Small server for a business

floz

floz

floz

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Joined
1 Jul 2009
Posts
249
Hi, potentially looking at a server, obviously cost is an issue as the business is only small.

Requirements:
support at least 4 computers
be accessible remotely from other locations

im not too familiar with servers but i am confident in building pc's i assume its the same but with larger hard drives (in some kind of raid configuration) and more ethernet connections?

As i said its only a small company and so the budget needs to be as low as possible.

Anything i've missed please ask away i'll try and fill you in.
 
well it will need to serve files, looking at some sort of file sharing system so the most up to date copy is always there, email would be a bonus. But mainly file sharing and remote access. Im not expert, its a small business with generic needs.
 
SME Server is quite good and would do what you need from a software perspective, inlcluding mail if you want it.

http://wiki.contribs.org/Main_Page

As with any solution like this you aren't going to have commercial level support but then you are't paying for it either.

Just a case then of deciding if you want a proper server (HP ML115 probably) or build a PC yourself with a RAID Card.

I would suggest a Core2Quad, P45 Chipset, 4Gb of RAM and a decent RAID card, 3Ware/Areca.

For 4 people you sjhouldn't need a full on commercial server.


If you just want the file sharing then a NAS box would likely do what you need. They will typically have an FTP service that would allow you to download the file to the remote PC and then upload again.

NAS box should be cheaper then a PC/Server.
 
yea im happy to build a pc with raid config and large drives, just to make sure i only need 2 drives to mirror them incase one dies right?

yea its only a small business for now, theres probably a max of 6 people accessing it at one time.
 
HP ProLiant ML110
Windows SBS 2k3 (incl Exchange, 5 Cals etc)
Router plus a switch if less than 5 ports, port forward to the server IP.
 
even for a small number of users, sbs is the way to go, especially if you get it bundled with an oem server and some proper hardware support - it really is peanuts for the functionality it provides; file and print, full exchange email incl webmail, full sharepoint intranet, really simple to use remote access portal giving a pseudo terminal services experience using the office pc's. even if you go for the premium edition which gives you fully blown sql as the backend database for any line of business applications you want to run, it's still peanuts in the grand scheme of things. all that functionality wrapped up within built-in wizards for management. can't go wrong! the only thing i would say is that if you want 'proper' network connectivity remotely then look for an internet router that can provide an ipsec vpn connection, as i don't think the built-in vpn on sbs provides an encrypted connection, althought i'm not 100% sure on that, so you might want to look into it further.
 
lot of words i've not heard of before lol, sorry for the late reply.

remote access would be to grab files off the drives, not sure what vpn and full terminal are :S

some good info though guys :D
 
Get a HP ML110 or ML115 and you'll be laughing. SBS Server 2008 will make life so much easier for you to manage and configure your environment also.
 
I have got a Dell PowerEdge server with full Dell hardware warranty that I am trying to sell. It was supporting 12 users so would be well able to deal with your needs. If you are interested you can drop me an email by clicking on the 'Trust' icon at the bottom of my post.
 
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