Need recommendations on desktop network build

[sillyputty]

I have a client who needs a three computer network (one server and two
PCs) built and setup. I will be building all three systems. Though my
build skills are competent, my network experience is minimal. The
client, a lawyer, has requested Win XP because she said her legal
software will only run on XP. I told her Win 7 Pro and Ultimate will
both run older software with their Win XP proxy and MS will be
discontinuing XP support in 2014, but she still wants XP.

My questions are: what differentiates a server PC from a regular PC (I
have some ideas, but would like some input). And, if she insists on XP
what version(s) should I install? She also wants Office 2007. Will she
need two separate licenses (I assume one Office 2007 license will run
on two computers), or will one version sit on the server to be used by
the other two PCs? Thanks.

 

[Pen]

I have a client who needs a three computer network (one server and two
PCs) built and setup. I will be building all three systems. Though my
build skills are competent, my network experience is minimal. The
client, a lawyer, has requested Win XP because she said her legal
software will only run on XP. I told her Win 7 Pro and Ultimate will
both run older software with their Win XP proxy and MS will be
discontinuing XP support in 2014, but she still wants XP.

My questions are: what differentiates a server PC from a regular PC (I
have some ideas, but would like some input). And, if she insists on XP
what version(s) should I install? She also wants Office 2007. Will she
need two separate licenses (I assume one Office 2007 license will run
on two computers), or will one version sit on the server to be used by
the other two PCs? Thanks.

Buy Cheap Software is one source of older software. They do
have Office 2007 and XP Pro listed still.
http://www.buycheapsoftware.com/ms_categories~manufacturerID~15.asp
There are others but I'm not familiar with any.
She will need 2 Licenses for Office and 3 for XP,
but since you're building machines OEM versions are OK.

 

[Paul]

I have a client who needs a three computer network (one server and two
PCs) built and setup. I will be building all three systems. Though my
build skills are competent, my network experience is minimal. The
client, a lawyer, has requested Win XP because she said her legal
software will only run on XP. I told her Win 7 Pro and Ultimate will
both run older software with their Win XP proxy and MS will be
discontinuing XP support in 2014, but she still wants XP.

My questions are: what differentiates a server PC from a regular PC (I
have some ideas, but would like some input). And, if she insists on XP
what version(s) should I install? She also wants Office 2007. Will she
need two separate licenses (I assume one Office 2007 license will run
on two computers), or will one version sit on the server to be used by
the other two PCs? Thanks.

A desktop OS, has a limit when it comes to functioning as a "server".
If you use Windows XP as a server, there may be a limit of ten connections
to that server.

They make various server packages you could use instead.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_home_server

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Server_2008

I'm not an IT guy, so I can't advise on how you select a solution
from all the kinds of software available. Yes, you could load three
computers with desktop software, keep home directories on each
one, back up each one independently. Or, you could keep the
home directories on the server, and only back up the home
directories on the server (then, it's your choice if you
want to back up the C: partition on each desktop drive).
You can run many services on a true server, whereas a
desktop might not be the absolute best platform for that.

Some of our departments at work, used to abuse desktop systems
as servers. And on some of those setups (managed by the
departmental secretary! cute, and... reboot), you'd have
to wait for someone else to drop their connection, so you
could get to the documents on there. Perhaps with only
two other PCs in the picture, it's not a big deal.

Paul

 

[Loren Pechtel]

I have a client who needs a three computer network (one server and two
PCs) built and setup. I will be building all three systems. Though my
build skills are competent, my network experience is minimal. The
client, a lawyer, has requested Win XP because she said her legal
software will only run on XP. I told her Win 7 Pro and Ultimate will
both run older software with their Win XP proxy and MS will be
discontinuing XP support in 2014, but she still wants XP.

My questions are: what differentiates a server PC from a regular PC (I
have some ideas, but would like some input). And, if she insists on XP
what version(s) should I install? She also wants Office 2007. Will she
need two separate licenses (I assume one Office 2007 license will run
on two computers), or will one version sit on the server to be used by
the other two PCs? Thanks.

XP Pro will suffice for the server in this context. It sounds like
the server won't be running much of anything, you don't need anything
fancy.

You're looking at something like my server. The board & processor are
cheap although it has 4gb of ram. Onboard video, the only cards are
drive controllers. Everything in the box is raid 1. My main printer
is connected to it rather than my primary workstation which means I
can also print to it from my laptop.

You'll need an XP Pro license for the server, 2 licenses for the
workstations (whether they are pro or home I don't know) and two
Office 2007 licenses.