- Jun 19, 2000
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The office my wife manages (2 full, one part time employee) is in need of new hardware. There are 3 computers and one server all built and set up by myself that are overdue for replacement. They are Socket A systems to give you an idea of their age. Yikes!
The "server" is overkill to some degree, but it's just not that expensive to throw systems together. I'd like some input on hardware - nothing major just more philosophical help than nuts and bolts stuff.
They've got three shared apps for which their data is stored on the server. Also, I have all their My Documents folders mapped to a common folder on same server. Yes, most of us wouldn't like this, but it works very well for them because they know nothing about computers and don't want to take the time to know. Email is not even remotely a big part of the business in any way shape or form. They have very little data.
Right or wrong, here's what I have setup now.
First off, all 4 systems are using the same motherboard. I bought a fifth at the time of the build and it saved my ass with the prior generation of hardware. No failures on this iteration but I'd prefer to continue this trend. Remember that this "server" gets very light duty.
I have two HD's in a RAID 1 array. This has saved her several times. The HD's have had to be replaced once because of mechanical failures. They are connected to a 3ware card that is as old as all the other components. I have the software set up to email me in case of issues. Works great. Has notified me a number of times about degraded array's etc. The system can boot and function normally with just one drive too while waiting for replacement(s).
Backup is online using Data Deposit Box and in addition, because the software was already purchased and HD's are so cheap, I have Acronis setup to back up both the S: drive and full C: drive on schedules to a third physical drive. Overkill, but it was no biggie from a cost perspective.
Additionally, their CPA and myself can access the server remotely and do our thing (me, only rarely) without disrupting any other operations in the office. This is way cool.
My gut is to mimic what is already in place with new, fresh, current hardware. Windows 7 will run all their apps but one which will need to run in Windows Virtual PC XP mode. I have this app running that way on my laptop with Windows 7 for testing purposes and it works just fine.
Any thoughts appreciated.
The "server" is overkill to some degree, but it's just not that expensive to throw systems together. I'd like some input on hardware - nothing major just more philosophical help than nuts and bolts stuff.
They've got three shared apps for which their data is stored on the server. Also, I have all their My Documents folders mapped to a common folder on same server. Yes, most of us wouldn't like this, but it works very well for them because they know nothing about computers and don't want to take the time to know. Email is not even remotely a big part of the business in any way shape or form. They have very little data.
Right or wrong, here's what I have setup now.
First off, all 4 systems are using the same motherboard. I bought a fifth at the time of the build and it saved my ass with the prior generation of hardware. No failures on this iteration but I'd prefer to continue this trend. Remember that this "server" gets very light duty.
I have two HD's in a RAID 1 array. This has saved her several times. The HD's have had to be replaced once because of mechanical failures. They are connected to a 3ware card that is as old as all the other components. I have the software set up to email me in case of issues. Works great. Has notified me a number of times about degraded array's etc. The system can boot and function normally with just one drive too while waiting for replacement(s).
Backup is online using Data Deposit Box and in addition, because the software was already purchased and HD's are so cheap, I have Acronis setup to back up both the S: drive and full C: drive on schedules to a third physical drive. Overkill, but it was no biggie from a cost perspective.
Additionally, their CPA and myself can access the server remotely and do our thing (me, only rarely) without disrupting any other operations in the office. This is way cool.
My gut is to mimic what is already in place with new, fresh, current hardware. Windows 7 will run all their apps but one which will need to run in Windows Virtual PC XP mode. I have this app running that way on my laptop with Windows 7 for testing purposes and it works just fine.
Any thoughts appreciated.
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