Office Server

[Alcala Architecture]

We got a small office with 4/5 people. We had a server couple years ago and it died and since then we just switched to a network drive shares ( since everyone is in house). Now were getting more busy and we would like to go back to the server for that reason as well as the ability to have other people remote in. We primarily would like to be able to host our own emails agian as well as our website.

 

what would be the best route?

 

Pulling our old one out and upgrading componests?

Get a used machine

Build a new one.

 

 

[bmx6454]

8 minutes ago, Alcala Architecture said:

We got a small office with 4/5 people. We had a server couple years ago and it died and since then we just switched to a network drive shares ( since everyone is in house). Now were getting more busy and we would like to go back to the server for that reason as well as the ability to have other people remote in. We primarily would like to be able to host our own emails agian as well as our website.

 

what would be the best route?

 

Pulling our old one out and upgrading componests?

Get a used machine

Build a new one.

 

 

depends on why the old one died? if it's a reasonably cheap fix, then it would definitely be better to fix the current one. if it could be a very pricey fix, and/or you don't wish to troubleshoot the issue or don't have time, then decide between a new/used one.

[Electronics Wizardy]

What os were you using?

 

Do you need just file + email + website? how much space do you need? 

 

Id relly suggest going cloud based here, probably much cheaper, much less to worry about(backups + security are much easier to handle), and handles remote work much better.

 

If you need a server on site, id go with one from dell/hpe/lenovo, and a used one if needed(if price is a issue, go cloud at this size).

 

What budget? This probaby won't be cheap when software is added in.

 

Whats your backup plan? HOw much uptime do you need?

[Windows7ge]

How detrimental is it when the server goes offline? Typically for a business environment you want to go the Dell/HPE route. You can repair or build one yourself if you can deal with the drawbacks that come with it.

 

Typically most businesses even small businesses prefer to let a web hosting service handle their websites. They can guarantee higher uptime & availability. Not to mention if the website gets attacked they have the security and the infrastructure to deal with it.

 

What are the specs of the server you have that you're thinking of repairing? Depending on its age it may not be worth repurposing here.

[Alcala Architecture]

I believe it has windows server 2004. It company who handles our email and website it was pretty much trash ( however most of the time they say one thing and i discover something else)

 

As far as budget were in the ballpark of 15,000 - 20,000.

 

I wasn't really expecting to be able to repurposed the machine except for the case. I was hoping to be able to but pretty sure its to old.

 

i bought an Alienware 17R5 from dell and im very disappointed with the product as well as the service and ive had some pretty bad experiences with dell. Id rather build the machine as apposed to buying direct and re-routing the savings to hardware.

 

I usually get my parts from Micro center in Tustin. However for servers im not sure what parts to get. For example, can i just make a machine with high cores and 3.0 clock and just load windows server? Or dose it have to be a dedicated server board and processor..

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, Alcala Architecture said:

i bought an Alienware 17R5 from dell and im very disappointed with the product as well as the service and ive had some pretty bad experiences with dell. Id rather build the machine as apposed to buying direct and re-routing the savings to hardware.

dell server and buiness grade stuff is much better than the consumer stuff.

 

Really, cloud host it, no reason to self host for these uses today, esp for email.

 

2 minutes ago, Alcala Architecture said:

However for servers im not sure what parts to get. For example, can i just make a machine with high cores and 3.0 clock and just load windows server? Or dose it have to be a dedicated server board and processor..

What all is the server running? You want a hypervisor as the base os, so something like esxi or hyper-v server. Then a vm for every task. What oses do you want to run? Are you running active directory?

 

Go look up how much cpu and ram each task will need, then add it up. You really haven't said enough  for a specific reccomendtation

 

How much storage do you need?

Does it need to be rack mount?

 

Really get someone in that knows what there doing to set this up for you. I have seen manay simmilar setup like this, and its ugly when people kinda know what their doing and its a mess when its failes.

 

And really cloud host it. Get something like office 365 for the users, and use azure ad for the workstations. That will manage storage and email for you. THen you can get a web host for your website.

