Spec me a server please?

skilby99 · 14 Jan 2011 at 11:59

Hi Guys,

Its been a while since i have been on here but i thought you guys could really help me out with your knowledge!

We need a new server at work (small office) to which 3 x PCs and 2 x iMacs need to connect to. We are a design agency so we would need to store all of our artwork, invoices etc. We dont need anything too fancy but our very old G4 server is on its last legs now and is refusing to back up any new work that we have done.

I have built loads of pcs in the past but never a server (i expect they are the same) the server software need to be able to connect with the PCs running windows and the OSX on the iMacs.

Any help or advice you could offer would be great as a am a complete noob when it comes to servers!

Thanks in advance.

ringo747 · 14 Jan 2011 at 12:03

What about a NAS (Network Attached Storage)? If it is for backup only then it would be very good.

Take a look at QNAP or Synology - Some of the top end models can allow for huge amounts of storage. They are really easy to use and setup. I got one of these recently and they really are awesome - Synology DS211

skilby99 · 31 Jan 2011 at 10:22

Hi ringo747,

I just wanted to say a BIG thank you for suggesting the DS211, we had set a budget of £2000 to change the server and thanks to you we have done it for under £500, we got the DS211+ in the end and its great. Thanks again for the excellent advice!

ringo747 · 31 Jan 2011 at 11:20

Good to hear you got sorted! What disks did you put in it?

Just make sure you still have a backup strategy in place. A NAS is great for availability/redundancy but if it goes up in smoke you still need other backups. I'd suggest backing up to external hard drive every so often using the front usb slots.

They really are great gadgets and the transfer speeds will be great for your uses I'd imagine.