Windows server 2003 - some questions

[ace2109]

Hi guys,
My friends have had a DVD Production company for a while know and i do some IT work for them. At the minute they have a server running win2k server and it is just used for file sharing and it also runs hmail server.

What is happening now, they are getting a lot of business and all their files are everywhere. They have about 8 different mapped drives aswell as usb drives, basically their files are all over the place.

What i am thinking of doing is setting up a new server with win2k3. I want to run it as a domain controller and also have hmail server on it. I want to put a load of HDD space in it aswell.

My question.

Running a domain will be fine but they are transferring large files sometimes up to 5 - 6 gb and they are now recording in hd so i can only assume they will be getting bigger. I know a domain grabs a user profile each time a user logs on but if they are transferring large files each time it is going to take ages to just log on and they wont want that. How can i get around this and give them fast logon speeds but access to their large files?

ace

 

[oddjob62]

Running a domain will be fine but they are transferring large files sometimes up to 5 - 6 gb and they are now recording in hd so i can only assume they will be getting bigger. I know a domain grabs a user profile each time a user logs on but if they are transferring large files each time it is going to take ages to just log on and they wont want that. How can i get around this and give them fast logon speeds but access to their large files?

ace

You don't HAVE to set up roaming profiles, and if the users are always at the same workstation it is probably more hastle than it's worth.

If you do really need it you can set up folder redirection for folders like My Docs and Desktop. This would mean that these are direct maps to the server share, ie the data is only downloaded when the user accesses the file.

 

[Street]

Just don't set it up with roaming profiles. Or make sure they all store their files on a main shared area instead of in their profiles?

 

[Freakish_05]

Sorry to hijack the thread but I too have a question

I'm about to set up a Windows 2003 & Exchange Server rig to keep all of my files nice and safe.

One of my machines is a laptop. What happens when I take this out of the house? Will I still be able to access/edit all of my files and will the modified versions get put back on the server when I get back home?

Cheers,
Freakish_05

 

[oddjob62]

Sorry to hijack the thread but I too have a question

I'm about to set up a Windows 2003 & Exchange Server rig to keep all of my files nice and safe.

One of my machines is a laptop. What happens when I take this out of the house? Will I still be able to access/edit all of my files and will the modified versions get put back on the server when I get back home?

Cheers,
Freakish_05

You will need to set up Offline Files. This will automatically sync the files wne you logon, logoff

 

[#Chri5#]

BOT, if the machine is going to get get hammered for file I/O, you'll want to look carefull at the server spec and config.

TCP offload engines, RAID config etc.

 

[Ole Ftang]

If these large data files are on a share on the server then they will have nothing to do with the users profile and the logons will be fine with or without roaming profiles. I prefer roaming profiles though you need to know how to manage them properly or they are a pain in the arse.

The most important thing with this type of server use is the disk I/O system. Use a server with a pair of mirrored drives for the OS / installed programs and a RAID5 array of large disks for the data storage. This RAID5 array should be on it's own raid controller which should have a decent amout of ram for it's cache.

I've installed a server like this for a design company who work with 2-3GB image files and it was the only way we could get decent performance out of the server.

 

[Burnsy2023]

BOT, if the machine is going to get get hammered for file I/O, you'll want to look carefull at the server spec and config.

TCP offload engines, RAID config etc.

TOE really does make a difference if you're server is doing a lot of file transfers, especially if you're running exchange and need the CPU time.

Burnsy

 

[stoofa]

Hi guys,
My friends have had a DVD Production company for a while know and i do some IT work for them. At the minute they have a server running win2k server and it is just used for file sharing and it also runs hmail server.

What is happening now, they are getting a lot of business and all their files are everywhere. They have about 8 different mapped drives aswell as usb drives, basically their files are all over the place.

What i am thinking of doing is setting up a new server with win2k3. I want to run it as a domain controller and also have hmail server on it. I want to put a load of HDD space in it aswell.

My question.

Running a domain will be fine but they are transferring large files sometimes up to 5 - 6 gb and they are now recording in hd so i can only assume they will be getting bigger. I know a domain grabs a user profile each time a user logs on but if they are transferring large files each time it is going to take ages to just log on and they wont want that. How can i get around this and give them fast logon speeds but access to their large files?

ace

If user's profiles get very large you do not want them roaming anyway,
I've seen people lose extremely important data because they have allowed their profiles to get so large - it is simply something you shouldn't be doing.

Example being a user has for example a 1GB profile.
This includes the one and only copy of a file that has taken ages to create.
Due to the size of the profile, during the copying phase of the profile at the end of a session the write fails.
The profile is lost.
When the user logs back in Windows sees a corrupted user profile and creates a brand new default one for the user.
End result - old 1GB profile lost along with the important file.

Roaming profiles are great if used correctly.
The ability to have 100 members of staff and each of them can log into any workstation and have their desktop, and their icons.
Their Outlook e-mail just working without the need to configure it, their "U" drive pointing at their user directory and thus all of their files safely stored away on the server.
As a method for pushing around GB's of data - not ideal at all.

 

[stoofa]

Sorry to hijack the thread but I too have a question

I'm about to set up a Windows 2003 & Exchange Server rig to keep all of my files nice and safe.

One of my machines is a laptop. What happens when I take this out of the house? Will I still be able to access/edit all of my files and will the modified versions get put back on the server when I get back home?

Cheers,
Freakish_05

Seems an extremely expensive way to keep your files safe - and the need for Exchange Server?
Why not just get a machine running WinXP or Vista and use one of the very cheap backup software solutions?
WinXP/Vista will allow 10 TCP/IP connections at a time and you can simply have each machine backing up to a seperate directory on the machine.
Will be a lot cheaper than:

1x Win2k3 Server (5 CALS) - £350
1x Win2k3 Server CAL per machine (Assuming more than 5) - £40 each
1x Exchange Server - £700
1x Exchange CAL (1 per connection) - £75

 

[Sone]

I
Roaming profiles are great if used correctly.
The ability to have 100 members of staff and each of them can log into any workstation and have their desktop, and their icons.
Their Outlook e-mail just working without the need to configure it, their "U" drive pointing at their user directory and thus all of their files safely stored away on the server.
As a method for pushing around GB's of data - not ideal at all.

you can do all that without roaming profiles, you could use a mapped desktop, setup office so it auto creates profiles, and map my docs / home directory.