Server spec help

glynf

I'm looking for a server for a small business with less than 4 users. It will be used as a file server (MS office & CAD only), with 1 maybe 2 shared printers. We also need remote access for windows and mac machines.
Would prefer to buy a box with a next day on site warranty, so so self build is out, and I think that two 1TB drives in RAID 1 to start with would do for storage.

So, what is the minimum spec required for a reasonably quick server?

Do we need a Xeon CPU or is i3 sufficient?

Would Windows server 2012 5 CAL do, or is there a better option?

Which Irish reseller/direct from manufacturer is currently the best/would you recommend?

TIA.

G.

Static M.e.

Honestly for what you want any old PC would do it. However, If you do go down the Server route I would probably go with Windows Server 2008 R2 rather than 2012. - 2008 is intuitive its like windows 7, 2012 is not easy to use at all, its more like Windows 8.

You could probably also buy a decent second hand server with RAID 5 for next to nothing which would do you fine too.

Spend your money on a backup solution not the Server itself. Think about using an online backup product such as a Dropbox for business and then couple it with a USB Network attached Storage (NAS) device which also has some element of RAID built into it.

If I was to buy I would use Dell, cheap, reliable, very easy to fix and there is always plenty of parts available.

2cents

glynf

Thanks for the reply and heads up about Windows Server 2008 R2. Don't want to use cloud if possible.

tech

A decent pc with a external disk will share files, between 4-5 users and also share printers

Maybe Acronis workstation backup would be a good backup solution

qwertz

glynf wrote: »

Don't want to use cloud if possible.

Out of curiosity, why not?

glynf

Does not really bother me, but I have paranoid work colleagues

After reading Static M.e.'s post, and the complete PITA that is dealing with Dell,I'm thinking a Synology DS412+ or DS414 and WD Red 3TB HDD's seem like the most cost effective & easily configurable option. I think it comes with its own DDNS< if not I can use No-IP.

Alun

I have the DS414 at home here and it's a great piece of kit. It's much, much more than just a storage box, is dead easy to manage and configure and for such a small set up as yours is probably more than adequate. You can use Synology's own DDNS or register with pretty much any of the other common ones.

Ctrl Alt Del

My friendly advise is to stay away from NAS been your primary storage OS device.I had only troubles with NAS even when used as a backup device.
They are using a proprietary OS and when it decides to go banana...you could take it and trow it away...no chance of recovering dataas you could do with a Windows Server where you could take the drives and connect them to another PC and possible read it !

I have two NAS now,as we speak: an Iomega that is saying i have data on drives in RAID5 but i cannot access it as it lost the ownership / users of the drives.A Buffalo that i need to do factory reset with data loss.
Both required firmware upgrade AND data backup before doing it !
I'm ok as they are backup devices but in your case !? Where is your backup stored !??

A basic Server 2012,5 CALS,a HP server ML300 series,data transfer and two days installation,hardware warranty Next Business Day(OR 4 hours response time) should cost you 2-3k ex VAT.

Well spent it...
Have fun !

glynf

So I went with a DS412+ and 2 x 2TB WD Red HDD's to start with, 505 Stg all in ex Vat. Will see how it goes, if a full server is required this gets delegated to home use. Thinking about Amazon S3 as an online backup service.

tazzzZ

id have probably gone with a proliant micro server (€120 cash back) and a linux based server option. cheap as chips. or if you werent proficient in linux servers then id have gone with windows server. surprised nobody mentioned this option.

rolion

glynf wrote: »

So I went with a DS412+ and 2 x 2TB WD Red HDD's to start with, 505 Stg all in ex Vat. Will see how it goes, if a full server is required this gets delegated to home use. Thinking about Amazon S3 as an online backup service.

While you're playing with that device as your live storage, make sure you have a full backup of your data !

glynf

Plan is Raid 1 for the two disks, that & cloud backup so should be fine.