Small Business Server Solutions

[cluelessnerd22]

Hi all,

 

I work for a small family owned accounting and tax preparation office and we have a server which is quickly reaching the end of its life so I'm looking for some help. 

 

We cannot use cloud solutions for security reason, otherwise that would be my first choice. We have 7 workstations, most of which are used simultaneously. 

We also store semi-sensitive information on this server, which needs to be accessible by all 7 workstations. As my username suggest I don't know too much about all of this so please ask questions for clarification. 

[Kered124]

11 minutes ago, cluelessnerd22 said:

Hi all,

 

I work for a small family owned accounting and tax preparation office and we have a server which is quickly reaching the end of its life so I'm looking for some help. 

 

We cannot use cloud solutions for security reason, otherwise that would be my first choice. We have 7 workstations, most of which are used simultaneously. 

We also store semi-sensitive information on this server, which needs to be accessible by all 7 workstations. As my username suggest I don't know too much about all of this so please ask questions for clarification

What does this server need to do? 

 

Think about these factors first:

-Budget

-Space required

-Is the data mission critical, is it backed up elsewhere

-OS specific software requirements

 

[cluelessnerd22]

1 hour ago, Kered124 said:

What does this server need to do? 

 

Think about these factors first:

-Budget

-Space required

-Is the data mission critical, is it backed up elsewhere

-OS specific software requirements

 

Hi, 

We need it to host programs and effectively serve as a central data repository. 

 

Regarding budget, we'd like to keep it under $1000 but are able to go over if necessary. 

Looking for 2TB if possible.

The data is mission critical and is backed up on two external drives kept offsite. 

For OS, we currently use Windows Server 2016, but would be open to Windows 10 Pro. We don't need anything specific. 

 

Does that make sense?

[dalekphalm]

1 hour ago, cluelessnerd22 said:

Hi, 

We need it to host programs and effectively serve as a central data repository. 

 

Regarding budget, we'd like to keep it under $1000 but are able to go over if necessary. 

Looking for 2TB if possible.

The data is mission critical and is backed up on two external drives kept offsite. 

For OS, we currently use Windows Server 2016, but would be open to Windows 10 Pro. We don't need anything specific. 

 

Does that make sense?

How critical is the server to day-to-day operations?

 

How bad is it if the server, for example, died, and you have to wait 2 weeks for warranty?

 

When you say "We need it to host programs", what do you mean, specifically? What programs? Do they have a server component? Are they installed on each local machine? How are staff accessing these programs?

 

It sounds like you mostly just need file storage over the network - hopefully with different permissions setup based on different users. If that's the case, for the $1000 budget, I'd highly suggest you get an entry level business grade NAS from Synology or QNAP.

 

You can either get a 2-bay unit, and have some HDD redundancy (RAID1 mirror) which offers a bit of protection in case of hardware failure, or you can get a 4-bay unit, which will allow future expansion of storage space really easily.

 

If this sounds good, I can post some links and give some example pricing.

[cluelessnerd22]

1 hour ago, dalekphalm said:

How critical is the server to day-to-day operations?

 

How bad is it if the server, for example, died, and you have to wait 2 weeks for warranty?

 

When you say "We need it to host programs", what do you mean, specifically? What programs? Do they have a server component? Are they installed on each local machine? How are staff accessing these programs?

 

It sounds like you mostly just need file storage over the network - hopefully with different permissions setup based on different users. If that's the case, for the $1000 budget, I'd highly suggest you get an entry level business grade NAS from Synology or QNAP.

 

You can either get a 2-bay unit, and have some HDD redundancy (RAID1 mirror) which offers a bit of protection in case of hardware failure, or you can get a 4-bay unit, which will allow future expansion of storage space really easily.

 

If this sounds good, I can post some links and give some example pricing.

We keep applications and installers like Drake (a tax preparation software) and Quickbooks files on the server. These programs are also installed on each workstation.

 

To my understanding, it serves as a central repository for files which any workstation can access. In a new set-up I would like to be able to set up different access permissions to improve security. 

 

Please do post those links with pricing! 

 

Thank-you

[dalekphalm]

50 minutes ago, cluelessnerd22 said:

We keep applications and installers like Drake (a tax preparation software) and Quickbooks files on the server. These programs are also installed on each workstation.

So, keeping the installers (and documents in general) on the server is a piece of cake. Any NAS or Server can do that part.

 

Drake, however, may require a Windows Server, depending on how you use it. I've never heard of it before, but a quick search on it, indicates that it can either run in peer-to-peer mode, or with a dedicated server installation (which requires Windows).

