Small Business Server Set Up

[JOR-Tech]

We are in the planning phase, just trying to plan for the future. 

 

Ideally we would like to set up a server (or cloud based data storage) that can host users and allow users to log on to any company device and have access to files (based on role or group).

 

Thank you in advance for any advice! 

[FloRolf]

Honestly depending on your business size you should hire professionals to do it. Mainly to limit downtime in case something goes down. 

 

Also, your description of what you want is not really helping. How many users, what kind of data, how much should it cost etc. But like I said, hire a professional. 

[Electronics Wizardy]

I do IT for a few small businesses. This really depends on exactly what your current setup is if you have one.

 

26 minutes ago, JOR-Tech said:

Ideally we would like to set up a server (or cloud based data storage) that can host users and allow users to log on to any company device and have access to files (based on role or group).

What OS? What are using doing? 

 

Probably go cloud only these days, so something like Azure AD as a part of Microsoft 365.

 

But really get a IT firm/person in as its pretty complex to do this right, and its well worth it to get someone that knows their experience. 

[IntelJoe]

2 hours ago, JOR-Tech said:

We are in the planning phase, just trying to plan for the future. 

 

Ideally we would like to set up a server (or cloud based data storage) that can host users and allow users to log on to any company device and have access to files (based on role or group).

 

Thank you in advance for any advice! 

Yeah, you are likely going to need to plan on hiring a Systems Administrator of sorts.

 

Things to consider;:

How many users? - To help determine what kind of hardware you need to buy

What kind of OS those users use? - To make sure every works as intended, also it might be necessary to upgrade machines that are not compliant (like anyone running older versions on Windows/MacOS)

Patching/Downtime schedule? - The server is going to need to go down for patches and is going to need maintenance eventually, also consider how you are going to notify your users in advance.

Where is the equipment going to be stored - Is it secure? Is it cool enough for the equipment you are installing? Is it on or off site?

What Level of Data is it? - Is this personal or identifiable (HIPPA for example)? Is it overall sensitive? Does it need to be encrypted? None of the above?

 

Other things I would consider is if there is a solution that works for everyone or solutions that are partial to one user type or another. For example, the finance office might have different OS or configuration needs compared to a research office. So you will want to think about how you are going to approach both.

 

Cloud based options are definitely worth while, like AZURE, AWS, GoogleCloud. For something small, it might make sense to go with one of those. But once you get beyond a rack or two then it may make more sense to build out something in house. Also depending on your data needs, I remember when 1PB was spread out among several racks, nowadays with platter densities with what they are you can get 1PB in a single rack. Also cloud based solutions charge a TON for storage over time, if you ask me.

[LogicalDrm]

-> Moved to Servers and NAS

[jec6613]

On 1/19/2022 at 4:02 PM, JOR-Tech said:

Ideally we would like to set up a server (or cloud based data storage) that can host users and allow users to log on to any company device and have access to files (based on role or group).

What you want is Azure AD and Office 365, using Sharepoint or OneDrive for file collaboration - you can throw Google into it, but the common logon and single sign-on mean Google and AWS services are a nonstarter.  If you need a custom app server(s), you'll save money by throwing it into Azure over having a physical server.  Very rarely do you actually want to pivot towards Active Directory, LDAP, Kerberos, SMB, and that sort of on-premise services.

 

The exceptions where you want on-premise for a business nowadays are caching servers to allow you to survive an internet outage (or help smooth out things like backups so they complete quickly, then push asynchronously to the cloud), printers, and when latency is a problem since typical cloud latency is around 10ms over an expressroute.

[wseaton]

The question starts like; "can we go to the cloud with this". Will users be working from home is the main driver now for cloud, and it's a logical one. However,  I'm still dealing with customers on DSL connections and 20-40Mb pipes. Not exactly fun when you are dealing with media creation. Yet somebody told them "you must go to cloud because it's a law and local servers by law cost tens of thousands of dollars and require a rack and be virtual and have a backup domain controller, etc." Get my drift?  Unfortunately most local MSPs (IT consultants) are crooks and get kick backs for creating Office 365 accounts. The trick is finding somebody you can trust.

 

 

[jec6613]

8 hours ago, wseaton said:

The question starts like; "can we go to the cloud with this". Will users be working from home is the main driver now for cloud, and it's a logical one. However,  I'm still dealing with customers on DSL connections and 20-40Mb pipes. Not exactly fun when you are dealing with media creation. Yet somebody told them "you must go to cloud because it's a law and local servers by law cost tens of thousands of dollars and require a rack and be virtual and have a backup domain controller, etc." Get my drift?  Unfortunately most local MSPs (IT consultants) are crooks and get kick backs for creating Office 365 accounts. The trick is finding somebody you can trust.

Well this is a bit jaded, though I have seen shady MSPs here and there.

 

The reality is, physical servers do cost money to buy, money to license, money to pay somebody to maintain them, and money to connect them to the world so when something breaks at 2 AM your poor IT staff doesn't have to drive in to the office.  And you do need a proper tech person to handle all of this for you.  And to do it well enough to make it worthwhile to even consider betting your business on, you need a lot of hardware, and a lot of expertise in dedicated staff who can keep your business running ... and  you need more than one person, because vacation and illness.

 

Which is why MSPs are a thing: most businesses can't afford to do it properly, or don't want to get distracted in something that's not their core business, so they hire out their IT to a third party, with even some of the Fortune 500 hiring out all of their IT from MSPs.  The best advice I can give anybody is make sure you have a friend in the industry who can call BS on whatever the MSP is trying to sell you.