-_- bringing a business into the 21st century

[the gamer that is bad]

i have been tasked with upgrading my grandpas law practice and uncles accounting into the 21st century there are about 20 people working for my grandpa and about 12-13  working for my uncle they run off the same internet plan but need to stay separate they both need a nas and all that jazz the main issue is no one there knows anything about networking so it is all on me and i tried to convince them that they should go the professional rout but the last guy tried to steal computers so they want me to help but i don't even know where to start for that kind of thing

[Arika]

I would turn him down, the last thing you want is for something to go wrong or not work exactly as they expected and then try and push everything on you. You will become their IT guy and it will be expected because you're "family".

 

NEVER WORK FOR FAMILY.

[Dutch_Master]

You'll need some enterprise gear. As you're not familiar with that, head over to the Level1 Techs and Serve the Home YT channels to get acquainted with that sort of stuff. What you need is a router and a managed, 48 port level 3 switch, at least 10Gb capable. Separate NAS-ses is a good idea. Set up a VLAN for each office with a different IP range.

 

Each workstation should get a 1Gb wired connection to the switch, each NAS gets a 10Gb connection. Ideally, the building should have a lockable server room, with separate feed from the grid, backup UPS-es and a rack to house all the equipment in. Not dissimilar to what LMG has actually, but probably on a smaller scale. And budget   Terminate each cable from the workstations in a patch-panel, then use short jumper cables to make the connections to the switch. If you want examples of why it's a good idea to put in a bit more effort here, look up the FibreNinja channel (YT), he has quite a few examples on how not to do it, as well as how to improve a network.

 

As stated above, make your relatives understand you're doing them a service and if something goes wrong, they need to call in a real IT tech guy (or gal, scarce as they are, they do exist ) because you're not covering that.

[leadeater]

Yea nah, law firm so going to need a lot better planning and regimented data resiliency and backups/protection. Your best approach should be to investigate who a good company is and liaise with them and just act as a project manager to give oversight.

 

Honestly wouldn't even bother with onsite servers for this, unless they get all precious about data sovereignty and refuse to have their data in AWS/Azure/O365. Because of their size and lack of internal ongoing expertise the risk of onsite equipment is far higher so just don't do that if possible.

 

 

[the gamer that is bad]

1 hour ago, Dutch_Master said:

You'll need some enterprise gear. As you're not familiar with that, head over to the Level1 Techs and Serve the Home YT channels to get acquainted with that sort of stuff. What you need is a router and a managed, 48 port level 3 switch, at least 10Gb capable. Separate NAS-ses is a good idea. Set up a VLAN for each office with a different IP range.

 

Each workstation should get a 1Gb wired connection to the switch, each NAS gets a 10Gb connection. Ideally, the building should have a lockable server room, with separate feed from the grid, backup UPS-es and a rack to house all the equipment in. Not dissimilar to what LMG has actually, but probably on a smaller scale. And budget   Terminate each cable from the workstations in a patch-panel, then use short jumper cables to make the connections to the switch. If you want examples of why it's a good idea to put in a bit more effort here, look up the FibreNinja channel (YT), he has quite a few examples on how not to do it, as well as how to improve a network.

 

As stated above, make your relatives understand you're doing them a service and if something goes wrong, they need to call in a real IT tech guy (or gal, scarce as they are, they do exist ) because you're not covering that.

ok yah especially the real it part and i did tell them about the cloud and my grandpa went for it and my uncle wants it for his current files because he has only 256 gb worth of storage on his pc my main issue is going to be 1) isolating the 2 networks from each other and 2) connecting them throughout the house

[the gamer that is bad]

and also re wiring everything they have had 2 networks in the past saying that they have been in practice since the early 50s

[Blue4130]

2 hours ago, the gamer that is bad said:

i have been tasked with upgrading my grandpas law practice and uncles accounting into the 21st century there are about 20 people working for my grandpa and about 12-13  working for my uncle they run off the same internet plan but need to stay separate they both need a nas and all that jazz the main issue is no one there knows anything about networking so it is all on me and i tried to convince them that they should go the professional rout but the last guy tried to steal computers so they want me to help but i don't even know where to start for that kind of thing

Your grandpa and uncle should know better. They are a law firm and an accounting firm. The legal reprocussions from hiring a kid with no business or formal schooling even is a major risk.

