above pc's & laptops only 2 pc'c are being backed up. Documents are split up between the pc's and its a stuggle trying to find a document as we cant remember which pc\laptop its on never mind the lastest version as older copies can be on more than one pc\laptop.

What I need is something which has a central location for all documents and a secure backup for data. If I lose the data one of the pc's then I'm up the creak without a paddle.

I need some help with what kit i need to give my IT a kick up the backside with ability to upgrade ie add more pc's and laptop and above all the knowledge that my infomation backed up and secure.
 
Just a simple cheap Dell server (They had a £99 special on recently?), a decent gigabyte switch, with some NAS (regular backups?) should sort you out for such a small scale operation? Put 2008 Server on it as you may as well play with the latest windows tech :p
 
As said cheap server is the way to go, setup an AD domain with it and use it as a file server.

Don't keep files on individual machines, recipe for disaster!

Store them centrally, access them remotely, makes it easier to manage.
 
You could implement a Windows Home Server for easily less than £500, which would give you about 1TB of storage.
You could then put ALL your data on the server, password protected of course with admin created user accounts.
You could also utilise your existing hdd enclosure, usb i presume, plug that into the server and configure it as a backup device for the server, so every night it backs up the server, then you can take it home with you for off-site backup.
Thats how i have my home network of 5 desktops and 2 laptops working, and forgetting all the scare-mongering about WHS backin the pre PowerPack1 days when data loss was rife, its a really good system (on PowerPack 2 now).
If you have a spare pc you could download the free 120-day eval copy of WHS to try it all out. Cost = nothing! :)
If it works out for you, then maybe consider buying it at about £80 for the oem software which has a 1 server and 10 client licence.
Its also remotely accessible for file access and offline backup too. If you have XP pro on your client pc's then you can remotely control the pc's connected to the WHS too.

Worth some thought mate, its a really a good system for a small network.

If you're not 'too' tech savvy, then a domain isn't for you mate.
 
Ev0 said:
I did check out your post, WHS is fine for home, but if he's wanting a 'proper' work network that means im my opinion using active directory, so SBS would be the way to go.
Click to expand...

AD seems a little overkill for the three PCs to me, even if it is in a work environment.
 
3 pcs and 3 laptops, plus plenty of room for expansion.

SBS is designed for this kind of thing, all I'm saying is it'd be my preferred solution.

Wouldn't cost much more than the WHS solution, just the software that you'd need different.

Plus you get so much more functionality and management capability.
 
Exactly, the clue's in the name. Windows Home server is designed for use in the home with features based around that - ease of use, media stuff etc

Small Business server, is designed for use in a small business, from 5 PCs upwards. Gives you so much more than WHS - Exchange for email, much better security and management etc.

SBS is the way forward
 
k.Jacko said:
eh? please explain.
Click to expand...

Im just not a fan of WHS unless you're not particularly tech savy. It doesnt offer much to the OPs requirements that you couldnt do with Vista and some decent backup software. SBS is a different kettle of fish however & wont hold back any future IT expansion/requirements at his business
 
A backup is not a backup if it is On-Site. Thats just a copy.

If all your company's data is stored on-site and you have a fire... Your ******. Make sure you are taking backups off site. You can do this by writing the backup to DVD or having at least 3 NAS devices (One off-site one attached to the network and one in your bag to take home that evening)

Every morning you should swap the media in the Backup device and put last nights backup in a safe place and remember to take it home with you at the end of the day.

Alternatively I'm sure there are Websites that deal in small business data storage... Maybe take your backups to there.
 
Manlove is my forte said:
A backup is not a backup if it is On-Site. Thats just a copy.

If all your company's data is stored on-site and you have a fire... Your ******. Make sure you are taking backups off site. You can do this by writing the backup to DVD or having at least 3 NAS devices (One off-site one attached to the network and one in your bag to take home that evening)

Every morning you should swap the media in the Backup device and put last nights backup in a safe place and remember to take it home with you at the end of the day.

Alternatively I'm sure there are Websites that deal in small business data storage... Maybe take your backups to there.
Click to expand...

Follow this mans advice.
Believe me as someone who works in the DR industry I have seen some real horror stories in my time.

So erm, where exacaly where your backups sir.
In the safe.
And where was the safe sir.
In the office that just burned to a crisp.
/facepalm

Queue poor bewilded numpty IT guy who doesnt understand why his business has just died on its rear end.

Also make sure you are doing a FULL backup and not just the files that you think are important.
Its far far easier to recover a dead server if EVERYTHING is there ;)
 
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I'm not being funny here, but SBS is a little overkill for this.
For a fileserver, you can use WindowsXP/Vista for this.
This will be by far the cheapest long term option.

Unless you have 5+ users, theres no need to go SBS. (Unless you really want to spend a damn good few hours setting it up. SBS 2008 requires a min of 4GB of RAM too. - Yes its cheap at the moment, but its still extra cost).

XP will work fine on this occasion. As they are simply files too, an xcopy to a disk you take off-site every day sounds nice and cheap. Follow the advice above about taking the disks offsite too. (If you really feel like learning a little, install a free distribution of linux as your central OS to minimize costs.)

This can all be run on a new/old Windows XP PC.
 
MarkA said:
Unless you have 5+ users, theres no need to go SBS.
Click to expand...

Well he has 6 according to the original post :)

wnb said:
I need some help with what kit i need to give my IT a kick up the backside with ability to upgrade ie add more pc's and laptop
Click to expand...

Would also suggest going with a small business solution wouldn't be a bad idea.

Plus as said you also gain all that lovely management capability over your machines.

That said you could just do it all with a NetGear ReadyNAS Duo device. Stick 2 1.5TB drives in, have them mirrored for fault tolerance, plug in a USB disk to backup and take where ever you want at night for backups, hell plug 2 disks in each night and split them up, whatever takes your fancy :) The NAS and drives will cost you £300, then however much for the other disks.

Not what I'd do, won't be the quickest thing in the world, but will do the job.
 
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Really depends on how much cash you have available, plus try to plan for future expansion - how will the number of users / storage / business requirements change in the next few years?
 
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