Any IT Guys/Girls Here?

DRE said:
That's whats up. I'm very good at googling.
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DRE
Here's some practical advice.

Don't set up a server. It's super overkill for a 4 person office. SAS is your friend. Contact local ISP's about having them host the webserver & mail.

Use the simple NAS for file sharing. The woman then won't freak out about the server word. But I would suggest buying two. Having the second NAS mirror the first. Also buy NAS with 2 drives in put them in mirror mode. Hard drives are so cheap you can get way more storage than you will ever need. Google can explain how to do that.

Additionally after setting up each machine make a snapshot of it. In case it dies you have a snapshot you can restore from. Use windows 7 pro, have the backup go to the NAS and the local machine every night, at least mon thru fri.

And as an extra precaution, set up the NAS to FTP to the local web server at the ISP or use Dropbox. Double on site and offsite protection.

And if the company is in Florida, and this is critical get super duper UPS for each computer AND the NAS's and firewall / router. You don't want the angry phone call that they lost the word document they have been working on for 7 hours without saving because of a 5 second glitch in power. Lots of thunder storms cause those glitches in power.

If you multiple copies of the data you really can't go wrong. Just know how to restore it.
 
Thank you all but I do not want anything to do with dropbox. I am studying all of your suggestions including some I've looked up with my own.
 
I'm a huge fan of Drobo, or anyone who replicates basically the same principle. The real concerns are theft, fire and file deletion, thus the 3-2-1 rule is really required, being an additional unit constantly syncing one way incase of someone accidentally deleting data, as well as an automatic offsite backup running hourly.

BeyondRaid is just a phenomenal creation for RAID use IMHO: http://www.drobo.com/how-it-works/beyond-raid.php

If the network is going to have heavy file access, get a system with dual LAN to ensure nobody is waiting on the file server.

You can get different systems based on what you ultimately need performance wise, and how much $$$ you have... SATA, iSCSI and SSD units are available. If using Mac, you can get smaller cheaper units that utilise thunderbolt, which will perform faster than LAN.

There are so many options around nowadays for simple network storage, but the problem is always redundancy and file backup. Network storage biggest issue is file deletion, because you don't have a two stage deletion process on them, thus if someone deletes something from them, it is gone... thus you need constant backups to recover your data. A lot of people don't think about this when buying their cheap storage solutions and using them as networked storage. Suddenly they work it out when they delete something and can't recover it.

NAS doesn't work like Mac or Windows OS. When you delete it, its gone! Backup, Backup, Backup!
 
Anthony Parsons said:
I'm a huge fan of Drobo, or anyone who replicates basically the same principle. The real concerns are theft, fire and file deletion, thus the 3-2-1 rule is really required, being an additional unit constantly syncing one way incase of someone accidentally deleting data, as well as an automatic offsite backup running hourly.

BeyondRaid is just a phenomenal creation for RAID use IMHO: http://www.drobo.com/how-it-works/beyond-raid.php

If the network is going to have heavy file access, get a system with dual LAN to ensure nobody is waiting on the file server.

You can get different systems based on what you ultimately need performance wise, and how much $$$ you have... SATA, iSCSI and SSD units are available. If using Mac, you can get smaller cheaper units that utilise thunderbolt, which will perform faster than LAN.

There are so many options around nowadays for simple network storage, but the problem is always redundancy and file backup. Network storage biggest issue is file deletion, because you don't have a two stage deletion process on them, thus if someone deletes something from them, it is gone... thus you need constant backups to recover your data. A lot of people don't think about this when buying their cheap storage solutions and using them as networked storage. Suddenly they work it out when they delete something and can't recover it.

NAS doesn't work like Mac or Windows OS. When you delete it, its gone! Backup, Backup, Backup!
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Wow that's deep. Well money isn't an issue for her. She just doesn't want a server. That she's adamant about. I've been thinking about asking her to use a Mac Mini with Mac OSX Server as their server but sell the idea to her that it's not so much a server as it is backup computer that's attached to Airport Time Capsule for backup.
 
