Setting up a 'server' PC

[boybi]

Is there a wireless KVM? I'm planning to put the server PC in another room.

[ghosthunter]

Is there a wireless KVM? I'm planning to put the server PC in another room.

er.. no...

you'll need remote access for that. WinXP and newer has that feature

[boybi]

If I'll setup remote access, how can I boot the PC without keyboard? and monitor?

[ghosthunter]

If I'll setup remote access, how can I boot the PC without keyboard? and monitor?

Set the PC to not stop on error. Monitor is optional once it's running smoothly.

[boybi]

Pwede pala yun. Tnx.

[ghosthunter]

Pwede pala yun. Tnx.

And knowing is half the battle... yo joe! :usa:

[badsekktor]

what type of file is being stored on the server? is it a database file being used by several users at the same time? (running on RDBMS) or is it just a simple file that is being accessed by a couple of users one at a time? (access files, or excel files)

Kasi kung hindi kinaya ng core2duo, i doubt it that an atom based PC can do the job, lalo na if you are expecting the file to grow. Better invest on a proper server IMO.
CCTV cameras eat up a LOT of space quickly so make sure you have lots of disk space. File servers would be simpler to set-up and maintain, database servers is quite different. do you have a simple network having a router with DHCP capabilities or are you using a Domain controller? you have to consider these things before purchasing a server. kasi kung expected mo na lalaki yun file, baka mamaya after 2 months hindi na kaya nung binili mo na server, dagdag gastos na naman. sayang din kung ganun lang.

Well KVMs are pretty useful especially if you are maintaining several servers. It saves you space and money.

[ghosthunter]

what type of file is being stored on the server? is it a database file being used by several users at the same time? (running on RDBMS) or is it just a simple file that is being accessed by a couple of users one at a time? (access files, or excel files)

Kasi kung hindi kinaya ng core2duo, i doubt it that an atom based PC can do the job, lalo na if you are expecting the file to grow. Better invest on a proper server IMO.
CCTV cameras eat up a LOT of space quickly so make sure you have lots of disk space. File servers would be simpler to set-up and maintain, database servers is quite different. do you have a simple network having a router with DHCP capabilities or are you using a Domain controller? you have to consider these things before purchasing a server. kasi kung expected mo na lalaki yun file, baka mamaya after 2 months hindi na kaya nung binili mo na server, dagdag gastos na naman. sayang din kung ganun lang.

Well KVMs are pretty useful especially if you are maintaining several servers. It saves you space and money.

Kindly read the beginning of the thread.

[badsekktor]

Kindly read the beginning of the thread.

I have read it already and still have questions. That is why i asked these questions.

I have setup a home/office network with the PCs in my house and the office. My problem now is which computer should I put the company data file.

what type of file is your company data file? is this a simple DAT file, xls file, dbx file?
I'm assuming that you have your office at your house. Is that right?

1. The computer in my bedroom is ON 24/7, which I think is the best candidate to host the company file. But whenever I'll go on a trip, I always turn OFF this PC and I lock the door of the room.

Does this PC serves also as your personal PC? you might want to give somebody the task of turning on the server if you are not around.

2. The office have 2 PCs, one is used by my wife but is seldomly turned ON, so this PC can't be used to host the file.

well, you would just need to ask somebody to turn the PC on. just make sure there is a password.

3. The other computer is for the secretary. This computer is turned ON when the secretary arrives and turned OFF when she leaves. This is a very old computer that I used for more than 6yrs already before I transferred it to the office. So I'm not sure if the file will be safe in this computer.

If it is just a simple file server with 2 to 3 users, this would be enough.

4. Should I add another computer to the office to act as a dedicated server to host the file?

it depends on your needs.... well if you can spare the money why not.

[boybi]

badsekktor, the company file (database file) is a Quickbooks file that is being accessed by several users simultaneously. At first, I used my own PC in my office to act as the host PC for the database file, it's a core2duo machine. But since I use this PC a lot, doing a lot of things including playing games, there were times that my PC would slow down, affecting other users accessing the data file. Sometimes I would have to reboot my PC, which will temporarily make the database file unavailable to other users.

That's why, right now, I'm planning to get another PC to act as a full time host PC aka server for the database file. Wala nang ibang paggagamitan itong PC except for hosting the data file/company file that's why I'm thinking of using KVM for this. But since I'll place this PC in another room, I think the cable of the KVM isn't long enough to connect the 2 PCs.

Now I'm thinking of just using remote access for this PC if it's possible.

Will an atom based PC be enough for my purpose?

