Server for small local business, which one to get?

Hi all, later today I'll be starting the office setup, basically unpacking all the equipment and wiring up all the workstations, the server, the switch, ect.

My first question, and it is probably very stupid, but once I, or should I say if I even manage, to install the active directory, DNS and DHP on the server, then connect all the client machines to the domain, will these machines still be able to access the internet (google, youtube, ect WAN?), or are they "locked" in to the LAN and in order to connect to the internet they will have to be logged out of the domain account and in to a normal local user account?
 
Once the workstations join the domain, they'll have a new profile, but they'll surf the internet just fine. Only technical difference is they use the servers IP for their DNS, not the router or ISPs DNS servers.

They should never have to log into their (old) local user account again.
 
I all, I'm currently on-site the owners have left me the keys!

I've got the Lenovo TS140 server upgraded with SSD drive for Server 2012 OS, two spinners in RAID1 for data storage, and have set static IP address and setup DHCP, DNS and active directory all installed and configured on this TS140 server,

D-link gigabit switch is also mounted nicely in the rack.

I also have two brand new Dell Vostro desktop PC's setup and ready to join the domain, but I'm having trouble with very slow download speeds for things like drivers, printer drivers, ect. Web surfing and youtube is super slick on both the server and the client desktops, it's just downloading!!

Please anyone know how to solve this?

Could it be a problem with the D-link 26-port switch? I have the d-link network assistant software installed, maybe a setting to tick/untick in there?

Could it be the router not being up to spec? It is some crappy Technicolor TG582n model?

Currently tried...
1.disabled router firewall
2. enabled router DMZ for server IP
3. applied the GPEDIT tweaks outlined in THIS article

Please help!
 
DNS perhaps... how do you have this set up?

Edit: Im assuming there is an actual issue here and not some missed connection. Have you also confirmed speed tests directly from the ISP equipment?
 
Pixelated Tech said:
DNS perhaps... how do you have this set up?

Edit: Im assuming there is an actual issue here and not some missed connection. Have you also confirmed speed tests directly from the ISP equipment?
Click to expand...

When I log on to the Technicolor TG582n router firmware page it is reporting 21987 Kbps / 1247 Kbps down/up. This is slow I think?
YeOldeStonecat said:
Post an INCONFIG /ALL from a workstation
Click to expand...

I will eventually but want to get the server running optimally before assigning active directory accounts and joining the two Dell Vostros to the domain.
 
That may very well be your clients internet speed. Can you confirm what their connection speed is? 21down/1.5up.

It is common for vendor driver repositories to be very slow.

Get the server clients on the DC and post an ipconfig /all as @YeOldeStonecat suggests so we have a better understanding of some of the config.
 
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Rereading your post..>I see you mention browsing is snappy on all...so I'd not think the IP setup, DNS, etc...is incorrect.
Just sounds like downloads are slow..perhaps they're throttled, or that router has QoS applied in a way that focuses more on business traffic (RDP, HTTPS, SSL, DNS, etc) versus downloads
 
I just realised I havn't installed any system drivers for this machine, been so preoccupied with adding roles/features that I forgot the basics! Just installing everything now going to reboot hopefull download speed will be fixed!
 
hi guys just rebooted after installing all latest drivers via SlimDrivers and it has fixed the slow download speeds now running about 750KBps instead of 50-60 like before!

Now going to try and get the two Vostro desktops to join the domain!
 
Got the first Dell Vostro client desktop connected to the server domain! Made a custom user profile in the active directory users & computers manager on the server. Well happy with progress!

edit, created a shared volume and tried exchanging files between server and client desktop pc... working great, very happy.
going to call it a night it's nearly 11pm here and I got to cycle home 6 miles!

thanks for all the prompt help, you guys are great.
 
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It's nice if you have time to pre-configure these as much as possible in your own office in a relaxed environment before taking them on site. Especially the first couple you do. Also, I would switch to Snappy Driver Installer instead of what you are using.
 
