What's new
By:
Filters
ClioSport.net

Register a free account today to become a member!
Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read more here.

Building a Server?



ChrisR

ChrisR

ClioSport Club Member
The Fatty said:
did you check the PSU :p sounds like one of the lines has gone down if it dosnt even post
Click to expand...

Of course, I'm not that stupid :p To be honest it was a good excuse to get everything migrated over to the better box.

Did manage to get a fault code out of it using some Dell diagnostic thing at one point and it seemed to think there was some mobo/cpu issue. Either way that one is dead now and good riddance :)

Chapster5 said:
This guys cheaper and can supply a far superior machine double the power really

Nick
Click to expand...

As said what's far superior about it? Is he using desktop components, hookey software and badging it all as a server and offering minimal support? :)

I think it might have already been mentioned, but buy a Dell :p
 
Chapster5

Chapster5

Better specs and it's a HP server not built by him

Nick

(for some reason I don't trust dells over priced IMHO) that's taken from just there home desktop systems I prefer a custom built thing. Perosnal preference though lol roll on the flaming...
 
Silent_Scone

Silent_Scone

  Evo 5 RS
You said yourself you've never had any experience with servers. DELLs warranty and support are far better. Also believe it or not so are the components.

There's nothing wrong with just going to DELL, seriously. You're going to be up s**t creek without a paddle if you try putting your neck out with this lol
 
B

bmh.01

  BMW M135i
HP/Dell + SBS for this usage. I cannot emphasise this enough, SBS will do everything they will possibly need and hold your hand for a lot of it with wizards etc. Normal 2008R2 a) doesn't provide a lot of things SBS does and b) expects you to know what you are doing.
 
Chapster5

Chapster5

bmh.01 said:
HP/Dell + SBS for this usage. I cannot emphasise this enough, SBS will do everything they will possibly need and hold your hand for a lot of it with wizards etc. Normal 2008R2 a) doesn't provide a lot of things SBS does and b) expects you to know what you are doing.
Click to expand...

Thank you for this,

I wonder if I can get a trial of SBS and run it on a virtual machine to see what Wizards i will face get an insight into it. At the end of the day though its up to my mate who is going to be paying. One thing I like about Dell though... They allow a monthly payment scheme which will make it more appealing to my friend.

Nick
 
B

bmh.01

  BMW M135i
Nothing wrong with them when you don't know what steps to take in the first place. One useful one off the top of my head with SBS is the folder redirection one, something they will probably want. Does he know how to set the shares up with the correct permissions, redirect the folders with a gpo and assign users? No, i'm sure for the elite in here they are below them (I wouldn't use them outside of sbs) but they do help.

Seems its the same "you thick c**t, i'm too good for that" attitude I see in the industry all the time :dapprove:. I agree that I think this isn't the best idea in the world and is fraught with the potential for a big fall but if he's going to do it he might as well have useful advice.
 
ChrisR

ChrisR

ClioSport Club Member
Chapster5 said:
Better specs and it's a HP server not built by him

Nick

(for some reason I don't trust dells over priced IMHO) that's taken from just there home desktop systems I prefer a custom built thing. Perosnal preference though lol roll on the flaming...
Click to expand...

Dell or HP will do the job nicely, I always bought my folks Dells as it worked out easier and they are not pricey, usually have offers on particular models most of the time but either will do.

The Microserver is a decent little box.

Servers are a different kettle of fish to desktops :)
 
D

dk

  911 GTS Cab
Lol, this is why I still get charged out at £1000 a day, so many people think they know it all with IT ;)

Chapster, I gave you my advice in those pm's a few weeks back, gotta admit, I am normally used to dealing with larger systems, but my advice still stands, a cheap sbs server will do it all, I'd get some help on the implementation though.
 
D

dk

  911 GTS Cab
ChrisR said:
Dell or HP will do the job nicely, I always bought my folks Dells as it worked out easier and they are not pricey, usually have offers on particular models most of the time but either will do.

The Microserver is a decent little box.

Servers are a different kettle of fish to desktops :)
Click to expand...

HP micro server with sbs pre installed, done.
 
I

ivegota16v

i side with everyone else, apart from i would be getting a Xeon E3 based dell or HP. Cant really go wrong, main thing is don't run it on a desktop, servers have ECC, dual power supplies, and are tried and tested (i.e. supported) with the SBS. If you scrimp at the start, you will be paying for it later in the long run!
 
Cookie

Cookie

ClioSport Club Member
bmh.01 said:
Nothing wrong with them when you don't know what steps to take in the first place. One useful one off the top of my head with SBS is the folder redirection one, something they will probably want. Does he know how to set the shares up with the correct permissions, redirect the folders with a gpo and assign users? No, i'm sure for the elite in here they are below them (I wouldn't use them outside of sbs) but they do help.

Seems its the same "you thick c**t, i'm too good for that" attitude I see in the industry all the time :dapprove:. I agree that I think this isn't the best idea in the world and is fraught with the potential for a big fall but if he's going to do it he might as well have useful advice.
Click to expand...

Nearly everyone has been helpful tbf ;) It's gone piss takey now because it's mental taking on something you've got no experience in. It'd be like me trying to fly a plane because I'd had a few hours on MS Flight Sim :p
 
B

bmh.01

  BMW M135i
I agree, but there is no telling some people until its in black and white in front of them so we might as well point him in the right direction. He's going to need all the help he can get.