If I'll go on with my plan of installing security cameras and use it on this server PC, do I need to get a more powerful processor?

Btw, after 7 months, the company/data file is just around 40mb.

[ghosthunter]

badsekktor, the company file (database file) is a Quickbooks file that is being accessed by several users simultaneously. At first, I used my own PC in my office to act as the host PC for the database file, it's a core2duo machine. But since I use this PC a lot, doing a lot of things including playing games, there were times that my PC would slow down, affecting other users accessing the data file. Sometimes I would have to reboot my PC, which will temporarily make the database file unavailable to other users.

That's why, right now, I'm planning to get another PC to act as a full time host PC aka server for the database file. Wala nang ibang paggagamitan itong PC except for hosting the data file/company file that's why I'm thinking of using KVM for this. But since I'll place this PC in another room, I think the cable of the KVM isn't long enough to connect the 2 PCs.

Now I'm thinking of just using remote access for this PC if it's possible.

Will an atom based PC be enough for my purpose?

If I'll go on with my plan of installing security cameras and use it on this server PC, do I need to get a more powerful processor?

Btw, after 7 months, the company/data file is just around 40mb.

I suggest you to have separate boxes for the database and security camera servers. That way, any problems with one with not compromise the other.

From what I see, you'll need an Intel Pentium4 dual core system for the camera PC and a simple dual-core Intel Atom based system for the file server.

Just set them with 2gig of RAM, SATA HDD and some sort of data backup system (cdwriter or usb flash drive) and they should be fine.

[badsekktor]

badsekktor, the company file (database file) is a Quickbooks file that is being accessed by several users simultaneously. At first, I used my own PC in my office to act as the host PC for the database file, it's a core2duo machine. But since I use this PC a lot, doing a lot of things including playing games, there were times that my PC would slow down, affecting other users accessing the data file. Sometimes I would have to reboot my PC, which will temporarily make the database file unavailable to other users.

That's why, right now, I'm planning to get another PC to act as a full time host PC aka server for the database file. Wala nang ibang paggagamitan itong PC except for hosting the data file/company file that's why I'm thinking of using KVM for this. But since I'll place this PC in another room, I think the cable of the KVM isn't long enough to connect the 2 PCs.

Now I'm thinking of just using remote access for this PC if it's possible.

Will an atom based PC be enough for my purpose?

If I'll go on with my plan of installing security cameras and use it on this server PC, do I need to get a more powerful processor?

Btw, after 7 months, the company/data file is just around 40mb.

Ah i see. You are using a financial system software. It would be much better if you would have a dedicated server to host your database system. When I started with our company, our database takes up 200 mb, after 2-3 years, the file is around 24 gig and a daily backup file would take up as much as 3 gig.

If you're going to shop for a server, please tell the sales guy that you are using the box as a server. Right now, we are using Intel boxes. it is quite heavy and larger than your average desktop cpu. it costs around 150 thou (cpu only) and that was 2 years ago. you could load up to 2 processors on the box and up to 7 hot swappable HDD. Its quite an investment but if you think you need to expand operation, adding users would be fine and you wont need to restructure your system again. Additional users mean additional transactions for the box to handle. Just load the box with necessities only so that most of the resources would be free for your software to use. systems like that tend to eat a lot of resources.

An atom is out of the question. it would run but it would run really slow. You could incorporate your CCTv with the system but i do suggest you get a separate one for that. database files tend to build up fast just as CCTv files. CCTv systems dont use that much resources but they do really eat up a lot of hard disk space quickly so set the time when you are going to delete old recordings.Database systems eats a considerable amount of disk space but transactions eat up a lot of the system's resources so an ordinary desktop might end up freezing frequently.

You should backup your database religiously and regularly. We used to be lax on this but after an incident where our office almost got burned, I created backups twice a day. it would be harder to restore your files from a burned HDD. i keep at least 3 backups on 3 different locations just in case.

KVMs are God's gift to IT techies. servers eat so much space so giving all of your boxes their own I/O devices would eat a lot of space, and if you plan to get another server, you just need to buy the box. if the cables are too short, you could buy extensions for I/O devices. I have seen some at CDR king.

Remote administration is a great tool. just make sure that your program is secure. I use VNC viewer (free version) and it serves me well. There are a lot of remote administration software in the internet that you could just download for free.

I think right now, it is quite hard to get a motherboard for server PCs. If you want, you could try Zenshin. Our network admin gets our hardware from them.

I think our domain controller is being run remotely so I think after setting up your box, just place the box in the other room and remotely administer it. you could do away with the KVMs. Just get a big UPS for that server

currently, we have a system like yours (quickbooks) and i think we have at least 75 users.

