Putting together a server

[bagellad]

Hi all, I am putting together a server for a business, its going to mostly hold data from security systems (large image files), a data base, office documents.. things like that.. they want a centralized storage for easier backup and everything. I was wondering what someone should know when it comes to putting together a fairly cheap server, They were thinking about $900 bucks. It is for about 5-6 computers.

I was just thinking Xp professional loading with a alot of hd space and ram, can skimp on the video card since its not going to be used as a normal computer.

[MHCG]

XP pro is limited to 10 concurrent connections. One computer can have more than one connection to the server. You're going to need to install some server software. I'd say just buy a NAS with RAID 5. I've used the QNAP TS-409 for two separate businesses and I'm pretty happy with it.

[ootuoyetahi]

yea NAS is the way to go. I have used this one. You just have to buy the drives and you're set. It comes with a utility to set up how you are going to backup (ftp, web, etc). Make sure you prep it though, dont try and set the RAID up on site, you'll be there for 20 hours doing nothing.

[MHCG]

Originally Posted by ootuoyetahi

Make sure you prep it though, dont try and set the RAID up on site, you'll be there for 20 hours doing nothing.

Good tip, same thing goes for the QNAP NAS. Prep the RAID before you show up.

[TimeCode]

NAS is great but it doesn't cover the Database issue...

Though it is a bit more expensive than $900, I recommend going with a computer running MS Small Business Server 2003 Premium R2 with HDDs set up in at least RAID 1. It will have all the features you need including login security, database, storage, and data redundancy and login rights for 5 users. The software will run you about $1300.

Of course, if you know Linux you can get the software for free. I'm not a huge Linux fan but that's mainly because I haven't taken the time to learn it.

[MHCG]

from the TS-409 description

MySQL Server
TS-409 is the most affordable choice as a standalone database server for system integrators. It can be flexibly applied in various deployments such as a database server of another web server in remote site or as an additional backup database server to achieve system redundancy.