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Have you encountered obstacles in the planning or execution of any of these network design considerations? What other issues would you add to the list?
I would like to thank you so much for the valued information it was really good for me
thanx again
thanx again
I've used SMEServer & ClarkConnect in small businesses to great effect.
VPN coupled with Remote Desktop access to their XP Pro PC's and web mail have provided these users with the services they need to do their work.
These systems can also be run 'headless' so that they can be tucked away in a corner in the back office. Useful when offices are tight for space.
I've used Win 2K3 Servers when businesses needed to have terminal services or other special requirements. Often because they have satellite offices or road warrior users.
It's important to remember that in order to avoid unnecessary call-outs, you should do the following:
1) Delegate / enpower the office manager to handle day-to-day tasks (backups, account mgt, printing, etc)
2) Enable remote access to your PC / Laptop (so you can fix minor issues on the fly)
3) Automate as many tasks as possible (updates, garbage collection, system checks, etc) and get the system to email you the results. That way you can pro-active with your system maintenance.
4) Always use a UPS unit. They are cheap and will save your bacon in the long run. If you can, put the Internet router & switch on it as well so that remote access can still be maintained.
Remember that they demand reliability from their systems and do not (usually) have an on-site IT engineer to help them.
Dom
VPN coupled with Remote Desktop access to their XP Pro PC's and web mail have provided these users with the services they need to do their work.
These systems can also be run 'headless' so that they can be tucked away in a corner in the back office. Useful when offices are tight for space.
I've used Win 2K3 Servers when businesses needed to have terminal services or other special requirements. Often because they have satellite offices or road warrior users.
It's important to remember that in order to avoid unnecessary call-outs, you should do the following:
1) Delegate / enpower the office manager to handle day-to-day tasks (backups, account mgt, printing, etc)
2) Enable remote access to your PC / Laptop (so you can fix minor issues on the fly)
3) Automate as many tasks as possible (updates, garbage collection, system checks, etc) and get the system to email you the results. That way you can pro-active with your system maintenance.
4) Always use a UPS unit. They are cheap and will save your bacon in the long run. If you can, put the Internet router & switch on it as well so that remote access can still be maintained.
Remember that they demand reliability from their systems and do not (usually) have an on-site IT engineer to help them.
Dom
I have a couple of clients who just have a box running XP (or 2000) as their server.
If you have 5 client PCs, use GoDaddy for $5/month for web & email, you really may not need any apps running on the server. So why not just get a $400 XP box (incl. UPS), and use Mozy ($5/mo for 30 Gb) for online backup, and you're good to go.
I agree it's good to have file and print services all served from 1 PC, but for a lot of very small businesses that's all they need.
Yes, if you know them and want to save a few bucks, go ahead and use Linux of FreeBSD, or whatever's your favorite. They all so file and print serving just fine.
Actually, in my experience, even XP (Pro) does a perfect job at this: I've never seen a crash in an XP box just running file & print services, and 1 GHz / 256 Mb is plenty, as long as you don't measure performance while you're logged in.
If you've never tried Mozy, do yourself a favor: by default, it wakes up every couple of hours and does an incremental backup to their servers in Berkeley. Throttling (my idea!), encryption, and all that stuff included. I'm very happy with it. FREE with 2 Gb for home use. Get an extra 250 Mb if you use this link: https://mozy.com/ref/VKXPV7
If you have 5 client PCs, use GoDaddy for $5/month for web & email, you really may not need any apps running on the server. So why not just get a $400 XP box (incl. UPS), and use Mozy ($5/mo for 30 Gb) for online backup, and you're good to go.
I agree it's good to have file and print services all served from 1 PC, but for a lot of very small businesses that's all they need.
Yes, if you know them and want to save a few bucks, go ahead and use Linux of FreeBSD, or whatever's your favorite. They all so file and print serving just fine.
Actually, in my experience, even XP (Pro) does a perfect job at this: I've never seen a crash in an XP box just running file & print services, and 1 GHz / 256 Mb is plenty, as long as you don't measure performance while you're logged in.
If you've never tried Mozy, do yourself a favor: by default, it wakes up every couple of hours and does an incremental backup to their servers in Berkeley. Throttling (my idea!), encryption, and all that stuff included. I'm very happy with it. FREE with 2 Gb for home use. Get an extra 250 Mb if you use this link: https://mozy.com/ref/VKXPV7
A lot of us are making good points for a p2p XP server etc. I
agree, as I stated in my last post, that in many cases that is fine
a small client. But, the debate is somewhat off. First thing
anyone does is ask the client their current needs and future
projections for growth. Then most would ask for a budget. If the
client says $1500 setup and done....here comes the p2p. If they
say $5000 finished and running then sell them an entry level
$2500 to $3500 server and some server based AV and install it
for within, or very close to the budget. The debate should not be
which is better...p2p or Server. It should be what does the client
want, need based on growth and budget, and wish for feature
wise.
I too agree that linux or a Mac server would be great (as I am a
mac fan) but, even in a 5 user shop their are great benefits to
using GP and server based Anti-Virus etc that are features a mac
server does not give you. I really wish someone would come out
with a GP app for a mac server so that I could control pc settings
from OS X. Now that is a dream.
razz
agree, as I stated in my last post, that in many cases that is fine
a small client. But, the debate is somewhat off. First thing
anyone does is ask the client their current needs and future
projections for growth. Then most would ask for a budget. If the
client says $1500 setup and done....here comes the p2p. If they
say $5000 finished and running then sell them an entry level
$2500 to $3500 server and some server based AV and install it
for within, or very close to the budget. The debate should not be
which is better...p2p or Server. It should be what does the client
want, need based on growth and budget, and wish for feature
wise.
I too agree that linux or a Mac server would be great (as I am a
mac fan) but, even in a 5 user shop their are great benefits to
using GP and server based Anti-Virus etc that are features a mac
server does not give you. I really wish someone would come out
with a GP app for a mac server so that I could control pc settings
from OS X. Now that is a dream.
razz
you said you wished that there was a app that would let you control pc setting from osx... and there is. it is called 'remote desktop connect' or 'rdc'. microsoft offers this mac application that allows you to use the remote desktop feature of windows server 2003, windows small business server 2003, and windows xp profesional. check it out. works like a charm.
