Help building a server for work

[pleasestopdroppingthings]

Hello everyone,

 

Was hoping to find some help in building a server for our workplace.  We are a small construction company with maybe 10-15 people who would need access to the server.  Our average file size is mostly 50-100mb maximum, with the odd file 300-500mb maximum.  We have 5 laptops/desktops that would be connected either by ethernet or wifi.  And it would be awesome if we could also remotely connect with any device including android tablets. Our budget would probably be under 3000 for the server and another 2000 for software+network switch+wifi router.

 

Ive built several computers over the years but I dont have any experience building servers or doing the networking part. Im sure I can learn though.  Would be awesome if you could give your thoughts on:

 

Q)1 What kind of hardware should we get for under 3000? I have an old inwin case that id like to use for this project.  What kind of hardware is recommended for a server pc?  Lots of cores? SSD or go with disk drives? does ram matter?

Q)2 What kind of network switch should we get for this setup? I honestly have no idea what it really does. For a small office would a regular wifi router work fine?

Q)3 Do we need software to allow android devices to connect?  Can everything be done from windows?

 

Q)4 Any recommendations for RAID software or general considerations?

 

Appreciate any help guys.

Richard

[Needfuldoer]

To be honest, I don't think building a business critical server your company will rely on from parts is going to be a good idea. I don't like whitebox servers; give me a Dell or HPE (or even a SuperMicro) with a hardware warranty, preferably with on-site service with turnaround times measured in hours.

 

If you're going to have local hardware, and you don't have a dedicated IT person, you really want a managed service provider to be able to support it for you. (Especially if IT infrastructure is well outside your wheelhouse.) Otherwise, they whose idea it was to set up the newfangled thing gets the blame and burden of fixing it when it breaks.

 

If you have a reliable, fast Internet connection, I'd look into a cloud based hosting solution like Google Workspace or Office 365. They'll be accessible anywhere, and they're a relatively low operating expense in the scheme of things.

 

At the very low end, a Synology NAS will give you a turn-key local file sharing appliance that's pretty straightforward to set up.

[pleasestopdroppingthings]

16 hours ago, Needfuldoer said:

To be honest, I don't think building a business critical server your company will rely on from parts is going to be a good idea. I don't like whitebox servers; give me a Dell or HPE (or even a SuperMicro) with a hardware warranty, preferably with on-site service with turnaround times measured in hours.

 

If you're going to have local hardware, and you don't have a dedicated IT person, you really want a managed service provider to be able to support it for you. (Especially if IT infrastructure is well outside your wheelhouse.) Otherwise, they whose idea it was to set up the newfangled thing gets the blame and burden of fixing it when it breaks.

 

If you have a reliable, fast Internet connection, I'd look into a cloud based hosting solution like Google Workspace or Office 365. They'll be accessible anywhere, and they're a relatively low operating expense in the scheme of things.

 

At the very low end, a Synology NAS will give you a turn-key local file sharing appliance that's pretty straightforward to set up.

That's very helpful thankyou.

[wseaton]

If you are just shuffling and sharing files get a NAS like a Synology. 

 

Basic switch and basic access point so you can run wireless. Done.

[Jarsky]

It sounds like you only need a small amount of storage? I'd just get a 2-bay Synology or QNAP, and 2 x 10TB (or whichever size you need) drives and put them in a Mirror. 

Use some of that budget to buy a cloud backup plan. Both Synology & QNAP support an array of Cloud Backup providers like Google Drive, Backblaze, iDrive, Carbonite, Acronis, etc....