[boybi]

Masyado na yatang overkill yang suggestion mo for my needs

150K is way out of the budget

Maybe a quadcore CPU nalang siguro?

[ghosthunter]

Masyado na yatang overkill yang suggestion mo for my needs

150K is way out of the budget

Maybe a quadcore CPU nalang siguro?

Badsekktor's recommendation is overkill. This is just a small operation. Something even an old Pentium4 (single core) system running Windows XP wouldn't break a sweat with.

I would still recommend an Intel Atom 1.6ghz (dual core or single core) system as your file server. Just set it up with 2gb of ram (the maximum possible for this) and SATA based HDD. These motherboards and systems consume very little power (less than 60watts). The mboards also come with everything except the memory and HDD for the system to run (video, LAN, sound, USB, processor). Just make sure you use a standard type ATX power supply so if it fails, replacements aren't hard to find.

Only drawback for Intel Atom based mother boards is the limited expansion slot, just one PCI slot. Any other expansion will have to use the USB ports.

Budget for this CPU (no monitor) would be around P9K to P12K depending on casing, HDD, optical drive and other options you might want.

It might have been many years since I have been a computer network tech but I think I am not suggesting a battleship to patrol a small river.

[oj88]

I'm still with the idea of using a NAS. But instead of a simple, single-drive unit, I'd get something that has RAID support. Buffalo comes to mind. I've seen some on display at Silicon Valley SM Annex (North EDSA). I didn't inquire about the price.

[ghosthunter]

NAS RAID? for less than 100mb of data? Wouldn't something less expensive be a better option?

I was thinking a USB flash drive as back up with software control or manual copy of data files. You can have a different USB flash drive per day of the week as well since usb flash drives are so cheap.

[oj88]

NAS RAID? for less than 100mb of data? Wouldn't something less expensive be a better option?

I was thinking a USB flash drive as back up with software control or manual copy of data files. You can have a different USB flash drive per day of the week as well since usb flash drives are so cheap.

I'd use it to backup some of the PCs. Having too much storage space shouldn't be a problem. At least to me. :D

[boybi]

NAS really isn't an option. The data file need a host PC for it to be accessed. I already have a Western Digital NAS and I really can't use it for this purpose.

Are there Atom motherboards with RAID capability?

[oj88]

NAS really isn't an option. The data file need a host PC for it to be accessed. I already have a Western Digital NAS and I really can't use it for this purpose.

Are there Atom motherboards with RAID capability?

^ Understood. Just read that you use QB. It does needs to be running on the host PC where the database is located. I was still working on an assumption that all you need was a file server.

[badsekktor]

Masyado na yatang overkill yang suggestion mo for my needs

150K is way out of the budget

Maybe a quadcore CPU nalang siguro?

hahahaha! same response pala tayo nung unang binigay sa kin ito nung network admin namin since charge to sa dept ko.

Ilan users ba gumagamit ng system? Kung stand-alone lang naman at pure server lang ang function, kaya na ng quadcore yan basta hindi ganun kadami ang users at transactions na ipapasok. just install th OS, and yun software. Yun antivirus, gamitin mo na lang yun isang pc mo pangscan. share mo na lang yun drives na kelangan mo scan and scan regularly.

actually hindi naman talaga overkill. syempre kung kasama sa forecasting nyo na malamang mag-expand kayo at dumadami ang users, mapipilitan ka magupgrade kagad ng server. syempre dodoble gastos mo pero depende naman yan sa negosyo mo kung sa tingin mo di naman kagad madadagdagan ng tao at transaction sa system mo.

just get the high end desktop pc, max out the memory. install a fairly old server software para malimitahan yun pagkain ng resources especially database system yan.

yung NAS nga pala eh pang storage lang kaya di pupwede. kelangan ng proc, at memory ang isang database system like quickbooks.

about atom based PCs, medyo hindi ko isusuggest kung server mo sya gagamitin. database servers eats space and resources (processor, memory) Ilan months nyo na ba gamit ang QB? kasi for sure mag-gegenerate kayo dyan ng mahahabang reports, gen ledgers, inventories, BIR etc... ang ginagawa kasi ng program eh tatawagin lang nya ang stored procedure na kelangan namin gawin ng server. makain sa resources yan. kapag naggegenerate kami ng BIR reports mabilis na 20-30 minutes (1 month lang yun)

yun lumang server which is p4 2gig proc 1 gig mem 4-6 hrs kung maggenerate minsan whole day pa.