Just to clarify, I said an app to provide Group Policy control, not
remote control. Remote Desktop while a wonderful tool, that yes
is available from the Mac side, is not a substitute for Group
Policy.
remote control. Remote Desktop while a wonderful tool, that yes
is available from the Mac side, is not a substitute for Group
Policy.
One of the biggest obstacles in a small office is the in-house "IT expert" who starts telling you how to do your job.
1/Support 10 XP Clients instead of 1 Server.
2/Files not centrally Saved
3/Spend more on Client PC's
4/Erratic Security
5/No RAID protection of data
6/No centralised printing.
7/No centralised Backups
8/Dificulty in monitoring backups
9/Extra expense if Company does grow.
I could go on and on but needless to say that any proponent of workgroups as a viable business solution is not involved in keeping their customers need's at the forefront of their mind.
2/Files not centrally Saved
3/Spend more on Client PC's
4/Erratic Security
5/No RAID protection of data
6/No centralised printing.
7/No centralised Backups
8/Dificulty in monitoring backups
9/Extra expense if Company does grow.
I could go on and on but needless to say that any proponent of workgroups as a viable business solution is not involved in keeping their customers need's at the forefront of their mind.
As an on-site IT consultant I come across many clients with peer to peer networks set up by someone who is inexperienced. SBS 2003 is perfect for 1 to 75 client workstations. Why shouldn't the small businessman reap benifits that large businesses have enjoyed.
"SBS 2003 is perfect for 1 to 75 client workstations."
Sure. Just don't expose that delicate, vulnerable stack to the bad guys on the Internet. You'll be 0wned and spamming, and *you won't even know it*. Hardly anybody (one in half a million, reliable estimate) bothers to report spam any more, and the big ISPs don't even act on complaints.
Now consider, if the bad guy's trojan can send spam, he can just as easily steal your business data.
If you run a Microsoft office, you need a robust bastion host between you and the criminals.
Two, if possible. One to de-fang incoming hostile Web content, and another to proxy and de-fang email.
Sure. Just don't expose that delicate, vulnerable stack to the bad guys on the Internet. You'll be 0wned and spamming, and *you won't even know it*. Hardly anybody (one in half a million, reliable estimate) bothers to report spam any more, and the big ISPs don't even act on complaints.
Now consider, if the bad guy's trojan can send spam, he can just as easily steal your business data.
If you run a Microsoft office, you need a robust bastion host between you and the criminals.
Two, if possible. One to de-fang incoming hostile Web content, and another to proxy and de-fang email.
We will allways set up a hardened firwall on the perimiter with UTM for Spam/Virus/Phishing built in.
This will forward through a DMZ subnet to an external Network Card on Server and ISA will forward to an internal Card.
No direct routing between cards.
The Firewall will not be plugged to the same switch as the internal LAN as this allows a back door arround ISA (layer 2).
We see a lot of "IT Experts" doing this.
We run Anti Virus on Desktops/Server/SMTP.
Also SUS for ensuring updates and saving bandwidth.
Anti spyware on all Desktops.
We work too "you can never have to much protection for YOUR CUSTOMERS NETWORK".
PS;Do not sell SBS Standard as at some point you will need to manipulate a VPN product through the firewall and you will not have the customisation available in ISA.
This will forward through a DMZ subnet to an external Network Card on Server and ISA will forward to an internal Card.
No direct routing between cards.
The Firewall will not be plugged to the same switch as the internal LAN as this allows a back door arround ISA (layer 2).
We see a lot of "IT Experts" doing this.
We run Anti Virus on Desktops/Server/SMTP.
Also SUS for ensuring updates and saving bandwidth.
Anti spyware on all Desktops.
We work too "you can never have to much protection for YOUR CUSTOMERS NETWORK".
PS;Do not sell SBS Standard as at some point you will need to manipulate a VPN product through the firewall and you will not have the customisation available in ISA.
i service a number of small non-profit groups in the DC area. They range in size from 2 to 50 employees. Most of them do not have a server, the larger ones have one or more servers. It is quite possible to use workgroups for those with 10 or fewer employees, and, in fact, I get fewer calls from those smaller non-profits without servers than those with. I'll generally set up one machine in the workgroups to act as a server, were all files are stored for ease of backup. If there is a central printer, it will be a networked enable printer or hang off another machine, generally the machine of the person who is deemed to use it the most.
I don't understand your comment os spending more on client PC's. With 10 full time employees, you are going to need 10 PC's whether or not you hae a server--an extra expense in and of itself.
If you are setting up the PC's yourself, there is no erratic security to speak of, since they willall have individual anti-virus and firewall protection along with the protection of the firewall built into the router. Anti-spam is generally handled by the ISP, but SpamBayes makes an excellent backup or primary anti-spam filter, etc.
Monitoring of the backup may be a problem, in that the employee in charge of the monitoring may not really pay attention to it, but since you have remote access enabled, yu can check the logs yourself as part of the service you offer them.
To RAID or not to RAID is always the question. One can have a RAID array in a workstation, and there are many servers out there without RAID. Sure it is easier to just slap in a new drive and let the array rebuild itself, but then it could take as long if no tlonger than hopping over there with a new hard drive, reinstalling the OS and running a restore.
If the organization does grow, adding s server is an added expense to be sure, but having a server prior tothe growth means that that expense, and more, has already been absorbed, and that expense could be holding the organization back from expansion to begin.
There are times, when a small organization may need a server to better serve their needs, and have less than 10 employees. That is a fact, but each organization must be looked at with a fresh view and the need for a server or lack of need must be determined.
I don't understand your comment os spending more on client PC's. With 10 full time employees, you are going to need 10 PC's whether or not you hae a server--an extra expense in and of itself.
