Re: Small business thinking about backing up data, having a server and 2-3 users - is SBS2003 right for them?
- From: "Frank McCallister SBS MVP" <anonymous>
- Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2006 12:37:18 -0500
WARNING! I have been beating my head on wall working with a client I took
over with a built box using that Raid controller chip. After flashing the
BIOS it is a little better but anytime a USB drive is used the server
crashes during backup. YMMV (Your mileage May Vary) since you are not using
USB but don't use anything USB on that server if you stick with that mb. I
would personally get a different server class mb without a NVIDIA RAID.
--
Frank McCallister SBS MVP
MCP Microsoft Small Business Specialist
COMPUMAC
"Derek" <123123123123@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OQfgTiHYGHA.1200@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thank you all so much. The replies have been great. I should give you
some
more information that I realise now would have helped.
Financial application total size is about 1GB. The rest of their data is
probably less than 2 GB.
They have bought a USB tape drive - HP StorageWorks DAT24 USB External
Tape
Drive (info here
http://h18006.www1.hp.com/products/storageworks/dat24usb/index.html) And
the
tapes are £2.50 each for 12/24GB so we bough 15 of them, which we think
will
be enough with a few spares.
Cost is a very important factor here. They are a small business and if its
going to cost them several thousand then they will probably turn their
backs
on it or think they are being ripped off. They understand a basic system
with everything working will cost £3k approx and are ok with that, but any
more will be hard for them to accept.
***************
Server:
We're trying to build one.
Opteron 265 socket 940 cpu (its got dual core and can be dual cpu for
future
upgradability).
2 x 512 DDR400 ECC Registered RAM (crucial)
SATA300 250GB 5 year warranty hard drives (Maxtor new Maxline) x 2 in
RAID1
ASUS K8N-DL motherboard
http://uk.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=9&l2=39&l3=0&model=456&modelmenu=1
All inside a regular case with decent powersupply and ventilation.
***************
* Uninterruptible Power Supply *
Should he also get a UPS in case there is a power outage? They do some for
about £50-£100 which give 20mins-30mins, would something like that
suffice?
Currently I'm building the server, awaiting for some of the parts to be
delivered. If you have any recommendations I would gratefully welcome
them.
I also have a spare PC here with XP Pro which I can play with as a client
for testing purposes. Will installing SBS2003 Standard have any pitfalls
if
I do it at my place then bring it over to them after its running nicely -
will their be network or client issues or something else?
Patching SBS2003
Is it safe to connect the SBS2003 server using a regular router to get the
updates and patches from MS site without it being compromised, or should I
download all available updates and burn them to CD first? If this can be
done is there a link for this please?
I'm going to see if I can get the server working ok, have a friend use
remote access to check it over and learn as we/I go.
The friend I mentioned who was a Windows teacher is working for my
cousin's
WAN business. And my cousin has said its ok to call him whenever I need
to,
and that he can get the guy to use remote access to check it over and give
me advice. If it comes to it I can bring it over and do the install in
their office but I'm trying to avoid that because its 100 miles away and I
dont want to get in the way of his WAN business.
From what you guys have helpfully replied with I am guessing that we need
to:
1 - upgrade the 2-3 pc's from XP Home to XP Pro.
2 - Buy a more advanced router with better firewalling capability - I will
look at all of the ones you have suggested.
3 - Learn more about SBS2003 and practice it - and with your help,
hopefully
be able to give them something stable and useful.
Thank you all so much for everything so far. I expect that over the
coming
weeks and months I will be back here seeking your advice.
If you have anything to add to it please do, any information is welcome.
Regards.
"Derek" <123123123123@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:uQwpmdDYGHA.3448@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi Newsgroup,Home
I have been asked by a friend to find out what would be best for his
business so that they could do data backups of their single financial
application.
**** Company Info - Current Setup ****
Its a car workshop with 2-3 people in the office. They have Windows XP
on the 2 PCs in the main office. A 3rd PC is in a back office and is forpc,
general use, email, and website surfing.
The financial application currently sits on the "Master" pc. The other
"Slave", is networked to the Master with a crossover network cable. Thea
Slave pc slows down sometimes when accessing the financial application as
client on the Master pc.reliable
The financial application is installed as a Master/Client setup with the
Master on the Master PC and Client on the Slave pc. This seems to work
ok
on the Master but there is noticable slowdown some times for the
Slave/Client when working on an invoice.
They dont do backups at present.
**** What they want ****
A - They are looking for an easy to use backup method which will be
and straightforward.3
B - They would like to be able to use the internet securely on any of the
pc's.web
Bi - They also want any clients who come in to be able to connect to the
internet using a Wireless connection (delivery updates, email checking,
browsing for customers to pass the time).network
C - Remote access from home for the boss if he needs to do some work from
home.
**** My Suggestion ****
1 - Financial Application - Use a server for hosting the financial
application. Have the 2 main office pc's work as clients that connect to
this. Since this machine is a server is should handle the requests ok
and
they shouldnt see any slowdown. Either use a WirelessLAN router or
cables
(they are due to have major reburbishment in the next 6 months so
wireless
would be very useful).
2 - Backups - Use a USB tape drive for backups. Full backup on a
Saturday
with Differentials Mon-Fri. This data can include the financial
application, personal area or any other folders they would like included.
3 - Secure Internet - In order to try to fit this in with the server
I was thinking about 2 networks, both wireless. One would be properly(server -
sercure (128bit, WPA hidden SSID etc) and used for the office data
client network). The other network would just have the SSID hidden,the
possibly some WPA security passphrase that was told to customers who were
allowed to connect. I have called these "Data WLAN" and "Internet WLAN",
just for the sake of this posting.
I'm a bit unsure about the 2 networks. My theory is that one is safe and
the other is risky, and I want to keep them seperate but I'm not sure if
I
need to.
How do I make the internet safer on the 2 client PCs if they connect to
internet? Should they use the financial app/data server for theirinternet
access or should they connect to the internet using the Internet WLAN?(phone/remote
If
they are up to date with patches and anti-virus and only visit sites they
trust, I "guess" they should be ok. But is there a better way of doing
this?
4 - Remote Access - I expect he can use IP web login onto the server, or
some sort of VPN tunnelling, and do any work that way. Is that possible?
How big a job is this?
Is it possible for me to do this myself with remote assistance
access) from a friend who used to teach Windows Server stuff?
************************
Basically they want backups, faster access to the financial application,
secure internet that wont compromise their server (data/backup) and
remote
access.
************************
What do you think and what do you recommend?
Thank you.
.
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