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  • #2082693

    please help us!

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    by bokeri ·

    Our firm is a Financial&Tax consultant dealing with taxation and all other fianacial consultancy work. We bought a building with four floors including the ground floor.Each floor of this building is 20 metres end to end and the floors are connected by stairways. In this building we’d like to have nine PCs in each floor in a networked environmentto take care of all customer needs.How should go all about this. please give us some advice on networking OS and hardwares. if possible, send us your e-mail please.
    Rec:Managing director
    address:bokeri@hanmail.net

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    • #3896002

      please help us!

      by curlergirl ·

      In reply to please help us!

      I’m not trying to be unpleasant, but I find this question to be a bit much. I earn my living as a networking consultant. It seems to me that you are trying to hire a consultant by email without paying for it. My best advice to you is to find a consultant nearby to you who can help you with this project. Even though by some networking standards it’s a small project, you seem to be aware of the fact that it’s too large and complex for you as an inexperienced individual to handle on your own.It would be well worth the financial investment involved for you to hire someone who knows what they are doing and can provide the necessary hardware, software, cabling and networking expertise. Hope this helps.

      • #3735269

        please help us!

        by bokeri ·

        In reply to please help us!

        The question was auto-closed by TechRepublic

    • #3895997

      please help us!

      by clpadmin ·

      In reply to please help us!

      From the information you give, I would say you want to go with a client/server instead of peer to peer network. Peer to peer is good for networks not more than 10 workstations. You would like to have 36 workstations, therefore would be easier to manage if it were a client/server type environment. You can go with a 10BaseT architecture, since the max distance between floors is 80 metres (spec for 10BaseT is 100 metres max between hub and computer). I would have someone install CAT5 cables instead of doing it yourself. I’m guessing you will be running windows-based programs, so Windows NT would be fine for the server (haven’t touched Windows 2000 yet). I prefer Windows NT workstations myself (more robust), but 95/98 is fine for the workstations. Hope this helps. If you have any other questions, feel free to email me.

      • #3735270

        please help us!

        by bokeri ·

        In reply to please help us!

        The question was auto-closed by TechRepublic

    • #3895993

      please help us!

      by aokrongly ·

      In reply to please help us!

      The OS you want to use is NT (2000 Server or NT Server). It’s easy to find people to administer it and it’s easy to learn the basics. Put the server on whatever floor you want to, leave room for growth and make sure you don’t do the “well, we’ll put it here for now, but if we need to we’ll move it later” thing.

      Put a switch in the same room as the server. Plug the server into the switch. Next put a 16 port Ethernet hub on each floor. Connect each hub’s uplink port directly back to theswitch in the server room. Wire from the hub on each floor to the workstations on that floor.

      The client OS you use is based on how much security you want at the desktop, high security use 2000 Pro (or NT workstation), lower security (or no realsecurity on the desktop) use Windows 98.

      So you need:
      1 server (get a Dell or Compaq with a RAID 5 array) depending on the amount of RAM and the size of the RAID – $5,000 – $12,000 or so
      1 switch (depending on manufacturer – $400 – $800)
      36 workstations (I like Ga

      • #3735271

        please help us!

        by bokeri ·

        In reply to please help us!

        The question was auto-closed by TechRepublic

    • #3895992

      please help us!

      by aokrongly ·

      In reply to please help us!

      continued
      ..

      36 workstations (I like Gateway – $1500 each)
      about 40 Cat5 drops (figure $4500)
      done

      Options:
      Printers? You’ll need one per floor. You can either share them through a workstations or connect them directly to the network (add 5 drops if you want to directly connect, and make sure they either have ethernet cards in them or buy external boxes)

      Copier? Get a Xerox 340 and connect it to your network. People will be able to fax from their desk, plus it’s a fax/scanner/copier/printer. A little more expensive than non-Xerox, but worth it.

      INTERNET CONNECTION/E-MAIL? Call a reputable ISP for that. DSL or Cable modem is suggested.

      Done. When I need my taxes done, now I know where to send them. 🙂

      • #3735216

        please help us!

        by bokeri ·

        In reply to please help us!

        The question was auto-closed by TechRepublic

    • #3895969

      please help us!

      by linuxian ·

      In reply to please help us!

      I have to agree with Synergy..the first person to reply. Anyone even attempting to answer such a question in this forum blatantly fails to understand the complexity of the situation. Since your company is a financial firm and has no background in complex computing systems I can understand how this makes your situation even more difficult. I CAN offer you three VERY good pieces of advice.

      1) Keep all the computers the SAME. Either buy all Compaq, gateway, or all Dell. This makes them easier to maintain. Get an on site service agreement from the vendor to maintain the hardware ? Dell and Compaq are the best for this.
      2) Hire a good professional to do the network design and make hardware recommendations. Professionals are expensivebut will save you time and money overall.
      3) Remember??..in this industry YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! A 399.00 server from compUSA is a piece of shit no matter how you try and justify it! — Dont for get it.