If you are setting up the PC's yourself, there is no erratic security to speak of, since they willall have individual anti-virus and firewall protection along with the protection of the firewall built into the router. Anti-spam is generally handled by the ISP, but SpamBayes makes an excellent backup or primary anti-spam filter, etc.
Monitoring of the backup may be a problem, in that the employee in charge of the monitoring may not really pay attention to it, but since you have remote access enabled, yu can check the logs yourself as part of the service you offer them.
To RAID or not to RAID is always the question. One can have a RAID array in a workstation, and there are many servers out there without RAID. Sure it is easier to just slap in a new drive and let the array rebuild itself, but then it could take as long if no tlonger than hopping over there with a new hard drive, reinstalling the OS and running a restore.
If the organization does grow, adding s server is an added expense to be sure, but having a server prior tothe growth means that that expense, and more, has already been absorbed, and that expense could be holding the organization back from expansion to begin.
There are times, when a small organization may need a server to better serve their needs, and have less than 10 employees. That is a fact, but each organization must be looked at with a fresh view and the need for a server or lack of need must be determined.
RAID is not a luxury it is a requirement!
If you are supporting up to 50 users on a workgroup you are not advising your customers correctly.
I would recommend you look at the 70-282 Small Business Specialist exam to help you understand what is the basic requirement of a reliable network infastructure.
If you are supporting up to 50 users on a workgroup you are not advising your customers correctly.
I would recommend you look at the 70-282 Small Business Specialist exam to help you understand what is the basic requirement of a reliable network infastructure.
One of the biggest problems I've seen with servers is setting up too little server. On the other hand, it can go the other way quite easily too.
A three-person Real Estate office can probably get by with a very lightweight server, maybe even a single CPU, so long as it can serve up JPGs of the properties and such relatively well.
A thirty-person marketing company, with hundreds of clients and constant need for flashy pages, will need a lot more than that.
(Of course, I'm only talking about small businesses here. Larger need much more powerful servers.)
As the article mentions, it comes down to figuring out what you want the server to do now, what you will definitely want it to do in the near/medium/distant future, and the best guesses as to what you *might* want it to do, but aren't sure yet. The better you can do on figuring all that out, the better decisions on hardware will be.
I see a lot of under-resourcing. It usually happens because someone with financial authority goes with the cheapest hardware that will do the immediate job. Then, once the server is up, people start having ideas of "wouldn't it be cool if the server could also...".
It's cheaper to buy a $5,000 server today than to buy a $500 server today and a $1,000 server next month, and a $2,000 server a couple of months after that, and then another $2,000 server "to run parallel with the other one", and then to finally end up with the $5,000 server that could have been purchased at the beginning of the year.
Anticipate needs/wants. Anticipate Return-on-Investment. Plan, plan and plan some more. Then buy/lease.
A three-person Real Estate office can probably get by with a very lightweight server, maybe even a single CPU, so long as it can serve up JPGs of the properties and such relatively well.
A thirty-person marketing company, with hundreds of clients and constant need for flashy pages, will need a lot more than that.
(Of course, I'm only talking about small businesses here. Larger need much more powerful servers.)
As the article mentions, it comes down to figuring out what you want the server to do now, what you will definitely want it to do in the near/medium/distant future, and the best guesses as to what you *might* want it to do, but aren't sure yet. The better you can do on figuring all that out, the better decisions on hardware will be.
I see a lot of under-resourcing. It usually happens because someone with financial authority goes with the cheapest hardware that will do the immediate job. Then, once the server is up, people start having ideas of "wouldn't it be cool if the server could also...".
It's cheaper to buy a $5,000 server today than to buy a $500 server today and a $1,000 server next month, and a $2,000 server a couple of months after that, and then another $2,000 server "to run parallel with the other one", and then to finally end up with the $5,000 server that could have been purchased at the beginning of the year.
Anticipate needs/wants. Anticipate Return-on-Investment. Plan, plan and plan some more. Then buy/lease.
All businesses need a server. A peer to peer network belongs in the home. Businesses need to share more than internet and printers they have Line of Business (LOB) apps, accounting software, and company documents that often need to be shared. It is absurd to not have a fault tolerant central data store in a business. If you sell a client anything less then you are not serving your clients' best interests. Most businesses cannot survive without their data. The high failure rate of hard drives and power supplies is still a reality. Having critical company information spread across the network on individual PCs is a nightmare to even consider backing up. If you think that your customers will religiously backup every system every day you need to have your head examined. It is a simple group policy to redirect everyone's My Documents folder to a users folder on the SBS server. Every busines needs a server with at least mirrored hard drives, redundant power supplies, a good on site and off site backup solution and an engineer to monitor it all at least monthly. I agree with most everything else in your article. You've made some excellent points. However, ALL businesses need a server.
I agree with trevor. There's nothing more insecure than user docs scattered all over with no real backup plan in place. And besides not being able to survive without their data, if someone leaves the company, you may or may not ever find it all.
Now I would also agree a server with dual processors is a little overkill for an office of 5 people, so perhaps #1 should be "size hardware appropriately". Most 5 user offices also don't need a RAID5 array with 146Gb drives either.
Now I would also agree a server with dual processors is a little overkill for an office of 5 people, so perhaps #1 should be "size hardware appropriately". Most 5 user offices also don't need a RAID5 array with 146Gb drives either.
Small business think they save money when they don't buy a server but the price of support is much higher with a peer to peer network. And you're never sure that everything is backup on the network.
It worth the change of server when you think about the cost for hard disk recovery service and the headache it give.
A right size server for a business is not very expensive. Don't try to have security like NASA just the essential (centralize docs, backup, RAID 1, firewall, AV) for the beginning and invest more later for more security. But always think in your plan that a business can expand even if they aren't supposed, many of them do.
It worth the change of server when you think about the cost for hard disk recovery service and the headache it give.
A right size server for a business is not very expensive. Don't try to have security like NASA just the essential (centralize docs, backup, RAID 1, firewall, AV) for the beginning and invest more later for more security. But always think in your plan that a business can expand even if they aren't supposed, many of them do.