[Catsrules]

16 minutes ago, Alcala Architecture said:

I believe it has windows server 2004. It company who handles our email and website it was pretty much trash ( however most of the time they say one thing and i discover something else)

 

Dump that company and go with one of the big boys, Microsoft 365 or Google. Email is just cloud hosted now days, unless your a giant company self hosting email is a thing of the past.

 

16 minutes ago, Alcala Architecture said:

As far as budget were in the ballpark of 15,000 - 20,000.

 

15,000 - 20,000 US? Holly crap what are you doing with the server. I was envisioning a little office that just moves some office documents around lol. Are you working with just big storage and high performance requirements?

16 minutes ago, Alcala Architecture said:

i bought an Alienware 17R5 from dell and im very disappointed with the product as well as the service and ive had some pretty bad experiences with dell. Id rather build the machine as apposed to buying direct and re-routing the savings to hardware.

 

As other have said comparing some consumer gaming computer support experience to a business server support experience is apple and oranges comparison. They are basically different companies.

 

11 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Really get someone in that knows what there doing to set this up for you. I have seen manay simmilar setup like this, and its ugly when people kinda know what their doing and its a mess when its failes.

 

And really cloud host it. Get something like office 365 for the users, and use azure ad for the workstations. That will manage storage and email for you. THen you can get a web host for your website.

 

Couldn't agree more, find an IT contractor and have them set something up for your.

 

 

We really need alot more information before we can recomend anything concrete but from what limited information we have, just buy 5 office 365 accounts and be done,

Email on 365, One Drive/SharePoint for file storage.

 

[NelizMastr]

12 hours ago, Alcala Architecture said:

I believe it has windows server 2004. It company who handles our email and website it was pretty much trash ( however most of the time they say one thing and i discover something else)

Server 2003 more than likely. That has been end of life since 2015 and very irresponsible to use online anymore.

That thing is ready for the trash.

12 hours ago, Alcala Architecture said:

 

As far as budget were in the ballpark of 15,000 - 20,000.

 

I wasn't really expecting to be able to repurposed the machine except for the case. I was hoping to be able to but pretty sure its to old.

Case? So it's a custom built affair? If you want on-prem no matter what, get a real server. While proprietary, you get benefits too:

 

- On site warranty (usually next business day for 3 years)

- Proven reliability

- Redundant components (power supplies, fans, drives (RAID)

12 hours ago, Alcala Architecture said:

 

i bought an Alienware 17R5 from dell and im very disappointed with the product as well as the service and ive had some pretty bad experiences with dell. Id rather build the machine as apposed to buying direct and re-routing the savings to hardware.

You will also be held responsible for down time and repairs then. Just buy a server from Dell, HPE or Lenovo. Their warranty and service are excellent.

12 hours ago, Alcala Architecture said:

 

. For example, can i just make a machine with high cores and 3.0 clock and just load windows server? Or dose it have to be a dedicated server board and processor..

Technically, yes. But again, don't. Buy a proper server if you insist on on-prem.

My two cents:
- Move the data to the cloud, i.e. SharePoint Online
- Move e-mail to the cloud, i.e. Exchange Online
- Manage Office from the cloud as well, through Microsoft 365.

Remote login will not be necessary this way. Host your website with a reputable hoster that has proper SLAs.

[impalaguy1230]

I migrated our network at work to Microsoft 365 off of our on-prem server.  I would do it again in a heartbeat.  I am far from an IT professional, but with a little research on my end I was able to pull it off with little issue.  We were already paying for Office 365 so it was a no brainer as it was only a small amount more to utilize Azure AD and get off of the on-prem active directory.  It was about time to replace the old server we had running anyways.  I even setup the device management with inTune. So when someone tells me their computer is "acting weird" I just walk over there with a Windows 10 USB, wipe it, and when they login with their company credentials all of their programs/files/apps are preloaded and they go back to work.  Takes about 20 minutes.  We only have 14 workstations and 12 employees here so in all honesty it is pretty overkill.