So.... I've been drafted for a networking project for a small business.

[88keys]

Well my landlord who is also my GF's dad saw my handywork when I expanded my home network to the downstairs and relocated my NAS/switch/etc to the laundry room. So to make a long story short, my landlord is going into semi retirement and is ready to pass on the business to his son and son in law to run things, and they want to convert one of the townhomes into an office/storage area. One of the tenants got a job at the FBI and plans to move to Virginia in the summer so that's when I'll be doing this apparently.

I told him that I know how to everything from pulling the cables to installing the wall jacks which is mostly fairly easy, but my experience is limited to home networks and I don't know much about whats needed for a small business network as opposed to a home network.

From what I understand what they want is to run 4 client PCs along with a server that will host a website to process applications and look up properties for rent. This sever is also going to host files over the network and you might has well set it up for roaming profiles.
I suppose the fact that applications are involved that means it would require an SQL server (unless there's a better way, IDK). Also they want file storage capabilities to keep records and photos of the condition of each unit before and after rental. Along with a variety of other things...

I generally try to think in terms of scalability so for a small business that may expand, I would like to have at least double the required ports available for this network so I'm thinking that a 16 port switch should be good enough.

Obviously I'll be using some sort of Cat6 variant, but I'm unsure of what variety to use.

As for the equipment such as the the router, switch, server. I have no idea what to get.

And then there is administering the server. I don't have alot of experience dealing with Windows Server, so I don't know if this is something that can be learned fairly easily by someone who is already tech savvy or whether this would require the skills of a professional. I'm willing to lend my services towards tasks that I know how to do correctly, but I'm very weary about lending my services I'm not sure that I can perform them.

So what is the best course of action here? I can install the jacks and pull the cables. But is it better to hire a pro to set this up, or is this easy enough for an amatuer? And how would I find people who do those sorts of things?

 

[rsutoratosu]

I assume you're going to get windows 2008 or 2012

-create home directory file share
-create file share for whatever they want
-create redirection file share - can share into the home directory but I like to keep them separate

-use gpo to redirect my docs, desktop, etc,etc to the redirection file share

this way all the important stuff is store on the network and it gets backed up. I hate roaming profiles and I think its the worse thing in the world.

can't tell you what you need till you know what apps you want but you can create a single domain controller and have all the workstation join that domain like xyz.local and control password, security off the DC. if you can get 2, it would be better, have a backup. but given the small amount of users, if the dc dies, it wouldn't be that bad to reinstall windows and join a new domain, just reassign permissions

router - prob some Linksys all in one is good, like e4200 or ea4500 add on gigabit, unless its using like a t1 or some other connection.

If its really 4 workstations, a simple router + switch would do.. hopefully its not much more than that.

 

[88keys]

Well, I suppose I could try out a bench test in my house just to see what's involved in this and figure out whether it's something I can handle.

I have plenty of time as of right now.


Although I kind of like having roaming profiles as a client when dealing with PCs at work, but I have no idea what's involved on the admin end. If it's more trouble than what it's worth than I can just do with out.

 

[Ertaz]

This sounds like a fun project.

When you say "a server that will host a website to process applications and look up properties for rent. " Do you mean this to be for outside users or just internal ones?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

It sounds like the web server you want to host will have an application accessed from the internet, correct? If that's the case, do NOT host this yourself. A company with 4 PCs does not have the manpower, money, and economies of scale to justify such an investment. Look for hosting companies to do it for you. Other reasons are as follows:

1. Bandwidth limitations
2. Availability/redundancy
3. Depending on what is on those applications, you could be subjected to various privacy laws due to PII and things like PCI compliance and to make a system compliant with those laws can be very expensive and time consuming and you'll need to be audited regularly to make sure you're still in compliance.

If you or your landlord disagree and still insist on hosting it, you'd better hire a pro to do it. Someone who has little or no experience with Windows Server or SQL will not be able to implement such an infrastructure in a secure fashion.

 

[88keys]

This sounds like a fun project.

When you say "a server that will host a website to process applications and look up properties for rent. " Do you mean this to be for outside users or just internal ones?

Outside users. They want the application process to be filled out online too.

It sounds like the web server you want to host will have an application accessed from the internet, correct? If that's the case, do NOT host this yourself. A company with 4 PCs does not have the manpower, money, and economies of scale to justify such an investment. Look for hosting companies to do it for you. Other reasons are as follows:

1. Bandwidth limitations
2. Availability/redundancy
3. Depending on what is on those applications, you could be subjected to various privacy laws due to PII and things like PCI compliance and to make a system compliant with those laws can be very expensive and time consuming and you'll need to be audited regularly to make sure you're still in compliance.

If you or your landlord disagree and still insist on hosting it, you'd better hire a pro to do it. Someone who has little or no experience with Windows Server or SQL will not be able to implement such an infrastructure in a secure fashion.

I've tinkered around with Windows Server, and I might be able to muddle through that, but I know absolutely nothing about SQL.