I also agree with Trevor. At face value the article (which I enjoyed
by the way) has a point. I run across many Small 5 or 8 person
shops with p2p networks and they are able to work fine. They
only share a Quickbooks file and back it up daily to CD. It works
and they are happy with the system and its limits.
But, the question should not only be 'do they "need" a server'. In
looking at clients we must take into account the expandability
and growth potential of the company and system. While they
may not need it, an argument could be made that almost any
small business could see better office and LAN performance with
a server like SBS than in a p2p. Centralized user and permission
management. Support by contracted companies becomes VPN to
the server and Remote assistance or Remote Desktop the
workstations. Group Policy control comes into play for a better
working experience, control, and data protection with redirected
folders.. Most small companies can benefit from Public folders
such as a company wide contact list or calendar, internal email,
even (I am chocking as I write it but it is true) Sharepoint
Services. Email clients are easier to manage with the POP 3
downloader etc. Yeah, Dual Core Xeon may be over kill but after
talking with a client that says they have a 5 year plane to triple
growth and add 2 remote offices you may need to use a bit of
temporary overkill. ROI comes in many forms, communication
with employees and clients, faster response from data and
workstation hardware, better disaster plan for data. An SBS
server with an internal 40 or 72 DAT drive, maybe like the HP
internal USB DAT 72 can be as simple as the office manager
changing tapes each AM and taking the last one home.
Does every small 5 - 10 user shop need a server...no, and I
recognize that many will be fine that way forever. But should
most of them have one for the added productivity and
management benefits? I thinks yes.
razz
by the way) has a point. I run across many Small 5 or 8 person
shops with p2p networks and they are able to work fine. They
only share a Quickbooks file and back it up daily to CD. It works
and they are happy with the system and its limits.
But, the question should not only be 'do they "need" a server'. In
looking at clients we must take into account the expandability
and growth potential of the company and system. While they
may not need it, an argument could be made that almost any
small business could see better office and LAN performance with
a server like SBS than in a p2p. Centralized user and permission
management. Support by contracted companies becomes VPN to
the server and Remote assistance or Remote Desktop the
workstations. Group Policy control comes into play for a better
working experience, control, and data protection with redirected
folders.. Most small companies can benefit from Public folders
such as a company wide contact list or calendar, internal email,
even (I am chocking as I write it but it is true) Sharepoint
Services. Email clients are easier to manage with the POP 3
downloader etc. Yeah, Dual Core Xeon may be over kill but after
talking with a client that says they have a 5 year plane to triple
growth and add 2 remote offices you may need to use a bit of
temporary overkill. ROI comes in many forms, communication
with employees and clients, faster response from data and
workstation hardware, better disaster plan for data. An SBS
server with an internal 40 or 72 DAT drive, maybe like the HP
internal USB DAT 72 can be as simple as the office manager
changing tapes each AM and taking the last one home.
Does every small 5 - 10 user shop need a server...no, and I
recognize that many will be fine that way forever. But should
most of them have one for the added productivity and
management benefits? I thinks yes.
razz
going to go against the grain here and slightily disagree with trevor.
i agree that all small businesses should have a server, with disk mirroring, etc, but i also see businesses point of view that until they reach 5 users + then its very hard to find the cash for such a move.
i agree if they find a good local IT company it is a good investment but thats not always easy. and even with sbs's wizards most will need quite a bit of support.
if a peer to peer network is used correctly, where one machine is allocated to be the data storage machine, it can serve the one man band quite well when he progresses to his first few employees.
i agree that all small businesses should have a server, with disk mirroring, etc, but i also see businesses point of view that until they reach 5 users + then its very hard to find the cash for such a move.
i agree if they find a good local IT company it is a good investment but thats not always easy. and even with sbs's wizards most will need quite a bit of support.
if a peer to peer network is used correctly, where one machine is allocated to be the data storage machine, it can serve the one man band quite well when he progresses to his first few employees.
An XP file server in a small business environment will inevitably be used as a workstation too. This is the worst possible scenario. Users break computers, period! Part of the point of a file server is to keep filthy user hands off of the data store. Users will open email attachements and browse to sites that will cripple your XP "server". The cost of SBS is only $300 (see viosoftware.com part #T72-00661-cdo) versus $100 for XP. Spend the money and keep users and their filthy habits away from the mission critical data. Imagine the downtime when you have to reload that corrupted system because you let a user use your server. P2P has no place in a business environment. Fault tolerance and server level security are not expendable, cost saving options. I won't put a bad solution in place for anyone regardless of their budget. Have the courage to say that you'll give them an appropriate server solution so that their business can succeed or that they can take their business elswhere.
While I'm ranting, don't you dare put a server in with a celeron or P4 processor. While they may not need the processing power of a Xeon, what you get when you sell them a Xeon processor is a server class motherboard. Workstation motherboards are for workstations. Cutting corners here will cause heartache.
Your small business customers don't want a server any more than they want to pay taxes and insurance. What they do want is for their business to run smoothly and that means minimizing downtime. You're just asking for trouble and downtime that is far more costly than doing it right from the beginning. You're not doing yourelf or your customer any favors to cut corners. Give them what they need not what they want, they will always want to spend less. Downtime is far costlier than the difference between an XP "server" and a real fault tolerant server.
ALL businesses need a server!
While I'm ranting, don't you dare put a server in with a celeron or P4 processor. While they may not need the processing power of a Xeon, what you get when you sell them a Xeon processor is a server class motherboard. Workstation motherboards are for workstations. Cutting corners here will cause heartache.
Your small business customers don't want a server any more than they want to pay taxes and insurance. What they do want is for their business to run smoothly and that means minimizing downtime. You're just asking for trouble and downtime that is far more costly than doing it right from the beginning. You're not doing yourelf or your customer any favors to cut corners. Give them what they need not what they want, they will always want to spend less. Downtime is far costlier than the difference between an XP "server" and a real fault tolerant server.
