Please can you help me select an appropriate server for my small business?

vishy01234

vishy01234

New Member
This is a long post but I REALLY need your help so please take the time to read and respond. I am looking to purchase a server for my small business and the appropriate software (OS, backup software, etc). I have a very limited budget (I would like to get something below £500, preferably less, but also will spend a bit more if necessary). It must have a Microsoft server OS on it as I am looking to run a database intensive CRM server application on it in the future.

These are the core tasks the server needs to perform:
- Support 3 client pcs
- Printing
- Storage of common company documents and files
- Central backup location for all the client pcs
- Remote access of company documents
- Run a database intensive server application / CRM
- Not sure of what is involved in running my own exchange server system for emails, but I am paying out £20 per month for 3 X 2Gb exchange email boxes from fasthosts. Would be nice to get rid of this expense

From my research and considering my limited budget, I was thinking of going for the following setup:
- HP Proliant server
- Windows Small Business Server 2003 OS
- 1 X 500Gb HDD (space for 3 extra drives) - hot swappable
- Dual core CPU
- 1Gb RAM
- Use an external 1Tb USB hard drive (Lacie) for server backup

I have spoken to a few people that have given me differing recommendations, so I wanted to come on to here to get some expert opinion. As well as your advice, answers to some of these questions would be appreciated:

- Tape drives seem to the most common server backup solution, but the drives are so expensive? Why are tape drives the the most common solution? Is it a bad idea to do backups to a 1Tb USB Lacie external HDD? (I chose this to limit costs for now)
- Secondly, should I be thinking of getting more than one hard drive?
- I don't know what a RAID controller is, but people are telling me I should consider getting one?
- Should I be getting more RAM or bigger HDD, or is this sufficient for now?
- Windows Small Business Server 2003 sounds like it would be a bit easier to administer than Windows Server. Am I right in choosing this server OS?

I don't want to go into overkill mode as I need every penny I can get my hands on right now, but I also don't want false economies. PLEASE can you folks help me out here. What kind of server would you recommend I go for? Please can you provide me a link to any good preconfigured systems out there (e.g. from stores like www.ebuyer.com ). Lastly, please try to explain technical terms in your responses as I am not an expert at all!! Thanks
 
well, i do know that RAID stands for redundant array of inexpensive drives, or something like that. there are i think 7 types of raid configurations, and it's all software based. with one or more drive, som raid configurations cause all data stored on 1 drive to be copyied on the other, others allow many other possibilitys. here is the Wikipedia page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID

and you'll need WAY MORE than 1 gb of ram.
 
For such a small workgroup, I think that you would be better off going with the new Windows Home Server. They even have a 120-day trial for you to test it out. The full version is only about 97 quid too, so not too expensive. Other than that, the system is more than powerful enough and should cope with all your needs very well.

You should definitely go with a RAID set-up though, but NOT RAID 0 as that would double your chances of a hardware failure. I would suggest RAID 1 mirroring with 2 identical 500gb disks and then your 1tb external with another back-up on.
 
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WHS is ok... But i would go with SBS as it has exchange..bit more costly in the outlay but in the long run a bit better. Backups i would backup to tape as then you can have muity copies offsite ? Is it worth loseing your buiness over £300 buying a tape drive ?
 
SBS, i cant stress that enough! As you said, you don't need anything all singing all dancing.

Priorities:

1. Data security and integrity. That said i would recommened one of the following:

2 Disks in a RAID 1 configuration, i.e, Mirrored - what ever is on disk 1 will be copied to disk 2
3 Disks in a RAID 5 config, i.e. distributed fault tolerence.

Depending on your line of work would depend on the size of the Disks, i.e. a graphic designer would need more usable space than someone who runs a cake shop.) From the above 2 options i would advise number 1, the RAID 1 configuration. So if one drive fails, you can pull it out and put a new one in and rebuilt the array, keeping your data safe, i.e. on the other disk. Obviously there is the worlds slimmest chance and i mean very slim!!! that both drives could fail at the same time sooo.....................BACKUP!!! read below:

2.Backup, Backup, Backup!!!!. If possible, buy a tape drive, it will be the best thing you will ever do. then have a tape for each working day. At the end of each day take the backup tape OFFSITE, guard it with your life!!! The tape will contain all backed up data from your server. Obviously with a backup drive you will need some backup software i personally recommend Veritas backup exec 10D.

also, do you currently have networking in place, i.e. a switch, cabling etc etc????

I would possibly recommend 2GB of RAM, no more is needed, but it helps your server out a bit, especially if it is being hammered!!

One thing i am amazed no one has mentioned is a UPS, an uninterpretable power supply, i.e. if there was a power cut, the UPS would kick in and keep your server active fr probably about upto 15 mins, in this time the power could have returned or the server could be setup in such a way that if there is a power failure the server can do a safe shut down. If there was a power cut and you didnt have a UPS, the server would just turn off instantly and could cause a lot of problems, i.e. hard drive issues, motherboard issues etc etc.

One other thing on keeping your server running is redundant power supplies. This means that your server would have 2 power supplies connected, this is just in case that if a power supply was to fail the other one would be used instead. And once again protecting you server and the components within. A power failure can be devastating to companys/schools/work places etc that dont have reasonable power back solutions. so this in mind, it would be worth spending a bit of money, not a load, on buying a UPS.

I hope this has helped some what. Anymore questions please just ask.

Matt
 
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Seriously get 4GB a Q6600 Quad core... the specs are not good enough, for what your wanting to do!
 
3GB would be adequate, 4GB is better if you can afford it. Quad core is a must, there is hardly any difference in price not between a dual core and a quad core. Good input Cohen
 
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