Implementing a server w/ clients (dell 2600 & 4 PCs). Starting Point Help??

[Uppie1414]

Hello

I'm looking to learn a little bit more about how servers work and starting a network/server system.

Can anyone in the dell field (or HP/ibm/sun) point me to a reliable website/book to help me get started before I take classes?

I'm interested in learning...and setting up a server/email host here at my place.

Thanks!
Dane

 

[her209]

If your goal is to setup a domain so that users are able to log in to the PCs, the fastest and probably easiest way would be to use Active Directory. Since you stated you wanted to do e-mail services too, you'll want Microsoft or Windows Small Business Server.

 

[Emulex]

speak out your goals and we can help.

I suggest you have 3 servers, veeam for backup, esx for hypervisor and 1 of the esx servers could double duty as the vcenter server and hot spare. esx essentials is cheap; so is veeam. hell VDI/virtualize all those desktops while you are there and run the users as dumb terminals if possible to minimize your work and maximize your uptime.

couple of thoughts:
1. Never put anything else on an AD server - you will regret this so much later in life.
2. 2 (or more) AD server always. period. virtualized. P2V a AD server correctly is unsupported and only the best can do it right.
3. good backup software that can you test the backups or do near continuous replication to restore quickly and get the backups off-site (disk2disk,tape, whatever floats your boat).
4. Nothing Microsoft done right is cheap - lol. you will spend far more on software than hardware -always- with microsoft.

 

[Uppie1414]

Thanks guys! Let me try to get some more info for you....there are a bunch of different things I want to do (starting with a small server at home w/ hosting mail).

 

[Emulex]

virtualize. that is the first step. vmware workstation or esxi