ALL businesses need a server!
i'm a tech we've quite a bit of experience with 2-5 user businesses. i can appreciate the cost difference between xp and sbs, but it doesn't stop there does it. you inevitably get a higher spec machine for sbs and the biggest cost is normally the IT techs time in configuring, installing and support.
users get told to keep their 'filthy habits' away from the business pc's, although i generally put it in a slightly nicer way.
what you are saying is right in an ideal world, and i'm all for aiming that high. i think its going more that way since the success of sbs2003, but its difficult persuading the one man band that now he's taking his first employee on he needs to shell out for a server as well as a new workstation.
i do look forward to the time when i can work on servers permanently.
users get told to keep their 'filthy habits' away from the business pc's, although i generally put it in a slightly nicer way.
what you are saying is right in an ideal world, and i'm all for aiming that high. i think its going more that way since the success of sbs2003, but its difficult persuading the one man band that now he's taking his first employee on he needs to shell out for a server as well as a new workstation.
i do look forward to the time when i can work on servers permanently.
Ross,
If I may be so bold; been there done that. If you are supporting "one man band" businesses you are going to go insane and broke. They don't provide enough business to keep food on your table, they whine about every invoice, and they don't provide a consistant revenue stream. Begin to market your skills to businesses with 10+ or even better 20+. It will only take a couple of those customers to make your SMB consulting business thrive. You will need to provide them maintenance every month. Once you break into the 30+ market you'll be there 6-8 hours every week.
In the meantime checkout datapreserve.com and get your clients on an off site backup program and make certain that you are servicing your clients at least quarterly to verify backups, check for issues in the event log, run disk utilities like chkdsk and defrag and blow out the dust. Describe this to them as a 3,000 mile oil change. Check the belts, hoses, fluids, make reccomendations to improve their business performance and they will value your expertise and interest in their business.
Take some Microsoft cert classes and get the certs. A few years from now you'll be supporting longhorn SBS servers. you will have helped the "one man bands" to graduate to a 10 - 20 person company by understanding their business goals and prescribing technology solutions to help them acheive great sucess. Your reputation and profits will flourish. Grow your expertise in supporting servers and become a Microsoft Partner. Also check out SMBnation.com, I hope that it works out for you, good luck.
If I may be so bold; been there done that. If you are supporting "one man band" businesses you are going to go insane and broke. They don't provide enough business to keep food on your table, they whine about every invoice, and they don't provide a consistant revenue stream. Begin to market your skills to businesses with 10+ or even better 20+. It will only take a couple of those customers to make your SMB consulting business thrive. You will need to provide them maintenance every month. Once you break into the 30+ market you'll be there 6-8 hours every week.
In the meantime checkout datapreserve.com and get your clients on an off site backup program and make certain that you are servicing your clients at least quarterly to verify backups, check for issues in the event log, run disk utilities like chkdsk and defrag and blow out the dust. Describe this to them as a 3,000 mile oil change. Check the belts, hoses, fluids, make reccomendations to improve their business performance and they will value your expertise and interest in their business.
Take some Microsoft cert classes and get the certs. A few years from now you'll be supporting longhorn SBS servers. you will have helped the "one man bands" to graduate to a 10 - 20 person company by understanding their business goals and prescribing technology solutions to help them acheive great sucess. Your reputation and profits will flourish. Grow your expertise in supporting servers and become a Microsoft Partner. Also check out SMBnation.com, I hope that it works out for you, good luck.
i'm involved with a franchise company where several new one man band branches are created every month, and often several close every month. i appreciate you advice to move on, and thats likely, but it won't help them.
as for the rest of it, its all true and what i've been trying to achieve in the environment mentioned above.
if only achieving all this was as easy as tapping it out on a message board. i look forward to twenty years time when i can get a guys heckles up by starting a post to them with a smug 'been there done that'!
as for the rest of it, its all true and what i've been trying to achieve in the environment mentioned above.
if only achieving all this was as easy as tapping it out on a message board. i look forward to twenty years time when i can get a guys heckles up by starting a post to them with a smug 'been there done that'!
I agree with many of your points about fault tolerance and backups etc. but that can be accomplished without an expensive server. If a business is large enough to pay a person for support on a regular basis even if it is only every month or less frequently then they should probably have a server. When you add a server you add thousands for that and regular maintenance. In a small company with a handfull of desktops good computing habits by users (backups, etc.) is a lot less expensive and will provide as good or better service to the business without a server. One can set up a methodology for them to follow to back up data and even whole desktops that will provide more value to them in the long run than a server. Even with a server they still need to do most of these things.
All businesses need servers! Even a one-man-band with a laptop needs one.
Any desktop system by virtue of the fact that there is a human using it, will eventually crash & burn. The trick is to ensure that you have the data backed up and the best way to do this in a business is to set up a server.
1) It keeps user data off their workstation
2) Data can be easily shared with colleagues
3) It is easier to arrange backups (the system is running 24*7)
4) It is a legitimate business expence
And I have only talked about the data. What about other shared resources (Printers, email, Internet, etc)? They all benefit from being centrally located. Hanging a printer and some file shares off Mary's PC might be simple to set-up but if the PC is turned off, what good is it to you. What happens if Mary accidentally deletes some files? What happens when 5 more people are trying to access the same data?
It's been proven time and time again, companies that loose (financial) data go out of business.
The actual server OS (Windows, Linux, Mac, etc) that is set-up is irrelevant providing it can do the jobs that it needs to do.
If you are called in to set-up a small office network, you need to sit down and let the client tell YOU what they need, then you put together the package that will do the necessary jobs for them within the budget specified.
Dom
Any desktop system by virtue of the fact that there is a human using it, will eventually crash & burn. The trick is to ensure that you have the data backed up and the best way to do this in a business is to set up a server.
1) It keeps user data off their workstation
2) Data can be easily shared with colleagues
3) It is easier to arrange backups (the system is running 24*7)
4) It is a legitimate business expence
And I have only talked about the data. What about other shared resources (Printers, email, Internet, etc)? They all benefit from being centrally located. Hanging a printer and some file shares off Mary's PC might be simple to set-up but if the PC is turned off, what good is it to you. What happens if Mary accidentally deletes some files? What happens when 5 more people are trying to access the same data?