Ok just had another look at SDI again and now appreciate it more, it certainly is better than SlimDrivers, if a little more difficult to use! It's finding lots of goodies that slimdrivers never noticed!

Can you guys help me figure out why the Dell Vostro workstation is really slow to download, yet surfs webpages perfectly quick. It is like what the server was experiencing before I installed all it's system drivers except that the Dell Vostro has all it's drivers installed including ethernet & chipset, ect.

Also I'm not sure if I set the DNS correctly on the server. Originally I read off what it presented me in the ipconfig /all window, then a couple hours later I changed it to be the same as the servers IP address, so I'm not sure which one was correct?

Regarding the router is it bottlenecking the network as it is a cheap £15 thingy. Should I upgrade it, if so what is a good ADSL2+ wireless router for a small office network like this?

edit: I setup remote admin access to the router so I can login and check things out from my home PC and noticed Address Filtering was enabled so I disabled it after reading it causes problems with printer connections and probably other things, too!

Last night I enabled DMZ for the servers IP address and also disabled the firewall, just to start things off until they stabalize then I can start adding back the security bit by bit.

Should I configure/change any of these settings or leave them alone?

Screenshot_2016_09_15_10_17_58.png

Screenshot_2016_09_15_10_18_09.png


edit: yet again images i post not showing up! Why? They are 640x480....
 
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Re: DMZ the server...with the firewall off. Uhm...."not good!" Even with the firewall turned on, a Windows computer hanging out on the internet, outside of NAT...I'd want to format that if it's been sticking outside the firewall for more than a few minutes. You should at least check its logs, look for odd accounts, change Admin password again, run a full scan on it.

Here's an example of a setup.
Server IP 192.168.10.11
255.255.255.0
gateway 192.168.10.1
DNS 192.168.10.11

Now setup the DNS forwarders...start...run...DNSMGMT.MSC this brings up DNS management.
Right click server, properties, forwarders tab, this is where you set the public DNS servers that the server turns to for requests for zones outside of its own internal AD. Typically you enter the ISPs DNS servers here, or...I actually prefer to use OpenDNS's servers for increased security..208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220. Some people put Google DNS..8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

Now for DHCP for the LAN, create your scope, 192.168.10.0
I typically exclude 192.168.10.1 to 192.168.10.99 so the dynamic handout range starts at .100 on up for workstations
I set servers in the teens, printers in the 20's and 30's, managed switches 'n NAS's in the single digits, etc.
DHCP hands out the address, subnet, gateway, and the DNS it will hand out is the servers IP, 192.168.10.11.

This is an OLD article I did back quite a few years ago on my Small Biz server at home, while it's outdated, the principles are still true
http://www.speedguide.net/articles/server-based-network-guide-1660
 
Re: Speed....the only thing that goes "through" the server is the DNS request from the client workstations. Once the workstation resolves the IP via the DNS request to the server, the traffic is between the client workstation...out the gateway (the router)...to whatever the public server is. Traffic like website traffic, downloads, etc...does not go "through" the server. So as long as the workstations are resolving public internet addresses fine....and you confirm the DNS is setup properly (using the server)...it's not that which is causing the workstations to slow down. Years ago Small Business Server (premium editions) came with Proxy server..all traffic did actually run THROUGH the server..we used to multi-home the server (dual NICs). But that's no longer the case...it's dropped. (later versions were called ISA).
 
One small thing - you may have already done this. Your switch is a managed switch, right? Just quickly check that the ports in use are set to Gigabit. They probably are by default, but it's worth a look to make sure.
 
Thanks for the above help, I will follow your advices except things have taken a step back in terms of progress namely the routers WIFI drops when the router is connected to the switch. As soon as I disconnect the patch cable from the switch, the wifi comes back on! Any idea why being connected to the switch stops the wifi, is it because the router is rubbish and can't handle the extra load/calulations/taffic? or is it something I can solve right now or do we need to buy a better router than this £14 Technicolor TG582n that we currently have?
 
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