recommendation for small office network

[husky86]

My wife works in a small office situation where there are 3 computers
connected by a small local area network. Her computer is the unofficial hub
of the office, the computer where most of the client files are located. The
other 2 computers tap into her system in order to have access to those files.

She has now been given official clearance to begin looking for a replacement
computer system for her office as a result of her system being 7 years old.

With respect to recommendations: outside of trying to get the fastest hard
drive(s) (the budget will allow), the most memory (also tied to budget), and
an adequate video card, is there any specific hardware recommendations that
might be made with respect to her particular computer serving as the hub of
the office? With respect to this local area network situation?

As it is now, whenever people are attempting to access files, it slows down
her system quite noticeably.

 

[Bob Willard]

My wife works in a small office situation where there are 3 computers
connected by a small local area network. Her computer is the unofficial hub
of the office, the computer where most of the client files are located. The
other 2 computers tap into her system in order to have access to those files.

She has now been given official clearance to begin looking for a replacement
computer system for her office as a result of her system being 7 years old.

With respect to recommendations: outside of trying to get the fastest hard
drive(s) (the budget will allow), the most memory (also tied to budget), and
an adequate video card, is there any specific hardware recommendations that
might be made with respect to her particular computer serving as the hub of
the office? With respect to this local area network situation?

As it is now, whenever people are attempting to access files, it slows down
her system quite noticeably.

It will be easier to manage if all PCs run the same OS. If you plan to
replace the pseudo-server PC with something that runs Vista, then you should
also replace the other PCs with Vista PCs; alternatively, if you want to
continue with XP (I'm guessing) on the client PCs, then try to get another
XP PC for the pseudo-server PC. And, if you opt for Vista, plan on some
learning curve for all users.

For the HD, don't look for speed: all standard PC HDs run 7200 RPM, and the
speed variation is pretty minor. Look for capacity, and don't be tempted to
get some no-name brand. Also, larger HD caches will help performance a bit,
but don't spend major extra $s for that.

For a pseudo-server PC, I'd get an Intel Core2Duo CPU, so that one core will
be available for the local user while the other core handles the networking
(and disk serving) traffic; don't get hung up on getting the fastest such
CPU, since you'll be charged a hefty premium for the last ounce of speed.
{It seems to me that Intel's CPUs are better than AMD's right now, but I'm
certainly not afraid of AMD stuff.}

As for memory, get at least 1GB for XP or at least 2GB for Vista. More RAM
will help performance -- 2GB for XP and 3GB for 32-bit Vista.

Also, since those PCs are not for gamers, integrated graphics should suffice
and will save a few $s.

Just my opinions.

 

[Jack \(MVP-Networking\).]

Hi
Take a look at the HP Media server. It runs Windows Home Server.
http://www.wegotserved.co.uk/2007/11/23/hp-mediasmart-server-ex475-hands-on-review/
What type of Windows is running on the other computers is Not so crucial.\
Upgrading each computer to Giga Network card, and connecting it to a Giga
Switch can improve significantly the Network performance.
Jack (MS, MVP-Networking)

 

[+Bob+]

With respect to recommendations: outside of trying to get the fastest hard
drive(s) (the budget will allow), the most memory (also tied to budget), and
an adequate video card, is there any specific hardware recommendations that
might be made with respect to her particular computer serving as the hub of
the office? With respect to this local area network situation?

As it is now, whenever people are attempting to access files, it slows down
her system quite noticeably.

If you use her desktop as a "server", she will continue to experience
slowdowns unless you buy a very high power machine. Even then she will
still take speed hits when someone pulls a large file or otherwise
absorbs the disk drive's time.

My suggestion would be to keep her system on the network as a file
server but only as that. Don'd do anything else with it. Buy her a new
desktop that can take care of her needs for less money and everyone is
happy.

I use a very small system as a file server running the largest server
OS (win2003 enterprise) and it works just fine for a small office. You
don't need much horsepower for a file server.

 

[+Bob+]

Upgrading each computer to Giga Network card, and connecting it to a Giga
Switch can improve significantly the Network performance.
Jack (MS, MVP-Networking)

But only if you're doing concurrent access from multiple systems and
the "server" is above normal performance levels. Very few SOHO server
machines can stream to the network fast enough to fill a 100mbit
channel. As you get closer, the Gbit network will help with
collisions/resends but few approach those limits in a home network.

 

[husky86]

Thanks for this info. We are still trying to decide between this situation
and a basic server situation.

 

[husky86]

Thanks very much for this information

We actually like the cost of this potential Home Server situation quite a
bit. It's much less expensive than the ML110 entry-level server offered by
HP. (With even a basic configuration we are still talking about nearly twice
the price.)

After contacting an HP representative about the Home Server today, he
actually tried to talk me out of it, saying that it probably wasn't fast
enough or powerful enough for our small office situation (even though I
explained to him that we are only talking about 3 computers being hooked up).
It seems to me that he was more interested in making a more expensive sale. I
could be incorrect about this, but it was the general feeling that I got.

After looking at the link that you provided, I'm of the opinion that this
Home Server would still be adequate for our needs.

To give you a few more technical specs regarding the operation:

This is a financial services business. We are sharing files from Office 2007
Pro, UltraTax, and Peachtree accounting software. That's it. Those are the
only associated program files that need to be shared. So we are still
thinking that a server situation would be better than having my wife's
computer serve as the hub.

Just wanted to get a double confirmation on this.

Many thanks!