It's been proven time and time again, companies that loose (financial) data go out of business.
The actual server OS (Windows, Linux, Mac, etc) that is set-up is irrelevant providing it can do the jobs that it needs to do.
If you are called in to set-up a small office network, you need to sit down and let the client tell YOU what they need, then you put together the package that will do the necessary jobs for them within the budget specified.
Dom
You say let the client tell you what they need. This falls into the "in-house IT expert" that I mentioned earlier.
As a consultant we should be letting the client tell us what their business does and how they currently work.
We should then be saying these are your alternatives, here are the pros & cons of each and this is how much they'll cost.
I would probably let a customer get away with specifying a particular supplier if they have had good service/deals from them before.
NEVER let the customer specify the solution, that's our job.
As a consultant we should be letting the client tell us what their business does and how they currently work.
We should then be saying these are your alternatives, here are the pros & cons of each and this is how much they'll cost.
I would probably let a customer get away with specifying a particular supplier if they have had good service/deals from them before.
NEVER let the customer specify the solution, that's our job.
I meant that you should let the customer tell you what their needs are from a business stand point and not what technical solutions are required.
Most managers I have met know what is required for their business, they just don't know how to implement it.
Dom
Most managers I have met know what is required for their business, they just don't know how to implement it.
Dom
There are situations in which a small business doesn't need their own server.
For example:
They use an outside provider for CRM, e-mail, etc. NetSuite, et al. The local computers are mainly used as web clients and not much more.
Why would such a business need their own server?
For example:
They use an outside provider for CRM, e-mail, etc. NetSuite, et al. The local computers are mainly used as web clients and not much more.
Why would such a business need their own server?
If their Broadband supplier decides to let them down.
Of course this never happens!!
Of course this never happens!!
I agree with both sides in this issue, and I'm not sure that the sides are really different.
There is nothing, anywhere, which says that a server has to be a dedicated machine.
I service a small law firm which uses one of their pcs as a data server (the netowrk is 3 pcs, a router, and a DSL modem.)
All documents live on a pc which acts as a server, and a as a workstation. All data is replicated sychronicly to another drive, daily & weekly backups are made to the other pc's hard drives in compressed/encrypted form and to USB port drives. Weekly backups are cut to DVD as are monthly and annual.
No one is permitted to store data except on the server, which, while admittedly not fool proof is a trainable restriction not enforced by the machines.
So they have a server--and they don't. But what they have works for them and reduces the probability of losing enough work to knock them out of business.
There is nothing, anywhere, which says that a server has to be a dedicated machine.
I service a small law firm which uses one of their pcs as a data server (the netowrk is 3 pcs, a router, and a DSL modem.)
All documents live on a pc which acts as a server, and a as a workstation. All data is replicated sychronicly to another drive, daily & weekly backups are made to the other pc's hard drives in compressed/encrypted form and to USB port drives. Weekly backups are cut to DVD as are monthly and annual.
No one is permitted to store data except on the server, which, while admittedly not fool proof is a trainable restriction not enforced by the machines.
So they have a server--and they don't. But what they have works for them and reduces the probability of losing enough work to knock them out of business.
Sir,
Could u pl help me....our company jus installed a std win 2003 server today...w.t wud my next step be....there are around 4 pcs in the head office and another 10 in the bramches. Could u tell me wat next to do
Could u pl help me....our company jus installed a std win 2003 server today...w.t wud my next step be....there are around 4 pcs in the head office and another 10 in the bramches. Could u tell me wat next to do
I found both the article on the "10 things you should know about designing SBM networks" very interesting, as well as, the email threads. This is excellent information and the fact the we have others with experience that can chime in and provide real world experiences is great.
I'm in the process of helping a family member with these exact issues and look forward to helping them streamline their business operations. Thank you!
I'm in the process of helping a family member with these exact issues and look forward to helping them streamline their business operations. Thank you!
You put this whole thing together as if "Windows" was the only
solution. This is a fairly narrow-minded premise, given that both
Linux and OS X Server are at least as well suited to the task as
Windows is. Both come with:
THE most popular Web Server software already installed
And a sturdy Database package
And a proven Mail server
And a solid/flexible Chat server
And a sturdy Firewall
Did I miss anything? Oh, yes. Neither comes with a five-license
consideration. You can have four - or forty - XP systems
sprinkled about your office without having to buy a single extra
license for you server software.
The number one thing you should consider when designing a
small business network is how to get the best result for the
money you spend. Your focus misses this mark by a mile. Being
a platform bigot is ugly and wasteful. Any metric that requires
some or all your desktops use WinXP should not be considered
when it comes time to buy a server - and an office with more
than two desktops NEEDS at least one server! Every purchasing
decision needs to be justified - more so in a SOHO than in an
Enterprise - and "because I don't know any better" should be a
"terminal" answer.
solution. This is a fairly narrow-minded premise, given that both
Linux and OS X Server are at least as well suited to the task as
Windows is. Both come with:
THE most popular Web Server software already installed
And a sturdy Database package
And a proven Mail server
And a solid/flexible Chat server
And a sturdy Firewall
Did I miss anything? Oh, yes. Neither comes with a five-license
consideration. You can have four - or forty - XP systems
sprinkled about your office without having to buy a single extra
license for you server software.
The number one thing you should consider when designing a
small business network is how to get the best result for the
money you spend. Your focus misses this mark by a mile. Being
a platform bigot is ugly and wasteful. Any metric that requires
some or all your desktops use WinXP should not be considered
when it comes time to buy a server - and an office with more
than two desktops NEEDS at least one server! Every purchasing
decision needs to be justified - more so in a SOHO than in an
Enterprise - and "because I don't know any better" should be a
"terminal" answer.
Why do you not bring up NetWare? NetWare, along with Unix, just runs, and rund, and runs. I rarely see my NetWare cleints because there is a problem with the server. If there is, then it is because a piece of hardware failed rather than a problem with the OS.
An added benefit is that the wannabe's in the office will not mess with NetWare, like they might with a Windoes based server, simply because it is so alien to them.