The inherit issue with that logic though, is one mac combined with time capsule backup is useless if that mac mini has downtime, because without a mac you can't access the time capsule file to retrieve specific files. Time capsule is not a viable business backup solution, it is only a viable mac specific backup solution on a per mac basis as each backup links to the specific mac for data recovery to that mac.

If all the desktops are PC, mixing PC and Mac is asking for issues.

If she doesn't want a server, then she needs a NAS solution if she wants all company files centrally located. NAS is easier, cheaper and smaller, more efficient means for file storage only. You don't need a server if your only use is file storage, that is what a NAS does better. You need a server when delivering centralised software, file server, email server, so forth. Most server setups are done as just that, where storage is handled by a NAS solution in a rack, basically, connected to other servers managing other aspects of the network.

Servers are complicated and have a specific purpose... NAS are easy and there only purpose is network storage. You take them out of the box, add the hard drives, connect them, usually install some software onto each terminal, done.
 
I'm liking Google Apps for Business. Thanks @Tracy Perry http://www.google.com/intx/en/enterprise/apps/business/benefits.html

Invisible IT that just works
Spend less time managing your IT infrastructure. Your employees always have access to the latest software, including the newest features and security updates. You don’t need to buy or maintain servers and everything can be managed from a single interface.

Google Apps is quick to set up, can grow with your business,and costs just $5 per user per month – only two cups of coffee per month.
 
Chromebooks look cool too, even though she asked for desktops. smh

Cost-efficient computing
The price you pay for a computer is only about half of the total cost of ownership. Deploying Chrome devices for your business in place of traditional computers can dramatically reduce your ownership costs by streamlining deployment, centralizing management, mitigating security risks, and reducing support incidents.

Learn about easy Chrome device management

http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/business/devices/
 
Chrome Remote Desktop

Access other computers or allow another user to access your computer securely over the Internet.

Chrome Remote Desktop allows users to remotely access another computer through Chrome browser or a Chromebook. Computers can be made available on an short-term basis for scenarios such as ad hoc remote support, or on a more long-term basis for remote access to your applications and files. All connections are fully secured. Chrome Remote Desktop is fully cross-platform. Provide remote assistance to Windows, Mac and Linux users, or access your Windows (XP and above) and Mac (OS X 10.6 and above) desktops at any time, all from the Chrome browser on virtually any device, including Chromebooks. For information about privacy, please see the Google Privacy Policy and the Chrome Privacy Policy. For help or troubleshooting please click here: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Chrome/thread?tid=52730a7194bef976&hl=en

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...24bEOZhDbAy_URQ&bvm=bv.48705608,d.eWU&cad=rja
 
DRE said:
Based off @Slavik and @BirdOPrey5 's post, this sorta matches their description of a good printer and photocopier.

Brother - Laser Fax/Printer/Copier
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Brother - Laser Fax/Printer/Copier/8821255.p?id=1218906369108&skuId=8821255
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If they aren't going to do a lot of printing/copying and faxing on it, might work. They might want to consider leasing a unit if they are going to be doing much heavy duty copying/printing. I don't remember what we have at the office - when I go in Thursday I can take a look at it. I know we just hooked a fax line up to it an integrated it will all the office desktops to allow it for outbound fax also (in addition to the fax server upstairs on the SBS server). The one we use is actually a copier primarily with the other devices secondary.
 
Tracy Perry said:
If they aren't going to do a lot of printing/copying and faxing on it, might work. They might want to consider leasing a unit if they are going to be doing much heavy duty copying/printing. I don't remember what we have at the office - when I go in Thursday I can take a look at it. I know we just hooked a fax line up to it an integrated it will all the office desktops to allow it for outbound fax also (in addition to the fax server upstairs on the SBS server). The one we use is actually a copier primarily with the other devices secondary.
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That's two hundred. This looks good too but is 600

Canon Color imageCLASS® MF8580Cdw Wireless Laser All-In-One Printer, Copier, Scanner, Fax
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/162353/Canon-Color-imageCLASS-MF8580Cdw-Wireless-Laser/
 
DRE said:
That's two hundred. This looks good too but is 600

Canon Color imageCLASS® MF8580Cdw Wireless Laser All-In-One Printer, Copier, Scanner, Fax
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/162353/Canon-Color-imageCLASS-MF8580Cdw-Wireless-Laser/
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Don't just concentrate on the front end price. Remember, you have to factor in cost of the consumables for the device also. If the consumables are higher than an equal device from another manufacturer then it won't be as cost effective.
 