      If you fail to heed this advice you WILL pay the price down

      • #3735272

        please help us!

        by bokeri ·

        In reply to please help us!

        The question was auto-closed by TechRepublic

    • #3895965

      please help us!

      by e2thell ·

      In reply to please help us!

      Consider this, first the building must be cabled. The best option is to have an outside company that knows what they are doing to wire the building. The next thing you want to look into is whether or not you intend to hire specialists to manage the server and it’s applications, what type of server it will be and who you will buy your ps’s from. The next thing that I know and will warn you about is the fact that all computers on your network should have the same hardware. GATEWAY cannot guarantee this!! Since this is the pretty much the sme information you received before the 10base ethernet system is the way to go….etc….much luck….

      • #3735273

        please help us!

        by bokeri ·

        In reply to please help us!

        The question was auto-closed by TechRepublic

    • #3895934

      please help us!

      by ideafixer ·

      In reply to please help us!

      Lets look at this in a cost vs. benefit analysis:

      I started working at a manufacturing firm about 9 months ago.. This company started out with about 6 computers running an NT network similar to what you are starting.. Well, now we have 30 computers.. When I showed up the people at this company thought there 1,000 phone bill was due to when you click on internet explorer the router called the internet when really it was configured wrong and one channel was dialing the wrong number costing them 5 cents every time.. Their bill should have been 50 dollars per month.. They lost about 950 dollars a month for over a year! Backups..? Will you know how to ensure your backups are working properly.. When I came on board and verified a backup.. Turned out.. there was not a good backup for over a month.. that means your server crashes you lose a month of work.. how much does that cost? Security.. you are dealing with financial data.. how secure do you want this data and whats the cost of you don’t understand how t

      • #3735274

        please help us!

        by bokeri ·

        In reply to please help us!

        The question was auto-closed by TechRepublic

    • #3895933

      please help us!

      by ideafixer ·

      In reply to please help us!

      Continues….

      Security.. you are dealing with financial data.. how secure do you want this data and whats the cost of you don’t understand how to secure it? General problems slowing your work environment.. This company purchased a wide variety of different computers all with a warranty.. GREAT! Well I had a computer go down 3 months ago and the warranty has not replaced it yet. Why? well because it is a Comp USA warranty geared toward home users.. Also, having so many different computers on a network makes things difficult and slows down production due to problems.. What I am trying to say is.. save yourself some money get a consultant.

      We deal with a company called Accuteck now.. They are about 125 bucks and hour but you can buy blocks of time that take that down to about 90 bucks an hour.. To set up a network will take time and money to hire a consultant but it is well worth it in the long run.. make a mistake and configure the router wrong for the internet.. Or one of the many things incorrectl

      • #3735275

        please help us!

        by bokeri ·

        In reply to please help us!

        The question was auto-closed by TechRepublic

    • #3895931

      please help us!

      by ccsbz ·

      In reply to please help us!

      I Know #1 and #5 said a Mouth full i will not add to it.

      • #3735276

        please help us!

        by bokeri ·

        In reply to please help us!

        The question was auto-closed by TechRepublic

    • #3895851

      please help us!

      by white wolf ·

      In reply to please help us!

      (I hate the 1000 char limit. Too short to do a good treatment on this. But, I didn’t make the rules…)
      First, the people with #1 & 5 have a point – You can’t forgo hiring someone to actually be onsite, there is way too much that can be overlooked.Second, I *recommend* hiring an experienced (3-5yrs is good, more would be better) & Certified (CNA, CNE for novell or MSCE for microsoft) Network Admin or Engineer. Or at the very least, contract with a service provider(you’ll need them later for server maintenance.). Ask them to submit a plan for setting up the network, it should look something similar to #3 & 4 (the details will vary), but I disagree with using NT servers. I *Strongly recommend* Novell (3.x or 4.x, 5.x if you must.) be put on the server instead. Because Novell tends to be more robust & stable for a financial environment. If you need printers, I highly recommend HP Laserjets with installed network cards, and if you must setup different printer brands, use them in conjunction with jetdirect

      • #3735277

        please help us!

        by bokeri ·

        In reply to please help us!

        The question was auto-closed by TechRepublic

    • #3895850

      please help us!

      by white wolf ·

      In reply to please help us!

      (Continued…)
      use them in conjunction with jetdirect print servers the centralization of printer management will help alot. I would definitely go with a nightly *Full* backup, and consider having DVD Ram drive or CD R burner for storing critical financial data for long term retrieval. (Don’t leave it to chance on tape’s as they can get unreliable after a few years.)
      Good Luck!

      • #3735278

        please help us!

        by bokeri ·

        In reply to please help us!

        The question was auto-closed by TechRepublic

    • #3735215

      please help us!

      by bokeri ·

      In reply to please help us!

      This question was auto closed due to inactivity

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