An added benefit is that the wannabe's in the office will not mess with NetWare, like they might with a Windoes based server, simply because it is so alien to them.
How many of us are Netware "experts" compared to the number that are Windows "experts".
That will probably tell you why Netware doesn't get a mention.
That will probably tell you why Netware doesn't get a mention.
or have ever heard of it. Also, the idea of me shoving Netware down their throats creates a one sided tech suupport dependancy that the customer simply does not want to pay for. Everytime there is an issue with Netware, they will be calling me all hours on end and because the customer has no understanding of Netware and NDS, they will feel that I strongarmed them into installing an O/S of my preference in an attempt to keep them as a hostage of my services. Honestly, I haven't touched Netware 6.x in over a year and I don't regret it because I don't see enough of a customer demand for it to warrant wasting my time installing Netware OES or Suse Linux. Windows 2003/XP is the norm among my customers and only if they demand Netware (which is highly unlikely) will I even bother with it.
What can you do with Netware that you can't with, say, FreeBSD or CentOS or Linspire? Is the slickness of the installer's user interface really important enough to determine your choice of a server OS? Is it just the sales commission?
While to the MS oriented, the Small Business bundle seems like a good idea, I would recommend considering something like one of the good Linux distributions or the Novell Open Workgroup Suite. Either way, it saves the small business a ton of money, adds security, and is more feature packed compared to the MS solution.
Small businesses usually lack the resources to keep up on the constant barrage of updates required to keep their Microsoft servers and applications secure. Also, the IT consultants who install these systems rarely provide the continued high level of support necessary to keep them secure, therefore, within a few months, those MS systems have some severe vulnerability that doesn't get patched. Sure, you can turn on automatic updates but how many serious IT departments allow that considering Microsoft's spotty reputation for updates causing other problems. What would a small business owner do if his accounting software, email, network fax, etc. stopped working for no apparent reason. Do they know how to back out an update or even know where to look.
Lastly, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER recommend peer-to-peer networking even for a 3 user office. It will always come back to bite them later.
Small businesses usually lack the resources to keep up on the constant barrage of updates required to keep their Microsoft servers and applications secure. Also, the IT consultants who install these systems rarely provide the continued high level of support necessary to keep them secure, therefore, within a few months, those MS systems have some severe vulnerability that doesn't get patched. Sure, you can turn on automatic updates but how many serious IT departments allow that considering Microsoft's spotty reputation for updates causing other problems. What would a small business owner do if his accounting software, email, network fax, etc. stopped working for no apparent reason. Do they know how to back out an update or even know where to look.
Lastly, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER recommend peer-to-peer networking even for a 3 user office. It will always come back to bite them later.
It's free to download and use from Microsoft. Sure, it will take a little bit of time to approve the list of updates on the WSUS server, but it's better than having to manually keep track of this stuff and allowing users to run auto-updates themselves and losing track of who has what patch installed.
Been there. Done that. Chucked it.
After installing win2k server on a box,
then applying the various upgrades of software that it required, then installing WSUS, then downloading the 600 and some patches that were available, then going through them, and reading the sections that say "superceded patches cannot just be eliminated" then running into issues that *some* patches cannot be automatically installed because they require user intervention. Then finding that an 800 MHz machine with 256MB of ram is not sufficient to run as a patch server with reasonable response, I said )#&$(& it and looked for alternative solutions.
Surprise! There is a whole aftermarket industry for patch managment for windows. Seems I'm not the only one to get frustrated with this. Some are big bucks.
I ended up using autopatcher "www.autopatcher.com" It's free. They roll up all the security patches once a month, and have a few tweaks on top of that. It takes 10 minutes to go through the list and select which patches need to be applied locally. You can set it to run unattended.
It just works. Recommended.
After installing win2k server on a box,
then applying the various upgrades of software that it required, then installing WSUS, then downloading the 600 and some patches that were available, then going through them, and reading the sections that say "superceded patches cannot just be eliminated" then running into issues that *some* patches cannot be automatically installed because they require user intervention. Then finding that an 800 MHz machine with 256MB of ram is not sufficient to run as a patch server with reasonable response, I said )#&$(& it and looked for alternative solutions.
Surprise! There is a whole aftermarket industry for patch managment for windows. Seems I'm not the only one to get frustrated with this. Some are big bucks.
I ended up using autopatcher "www.autopatcher.com" It's free. They roll up all the security patches once a month, and have a few tweaks on top of that. It takes 10 minutes to go through the list and select which patches need to be applied locally. You can set it to run unattended.
It just works. Recommended.
I appreciate and admire big businesses that can afford UNIX gurus (absolutely needed in a UNIX environment full time). I was one until my last downsizing when I decided to move on to another business. For truly small businesses (the government SBA defines a small business as less than 5000 employees), UNIX people are few and far between outside large companies and corporations. I just finished an RFP for a "private enterprise (SBA term)" of 8 people. I looked for a Unix support company, and outside HP, or some mega corp charging $300/hour I'm here to tell you that you cannot find them - period. And when you do, they expect really big money because they just don't understand that is not economic to have cadillac systems. It is simply unrealistic for a private business to use Unix unless they are owned by an out of work Unix guru.
On the other hand, MS support people are everywhere, and can be gotten within a couple of hours ON SITE to fix problems. I have a relative with a business in Chillichothe OH who uses unix because they got some software written for SCO about 14 years ago. It is too exhorbitant to get the progs rewritten so he is strangled by programmers, costs, availability. This is because the only unix folks he can get has to travel a couple of hours from Columbus OH. All the other unix apps drove him bananas because of incompatibility. His solution about 8 years ago was to install a second network with MS office and servers. The folks who use the progams now have two computers on their desk. One specialty and one for general office work. There is no cross over because of the expense of setting something like that up.
Don't wase my time gushing over Linux either because after trying it I decided it was as big waste of time unless you are in a large corporation with unlimited (free) tech support. And, searching the internet for days for a solution on blogs, etc is not what I call support.