 

There are a few ways to handle that, if you require the dedicated Drake Server. The simple solution is to run an actual Windows Server as your new server. This drastically increases cost and overall complexity though. Another option is to run Windows inside of a VM on the NAS, and install the software there. Cheaper, but does add another layer with a VM.

50 minutes ago, cluelessnerd22 said:

To my understanding, it serves as a central repository for files which any workstation can access. In a new set-up I would like to be able to set up different access permissions to improve security. 

Permissions should be no problem - any server or NAS can handle that. You can even go a step further and use Active Directory (or the open source equivalent) so that when a user signs into their computer, it automatically assigns them whatever folder permissions you've set for that user. 

50 minutes ago, cluelessnerd22 said:

Please do post those links with pricing! 

You didn't say where you live, so I will assume US pricing.

 

If I were in your shoes, I'd start with something like this:

1x QNAP TS-251+ 2-Bay NAS

$450

Quad Core Celeron CPU (Base 2.0GHz, boost 2.4GHz)

8GB RAM (useful if you want to run a VM - they make a 2GB RAM version that's $100 cheaper, but that won't be any useful for running a VM)

https://www.newegg.com/qnap-ts-251-8g-us/p/N82E16822107254?Item=N82E16822107254&Description=qnap 2-bay nas&cm_re=qnap_2-bay_nas-_-22-107-254-_-Product

 

2x WD Red 4TB HDD's (RAID1 mirror - 4TB of effective space)

$100 each (on sale - regular $125)

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16822236599?Description=WD Red HDD&cm_re=WD_Red_HDD-_-22-236-599-_-Product

 

So the entire NAS plus the HDD's comes out to $650 (or $700 without the HDD sale), plus taxes and shipping. That's $300 under your budget.

 

The NAS comes with a 2 year warranty, and QNAP will give you non-hardware support basically forever (Eg: there's a configuration issue or you can't figure something out, they will tell you how for free).

 

You could swap the QNAP for a Synology and get a very similar setup - I find QNAP to be a bit cheaper though and the quality seems comparable.

 

If you wanted better long term upgradability, you could start with a 4-bay NAS instead of a 2-bay. The 4-bay units start around the $500 range, though you may also have to budget for a RAM upgrade too (depends on usage).

 

If you went 4-bay, you could still start with 2 HDD's in RAID1 mirror. Then, later down the line, you buy a 3rd drive, and do an Online RAID Level Migration (basically it converts the RAID1 into RAID5, allowing you to add another 4TB of storage to your system).

https://www.qnap.com/en/how-to/tutorial/article/online-raid-level-migration/

 

Then, further down the line again, if you run out of space, you can add a 4th drive in, and expand the RAID5 array to include all 4 drives.

 

Just for a quick explainer: RAID1 is a mirror - both drives have identical data on them. That means you get the space of just one drive (2x 4TB in RAID1 = 8TB raw space, 4TB usable space). Either drive can fail, and your data is still there. You pop a replacement in and rebuild.

 

RAID5 is a parity based RAID system. The data is spread across the drives, with parity calculations taking up one drive's worth of space.

3x 4TB in RAID5 = 12TB raw space, 8TB usable space.

4x 4TB in RAID5 = 16TB raw space, 12TB usable space.

 

RAID5 can handle a single drive failure and recover from it.

 

Keep in mind: RAID is not a backup, so don't treat it as one. RAID is there to make your life a little less shitty when a HDD dies on you. It doesn't protect against malware, accidental file deletions, etc. Make sure to continue a separate backup of your systems.

 

50 minutes ago, cluelessnerd22 said:

Thank-you

You're very welcome.

 

This is just one idea - there are other solutions that can satisfy your needs. Have a think about it and let me know if you've got further questions.

 

The main benefit of something like a NAS is that if you have problems, you have a single source to call and deal with (Eg: QNAP customer support). It minimizes wasting time dealing with individual vendors for a custom built PC/Server, and it minimizes downtime for the business.

 

With a larger budget (Maybe $2000) you could step into full blown Windows Servers from Dell or HP - that would be the "upgrade" to these NAS's - a single source with an excellent warranty (Dell and HP enterprise warranty is so far beyond (as in better than) consumer level warranty it's kind of sad).

 

If you absolutely want a Windows based server on the $1000 budget, you're doing a custom build, or buying used. I'd suggest neither, and go with the NAS solution, but consider all the options carefully before just taking my advice.