Hell its definetly worth setting it all up beforehand and playing, you are guaranteed to f**k it up at least once/realise you are well out of your depth.
 
R

richy22

  Bumder With A Buffer
We use the hp proliants at work.

Our PC wizards swear by them.

bmh.01 said:
I agree, but there is no telling some people until its in black and white in front of them so we might as well point him in the right direction. He's going to need all the help he can get.

Hell its definetly worth setting it all up beforehand and playing, you are guaranteed to f**k it up at least once/realise you are well out of your depth.
Click to expand...

I agree
 
Chapster5

Chapster5

Just thinking, So yeh im new at this but we all start somewhere... What are the likely hurdles I will fall at when setting up this network? What things would mainly go wrong for a novice what solution would you give? Im better with a pre warning now so I have at least some kind of idea when these problems you all seem so familiar with will crop up.

Nick
 
M

mace¬

  Clio
So.... after all this advice does anyone really know the requirements yet?

I'm no genius but I think this company might not be in the best position right now.

No offence.
 
T

The Fatty

  AB182, Audi A5 3.0
bit of a selfish company imo as it doesnt want to do business with other companies! Especially when the IT market is not doing so well at the moment... Cant beleive someone suggested callign up IT companies and wasting there time; I have had a few people do this to myself and its really not on tbh! I was willing to give advice, but that cross the line for me...
 
KDF

KDF

  Audi TT Stronic
f**king hell this thread is laughable. So much irrelevant information.


I am going to dumb this right down ! Based on the size and requirements of the company.

Hardware (i'm being generic here but I deal with IBM and Dell both good)

SBS Server
A midrange processor
4GB RAM
2 x 100+ gig in RAID1 (OS)
2 x 1 or 2 TB drives in RAID1 (DATA)
UPS to prevent data loss.


Software

Use external drives for backup, setup a backup routine. Backup all data on DATA and OS using software built into SBS
Setup a few AD users/groups including Domain Admin, and Admin accounts for Server and client maintenance tasks.
Setup basic GP options (don't over do this, you can lock stuff down over time as you learn)
Setup file share for centralised storage/working area for all users and assign permissions based on user/group (that you setup in AD) e.g. \\server\work
Use GP to redirect Desktop and My Documents to personal user folders on server DATA drive e.g. \\server\users\UserName1 \\server\users\UserName2 etc.
Deploy printers via GP (try to get printers with NIC's built in.. not wireless !!)

Plug router into gigabit switch, connect clients to switch.

That will get you a basic system in place, from there you can expand as you learn. Shouldn't take you more than an hour or two to setup after delivery of the hardware.


You don't need VLAN's, dual gigabit NIC's, External RAID arrays, Expensive backup solutions or any of the other overkill items mentioned in this thread.. Oh and for the record you can get L3 switches to all those spraffing on about L2 switches this and that...:slap:
 
T

The Fatty

  AB182, Audi A5 3.0
The requirements are to be able to share files, printers and provide a database backend for an ERP/EPOS system; at least thats what i summed it up to be...
 
M

mace¬

  Clio
Thats what I mean, summed up is the best anyone can come up with. I'm not a network person but I work within the NHS. I see this going the same way as everything I see but on a smaller scale.
 
Mells

Mells

I've got a hp proliant micro server with windows home server on it. £129 with the cash back from ebuyer.

Bunged in 8gb ram, a couple of 2tb drives and a DVD drive.

It serves 5 clients and streams to 2 media devices. It's been up since the 17th December without any problems.

It takes a backup onto an external hdd weekly.

Can't see the op needing anymore than this.
 
KDF

KDF

  Audi TT Stronic
Mace. said:
Have you had clear requirements? This is where 99% of IT jobs fall down. People are giving advice without knowing f**k all to put it politely
Click to expand...

I can only go off the information that was provided in this thread, if the client doesn't give you all the information (which is quite often the case when the user doesn't even know what they want) then you have to make a judgement call based on that information.

Server to act as file server, centralized client management (for user accounts/printers etc.) a mySQL server and provide backups for off-site storage and some other small tasks.


Please correct me if I missed anything.
 
T

The Fatty

  AB182, Audi A5 3.0
Mells said:
I've got a hp proliant micro server with windows home server on it. £129 with the cash back from ebuyer.

Bunged in 8gb ram, a couple of 2tb drives and a DVD drive.

It serves 5 clients and streams to 2 media devices. It's been up since the 17th December without any problems.

It takes a backup onto an external hdd weekly.

Can't see the op needing anymore than this.
Click to expand...

Oh god, not WHS! Does that still do that drive pooling crap regardless of if you want it to?!
 
KDF

KDF

  Audi TT Stronic
Mells said:
It's been up since the 17th December without any problems.
Click to expand...

Uptime is hardly a measurement of QOS.


However,

Code: 
~$ uptime
 23:59:33 up 763 days,  5:19, 12 users,  load average: 0.08, 0.03, 0.05

:rasp:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Donny_Dog
The 'I work in I.T' thread
6 7 8
Replies
281
Views
9K
Donny_Dog
Donny_Dog
Andy_con
Electronic / Computer / Software People get in here!
Replies
2
Views
272
Andy_con
Andy_con
MarkCup
Accepting one-off customer payment by Credit Card...?
2
Replies
42
Views
2K
MarkCup
MarkCup
finch wxm
Wiring in a radiator fan switch
Replies
4
Views
449
finch wxm
finch wxm
K
Trip conversion from miles to kilometers
Replies
8
Views
883
kurai
K


Top