And don't knock peer-to-peer until you have started up a company on a shoe string and trying to put food on the table in a highly competitive environment. My RFP bound company has finally gotten to the point that they desparately need and can afford a $3500 server and will be tapping their line of credit for the additional $1500 they will need to get it up and running.
Again I appreciate your big corporations, and the fact that so many are so jealous of MS that they would walk thru fire to avoid an MS product. However, there is a time when reality sets in and we have to meet it head on. Very small business are there. Sorry - B
On the other hand, MS support people are everywhere, and can be gotten within a couple of hours ON SITE to fix problems. I have a relative with a business in Chillichothe OH who uses unix because they got some software written for SCO about 14 years ago. It is too exhorbitant to get the progs rewritten so he is strangled by programmers, costs, availability. This is because the only unix folks he can get has to travel a couple of hours from Columbus OH. All the other unix apps drove him bananas because of incompatibility. His solution about 8 years ago was to install a second network with MS office and servers. The folks who use the progams now have two computers on their desk. One specialty and one for general office work. There is no cross over because of the expense of setting something like that up.
Don't wase my time gushing over Linux either because after trying it I decided it was as big waste of time unless you are in a large corporation with unlimited (free) tech support. And, searching the internet for days for a solution on blogs, etc is not what I call support.
And don't knock peer-to-peer until you have started up a company on a shoe string and trying to put food on the table in a highly competitive environment. My RFP bound company has finally gotten to the point that they desparately need and can afford a $3500 server and will be tapping their line of credit for the additional $1500 they will need to get it up and running.
Again I appreciate your big corporations, and the fact that so many are so jealous of MS that they would walk thru fire to avoid an MS product. However, there is a time when reality sets in and we have to meet it head on. Very small business are there. Sorry - B
The MSFT system wasn't designed (believe it or not) to be exposed directly to the Internet. If you must run MSFT applications on MSFT's OS, hide those machines on private IP addresses (10.0.0.0/8, 192.168.0.0/16) behind a firewall that performs network address translation. Don't just forward your Exchange server's inbound port 25 through that firewall, use a simple, manageable email server on a robust OS as a relay in both directions. Dedicate a *big* box if you're going to do your own virus scanning. Almost all of the hosts that try to send me spam are MSFT boxes directly exposed on routable addresses. Dedicate a second box as a Web proxy and spend money on an actively maintained scanner for hostile Web content. Don't let your MSFT workstations see straight through to the Internet unless you're prepared for the ongoing expense and random workflow interuptions malware brings. It's easier to keep it out than remove it. If you can't do that, keep your application data on shared network volumes and make all your workstations identical, so you can swap them out as they get hit.
Consider outsourcing email to a specialist, at least at first. If you run your own email instead, resist the temptation to run a Web server with dynamic applications on the same box. Most of the rest of the spam arriving here is from compromised Web application servers. Typical PHP applications are as bad as typical ASP. Your modern unix (Linux or BSD) running Apache and one of the standard mail servers is really hard to crack. But add some freeware CMS and you're throwing most of that security out the window.
If you must run one of those things, stop it
from sending email at the firewall.
Consider outsourcing email to a specialist, at least at first. If you run your own email instead, resist the temptation to run a Web server with dynamic applications on the same box. Most of the rest of the spam arriving here is from compromised Web application servers. Typical PHP applications are as bad as typical ASP. Your modern unix (Linux or BSD) running Apache and one of the standard mail servers is really hard to crack. But add some freeware CMS and you're throwing most of that security out the window.
If you must run one of those things, stop it
from sending email at the firewall.
What is this term, "re-architecting". Architect is a noun, a person who designs, buildings, landscaping, and space planning. How did the word Architect get so bastardized?
There are multiple "good tips" in this thread, however, it still comes down to a matter of "best fit". There are so many IT consulting companies out there that it is hard to know which is right for you. The basis of this posting is about fit. I am very versed in many different platforms, however: my posting is not about me. It is more about what I do (and what others in IT consulting "should" do). Certifications are not always worth their weight in gold. They do offer a certain amount of credibility (rightfully so). To me, they demonstrate a willingness on the part of the individual (or their company) to invest in that certification/title/prestige. For the most part, those that are certified have a level of competancy that rivals those that do not (there are exceptions). Most importantly is communication. Has the person or company that you have been (or will be) dealing with truly informed you of the positives and negatives? Can you convery your concerns, frustrations, and issues with them in a manner which is non-confrontational? While my strong suit is a Microsoft platform, there are alternatives that may be quite appropriate for a given business. My definition of communication, where IT is concerned, is:
what is your mission statement
how do I or would I like to do business
do I have remote/field employees
what kind of information do I house (yard/landscaping) information is not critical...security wise...your client's iformation that use your service and you store on your server or workstation IS.
Mantainance of one's server (any kind) is critical. If you are unable to do this, allbeit personal preference, training or stuborness, it has to be done. As all of the previous postings have stated, "Please make sure you know who is taking care of your network".
Sales individuals know one thing...sales. Engineers know networks and what their sales people sell (most of the time). Hopefully your "engineer" will be your guiding light and conduit.
what is your mission statement
how do I or would I like to do business
do I have remote/field employees
what kind of information do I house (yard/landscaping) information is not critical...security wise...your client's iformation that use your service and you store on your server or workstation IS.
Mantainance of one's server (any kind) is critical. If you are unable to do this, allbeit personal preference, training or stuborness, it has to be done. As all of the previous postings have stated, "Please make sure you know who is taking care of your network".
Sales individuals know one thing...sales. Engineers know networks and what their sales people sell (most of the time). Hopefully your "engineer" will be your guiding light and conduit.
i have installed a link-load balancer in my organisation and now i want redundancy so that if in future the current LLB fails, the backup one works.
Could anybody suggest best possible topology keeping in mind that i have only one internet connection and i cant assign the public IP to second LLB when it is assigned to currently installed one???
Could anybody suggest best possible topology keeping in mind that i have only one internet connection and i cant assign the public IP to second LLB when it is assigned to currently installed one???
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