DRE said:
I'm liking Google Apps for Business. Thanks @Tracy Perry http://www.google.com/intx/en/enterprise/apps/business/benefits.html
.
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The only issue with google apps is lost of connectivity. Internet service will go down. At some point, some time... and then there will be down time for the office until the connectivity can be restored. You are less likely to have downtime in a LAN situation. Additionally users WILL save documents to their local machines even though you tell them NOT to do it. Users don't listen. Just ASSUME they will save documents to their My Documents folder. Microsoft has trained users for years to save things to the My Documents folder. AND if you start by having them try to save everything to Google Apps, they won't do it. First time the internet goes down and they will start saving to local desktop, and screaming at you.

Other true issues with Google Apps is that it is great for email, and very, very, very far from office productivity. Google's word processor is OK for writing a quick note, but anything like trying to create a re-usable template that needs to print on a pre-printed form, and forget it. Google's spreadsheet is no where even in the ball park of Excel in terms of features and speed. Trying to use it for more than a grocery list, will drive people insane.

So Dre, I think you have a REAL viable solution in buying redundant NAS, setting them up in mirror mode. Every night copy backup the contents of each user's My Document's folder to the NAS, in case they aren't following protocol and saving stuff locally. And then FTP the contents of the NAS to the local ISP. Ensuring you aren't copying anything that might be considered confidential to the ISP, i.e. credit card numbers or social security numbers.
 
EasyTarget said:
The only issue with google apps is lost of connectivity. Internet service will go down. At some point, some time... and then there will be down time for the office until the connectivity can be restored. You are less likely to have downtime in a LAN situation. Additionally users WILL save documents to their local machines even though you tell them NOT to do it. Users don't listen. Just ASSUME they will save documents to their My Documents folder. Microsoft has trained users for years to save things to the My Documents folder. AND if you start by having them try to save everything to Google Apps, they won't do it. First time the internet goes down and they will start saving to local desktop, and screaming at you.

Other true issues with Google Apps is that it is great for email, and very, very, very far from office productivity. Google's word processor is OK for writing a quick note, but anything like trying to create a re-usable template that needs to print on a pre-printed form, and forget it. Google's spreadsheet is no where even in the ball park of Excel in terms of features and speed. Trying to use it for more than a grocery list, will drive people insane.

So Dre, I think you have a REAL viable solution in buying redundant NAS, setting them up in mirror mode. Every night copy backup the contents of each user's My Document's folder to the NAS, in case they aren't following protocol and saving stuff locally. And then FTP the contents of the NAS to the local ISP. Ensuring you aren't copying anything that might be considered confidential to the ISP, i.e. credit card numbers or social security numbers.
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I won't doubt that they'll want to get Microsoft Office stuff. I'm still looking up how much it will cost for their 4 desktops.

I'm also trying to show them alternatives because Google Chrome has offline access for Google Business Apps.

Google Calendars
https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/36598?hl=en
Offline Access: https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/1340696?hl=en

Google Docs Spreadsheet is an alternative to Microsoft Excel
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AqC0BiQM8B2sdElLTVE5a21xbFBsUFhzcGJDMlRQOHc#gid=0
Offline Google Docs, Spreadsheets and Slides
http://support.google.com/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1642623

Offline Gmail
http://support.google.com/a/bin/ans...154&ctx=cb&src=cb&cbid=1ilbr6r4zm41u&cbrank=0

Offline Google Drive Access
https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2375012?hl=en

That NAS backup stuff sounds cool. I was looking up these Tutorials about it just now.
 
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