Either way, he's a pretty smart guy and he's the type who is willing to spend the money to do things right than to settle for half measures.

Now should I look online for these kinds of services, or should I try locally?

And I take that ordinary consumer end equipment is good enough for the network itself?

Also which variant of Cat6 should I go with?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Outside users. They want the application process to be filled out online too.


I've tinkered around with Windows Server, and I might be able to muddle through that, but I know absolutely nothing about SQL.

Either way, he's a pretty smart guy and he's the type who is willing to spend the money to do things right than to settle for half measures.

Now should I look online for these kinds of services, or should I try locally?

And I take that ordinary consumer end equipment is good enough for the network itself?

Also which variant of Cat6 should I go with?

There are too many variables to give you a cut and dry answer. Here are a few questions you need need to consider:

1. Is the application he wants to run a canned application purchased from a vendor, or is he paying to have it developed?
2. If it is canned, does the vendor offer it via SaaS offerings or have recommendations on hosts? If so, is their offering compliant with PCI and the applicable PII laws?
3. If he is paying someone to develop it, now is a good time to reach out to the developer and discuss hosting options. Also, compliance with PCI and privacy laws should be a big discussion point if information such as SSN, DLN, credit card info, etc. is being collected electronically.

As far as the infrastructure goes, ordinary consumer equipment is probably good enough for such a small environment, but you need to first establish SLAs for network services and see if those are compatible with consumer equipment or if you may need to step up a level. For example, they might be OK if the router dies and it takes you a couple of hours to drive to Best Buy to get a replacement. On the other hand, they may not be OK with an outage that long so you either should buy two identical routers and keep a spare or step up a grade to something that has automatic failover to a second device or even network connection. Lots of questions to ask.

 

[cubby1223]

Well my landlord who is also my GF's dad saw my handywork when I expanded my home network to the downstairs and relocated my NAS/switch/etc to the laundry room. So to make a long story short, my landlord is going into semi retirement and is ready to pass on the business to his son and son in law to run things, and they want to convert one of the townhomes into an office/storage area. One of the tenants got a job at the FBI and plans to move to Virginia in the summer so that's when I'll be doing this apparently.

I told him that I know how to everything from pulling the cables to installing the wall jacks which is mostly fairly easy, but my experience is limited to home networks and I don't know much about whats needed for a small business network as opposed to a home network.

Question - is this work done going to have to pass a building inspection before receiving the proper permits to use the space? If so, you're going to want to find someone who is knowledged on building codes in the area.

I'd seek external hosting for your website.

And people usually are cheap - a Win7 Pro system can be a server for up to 9 other computers at a time.

 

[drebo]

And people usually are cheap - a Win7 Pro system can be a server for up to 9 other computers at a time.

Windows Server Foundation and Essentials are far superior to Windows 7 for being a "server" and are not significantly more expensive.

Centralized authentication, a central place for files (folder redirection), etc, are extremely big reasons to use an AD domain. Windows Server 2012 Foundation supports up to 15 users with no additional licensing and is only about $250.

 

[cubby1223]

Windows Server Foundation and Essentials are far superior to Windows 7 for being a "server" and are not significantly more expensive.

Centralized authentication, a central place for files (folder redirection), etc, are extremely big reasons to use an AD domain. Windows Server 2012 Foundation supports up to 15 users with no additional licensing and is only about $250.

I did not know of these new products! Licensing I remember was $100/user.

There are the additional factors, someone who knows Windows 7 can do most configuration of Windows 7 used as a server, while a general person is not going to know how to configure Windows Server. Any configuration changes, no matter how small, you're probably going to need to be on-call to be able to do that work. If you have a separate full-time job and can't get away in a quick notice (even for remote work), the owner will not be happy with your service. And it's always going to be a fight over billing for these small changes because the owner believes you instead should be able to teach him how to administer Windows Server so he can do everything himself, even if you've gone over with him dozens of times how to do things and he still cannot remember it straight.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

I'm going to go with Indy's suggestion that this needs to be an external solution. An externally hosted solution will give you redundancy, speed, and security that you will spend far more money in trying to make a home environment do the same.

You could do a local domain controller, but you could even cloud that whole thing for around $50/month. I just can't see the appeal in trying to build this out locally.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Yeah - like the ad says. TO THE CLOUD!

 

[88keys]

Question - is this work done going to have to pass a building inspection before receiving the proper permits to use the space? If so, you're going to want to find someone who is knowledged on building codes in the area.

I'd seek external hosting for your website.

And people usually are cheap - a Win7 Pro system can be a server for up to 9 other computers at a time.

I doubt it would have to, but it would be wise to check because I suppose that could qualify as changing the dwelling from residential to commercial.

I'm familiar with some building codes because I used to do some side work for him on these townhomes that mainly involved fixing thing up when tenants would come and go. But I'm not an expert, and theres a good chance that the code could change if it falls under commercial property.

I happen to know a professional installer (who trained me), but he's based in MD so I don't know how familiar he would be with PA building codes, however MDs codes are most likely more strict than Pennsylvania.