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Home Server Network (Hardware & Software questions)

U

Uppie1414

Golden Member
Hey everyone--going to say thanks for even reading this (let alone for any suggestions) before I start.

I work from home with a buddy. It's a two story building with a "warehouse" out in a secured garage outside. The computers look like this:

Two main computers that we use in the office
One computer in the garage (w/ a wireless card, as running wires would be a pain)
One computer in the basement (w/ a wireless card, as running wires would be a pain)
Two laptops (not necessary, but we use in the house)

I'd like for all of these computers to be on a network that saves everything on a server (the computer garage could be the server if needbe, or we can have the server somewhere in the house). I'm upgrading all computers in the next month, so they should all have the necessary software for us (one new laptop and two new PCs).

I want to be able to log into any of these computers in either my name or my coworkers name (and be able to change anything on one, then log into the other and access the changes...you know, like a network should be)

I'd also like the computer in the garage to be wireless (we can have a laptop out there, that would be fine).

My questions:

What's the best server to set up (HP, Dell...going to use a newer server that uses SAS 2.5" drives, and we don't need much storage (I think a couple 73gb drives would be more than fine for now)

What software should be used? I'm assuming win 7/8 home would suffice?

Any other info/help would be greatly appreciated!

I'd be willing to give paypal to anyone who helps walk me through this, or you can just be a kind soul ;-)

Dane
 
Budget and what actually you will be running/doing.

A basic PC could be a server at what this sounds like.

Wireless is going to be a possible issue depending on distance and signal strength. I have a workshop outside and about 30' away from my router. 2.4GHz N works even through two concrete walls. Signal strength is medium usually and my connection is fine for the internet. Doing file sharing may be an issue as it's 'slow' on wireless even with good strength.

For software you will need a server OS. Your clients can be home editions.
 
As it sounds like you need to be wireless I would recommend getting something that is dual band, and doing a scan using something like InSSIDer to find what channels are open around you - you want to remove as much interference as possible.

As far as Dell vs HP it is going to be more personal preference and whoever makes a system that most closely meets your needs (or whoever is having the better sale). As mentioned you probably could get away with a standard desktop and not necessarily a server.

The big thing I would recommend is making sure you have a good backup strategy, UPS, and active warranty with whomever you get the server through. Once this system becomes your central location for everything the worst thing that can happen is it going offline.

As far as Home vs Professional for the desktops - for the most part you would be fine with Home Edition unless you are looking to implement something like an Active Directory (domain) environment.
 
"I want to be able to log into any of these computers in either my name or my coworkers name (and be able to change anything on one, then log into the other and access the changes...you know, like a network should be)"

This sounds to me like he does want to be using an Active Directory environment. Ie users and permissions are managed by the server, but that lets you log on to any computer. If this is the case you will want Pro versions of windows for your machines. If you want to use current machines that are only running Home Premium you can do an "anytime upgrade" on them-likely cheaper than going out and buying fresh copies on Win 7 Pro.
 
I'm not sure I 100% understood what you want.

Do you just want to be able to access files centrally? Then IMHO you sure don't need a server for that. Just create a share with appropriate privileges on one of the PCs and back-up the files regularly.

Another option would be a 2-bay NAS like this one:

http://www.synology.com/products/product.php?product_name=DS212j&lang=us

with RAID 1 and regular back-up.

P.S:
I think if you have Home Premium versions of Windows you can't really set privileges on shares, eg. all or no one. You would need Professional or higher version AFAIK. But still I don't think you need to spend money an a server and a server OS. investing in a good back-up plan (best automatically...) and "emergency protocol" in case of hardware failure would benefit you much more.
 
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