 

RUN AWAY FROM THIS TASK!

[the gamer that is bad]

9 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

Your grandpa and uncle should know better. They are a law firm and an accounting firm. The legal reprocussions from hiring a kid with no business or formal schooling even is a major risk.

 

RUN AWAY FROM THIS TASK!

i tried to tell him that he should hire another it guy but he was not hearing it and last time i told him no for something like this he tried to do it himself and he did just about everything wrong and my uncle is about the same

[the gamer that is bad]

he did get good cables tough

[Blue4130]

1 hour ago, the gamer that is bad said:

i tried to tell him that he should hire another it guy but he was not hearing it and last time i told him no for something like this he tried to do it himself and he did just about everything wrong and my uncle is about the same

Better them doing it wrong that you in my opinion. They are the adults, not you (If I recall, you are 14?) They should absolutely know better, if something goes wrong, there is potentially legal liability here.

[the gamer that is bad]

3 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

Better them doing it wrong that you in my opinion. They are the adults, not you (If I recall, you are 14?) They should absolutely know better, if something goes wrong, there is potentially legal liability here.

yes i am 14 the issue is everything is going to be practically new for the first time more than 3 pcs will be hooked up to a router at a time and i don't trust my 74 year old grandpa with his network but on the other hand i don't want the liability

[NelizMastr]

Yep, get in touch with a decent IT company to take over this task.

Preferably an MSP of some sort, as they typically have a good number of other customers,

making them a more reliable partner with broader expertise. 

 

It'll cost them (your grandpa and uncle) to get their services taken care of, but the liability will be with the MSP

and they won't have to worry about anything.

[Dutch_Master]

Wait, you are 14?!?!! WTF! If I was in your time zone I'd have a (very!) strong word with your relatives....

 

Well, at 14, the good thing is, you're a minor and therefore not legally liable for your actions. Your parents however, are. Have a word with your parents and tell them you really don't want the burden, nor hand it to them if you make mistakes and let your parents convince your Granddad and uncle to leave it be. As stated by others, find a reputable (local) IT company that wants the job and while they're on the premesis, ask if they'll teach you about IT gear and networking. Stuff like design, equipment selection, building and configuring. It may even land you an apprenticeship with them if they like your attitude, but that's by no means a given!

[Sir Asvald]

Don't do anything that would get you sued.

 

/s

 

9 hours ago, the gamer that is bad said:

yes i am 14 the issue is everything is going to be practically new for the first time more than 3 pcs will be hooked up to a router at a time and i don't trust my 74 year old grandpa with his network but on the other hand i don't want the liability

 

Jokes aside, as many said, being the sole "IT" person for a family is a tough one because well, "family". They will use you for free*. Tell them that they need a professional who can help with setting up the network and to get the correct information and being 14 is not ideal, I dont mean to offend you. When it comes to tech and information, you need experience 

 

 

*some do, some dont..

[the gamer that is bad]

ok yah ill tell them to hire a professional because at least i still have the basement and i still get all of there old computers so yay ish

2 hours ago, Dutch_Master said:

Wait, you are 14?!?!! WTF! If I was in your time zone I'd have a (very!) strong word with your relatives....

 

Well, at 14, the good thing is, you're a minor and therefore not legally liable for your actions. Your parents however, are. Have a word with your parents and tell them you really don't want the burden, nor hand it to them if you make mistakes and let your parents convince your Granddad and uncle to leave it be. As stated by others, find a reputable (local) IT company that wants the job and while they're on the premesis, ask if they'll teach you about IT gear and networking. Stuff like design, equipment selection, building and configuring. It may even land you an apprenticeship with them if they like your attitude, but that's by no means a given!