Downsized office trying to eliminate Server

[veradusit]

Our local real estate office has been DRASTICALLY reduced. We were an office of 35 people, we are now down to a core of six. The office is run by a huge dinosaur Dell server running Server 2003. It’s loud, it uses a lot of electricity and no one here uses the active directory features of the server, nor any of the VPN capabilities. It literally is a loud fileserver. Three of the employees are using MacBooks and a wireless connection, the other three are plugged into the wall, but are also using laptops not on the domain. The one Minolta Bizhub printer is the only hardware asset being shared from the server.

I wanted to reduce the complexity of their setup. I thought maybe a NAS box (Buffalo Terastation or similar) could act as their fileserver. The only thing left is an appliance for two functions: print server and DNS (currently there is a 24 port hub that distributes connectivity to conference rooms and offices within the building, but no router…the server is providing the IP’s).

Would a simple 4 port wireless N router with DNS turned on, combined with our 24 port hub would suffice? Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

 

[tipstir]

Our local real estate office has been DRASTICALLY reduced. We were an office of 35 people, we are now down to a core of six. The office is run by a huge dinosaur Dell server running Server 2003. It’s loud, it uses a lot of electricity and no one here uses the active directory features of the server, nor any of the VPN capabilities. It literally is a loud fileserver. Three of the employees are using MacBooks and a wireless connection, the other three are plugged into the wall, but are also using laptops not on the domain. The one Minolta Bizhub printer is the only hardware asset being shared from the server.

I wanted to reduce the complexity of their setup. I thought maybe a NAS box (Buffalo Terastation or similar) could act as their fileserver. The only thing left is an appliance for two functions: print server and DNS (currently there is a 24 port hub that distributes connectivity to conference rooms and offices within the building, but no router…the server is providing the IP’s).

Would a simple 4 port wireless N router with DNS turned on, combined with our 24 port hub would suffice? Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

What's your budget like? If you only got 6 or 35 business users in one office then you can get the office router with 4 gig ports (if you only have 6 although it can handle 255 connections) but still wireless N if you need it along with a 16 to 24-port switch, not a hub (too slow). You'll need good Server you can pick one up cheap online from DELL with Dual Core, just the capacity size might be a factor or the use of NAS devices would be a better way for you to go in the number of TBs you would need for the office.

 

[veradusit]

Eliminating a server

My goal was to eliminate the need for a server. It is only providing DNS and Print serving functions at this point. We do have a 24 port switch. Would the addition of the "router with 4 gig ports wireless N" provide the DNS missing component? Even as a file server they are only using up 30GB (all excel spreadsheets).

 

[scotty]

My goal was to eliminate the need for a server. It is only providing DNS and Print serving functions at this point. We do have a 24 port switch. Would the addition of the "router with 4 gig ports wireless N" provide the DNS missing component? Even as a file server they are only using up 30GB (all excel spreadsheets).

If all you need is a place to store some files than a simple NAS behind a simple router will do just fine. Most NAS's support some sort of permissions system, so although it wouldn't be as robust as Active Directory, I dont see why it wouldn't work. You dont need Windows Server's advanced DNS capabilities unless you're running active directory and other goodies. You obviously don't need much of anything for local DNS. I'd just set up the NAS at a fixed address, and access it that way (i.e. \\192.168.1.250). Most routers won't act as a DNS server, they just forward requests to external DNS servers (i.e. internet addresses). As far as resolving local addresses go, this is usually where Windows' network browsing comes into effect. But frankly, for all of about 2 or 3 devices that need to be accessed (NAS, Printer) manual IP addressing isn't too much to ask. End-users don't even need to know that the IP's are.

As far as your printer goes, you could share it off any other workstation, or even better - hook it up with a print server so it's directly on the network.

Simple simple. I dont why you can't go with a router and NAS like you're planning. Not sure why tipstir is saying 'you need a good server'.

 

[Tamarin]

I'm with Scotty on this... if all you have is a shared internet connection and some shared files, a NAS and a router/gateway will work fine. If data protection is important, be sure to get a NAS that runs RAID-1 to protect against a hard drive puking.

And as for the router features, since everything is already going through your existing AP and switch, pretty much any router should do fine. If all you are using is excel files, you don't need to worry about gigabit ethernet. Just check out the router charts to narrow down which one you like best.

Tam

 

[tipstir]

NAS would do for you I would got 500GB as 30GB will fill up quick. 320GB, 500GB, 750GB, 1TB and up. Pretty cheap now. DLINK, LINKSYS wireless N draft-2.0 routers. I won't go too cheap on the router.

 

[peonuser]

I have a Dell server too and tey are too noisy. I ended getting a free legacy desktop computer from the local user group. I have it in a closet without a monitor running freenas. Freenas software is free and a lot more stable than any low end microsoft product. You can easily manage it from a web page using point and click. As for a router, there are a thousand different choices depending on your wants and needs. The more you learn about routers, the more functionality you want. .

 

[Monkey]

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but I just wanted to say please consider your backup options for the new setup. Raid solutions are very handy, but are not a replacement for a proper backup.