Server / Networking Advice

[Stationery-Direct]

Hi Guys

Please excuse my lack of knowledge on this, hence the question.

I need a server in my office that holds all my important documents and files, with 2 x 1tb drives at least in Raid.

I need my desktop PC to connect to this via a cable and other laptops in the office wirelessly, I need to be able access/edit files on the server quickly, for example an excel file, I need to open it from the server on my desktop PC or laptop, edit and save the changes quickly.

I already have a Netgear Router N600 Wireless Router and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations or anything I need to look out for? I was looking at this > http://www.netgear.co.uk/home/produc...r/RND4210.aspx

Any thoughts?

Many thanks

[mit74]

yes a NAS drive with RAID 1 is your best option, this uses 2 drives and mirrors all data so if one drive fails you have the other to rebuild from. They are very easy to setup and reliable, you can even setup user groups on them.
I haven't used Netgear ones myself but people who have used them say they're very good.

[makemoney]

If you need speed then cable is faster than wireless. Netgear wireless are fine, just steer clear of unknown makes. Give yourselves the option of a local cable network connection to the server (Most wireless hubs/stations have these anyway) This is just in case the wireless network fails or gets swamped by stray RF signals (from faulty A/C, or electrical equipment) don’t forget a backup solution for the server, and allow for HDD expansion,

[Blood Lust]

Originally Posted by Stationery-Direct

Hi Guys

Please excuse my lack of knowledge on this, hence the question.

I need a server in my office that holds all my important documents and files, with 2 x 1tb drives at least in Raid.

I need my desktop PC to connect to this via a cable and other laptops in the office wirelessly, I need to be able access/edit files on the server quickly, for example an excel file, I need to open it from the server on my desktop PC or laptop, edit and save the changes quickly.

I already have a Netgear Router N600 Wireless Router and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations or anything I need to look out for? I was looking at this > http://www.netgear.co.uk/home/produc...r/RND4210.aspx

Any thoughts?

Many thanks

Instead of a server why dont you just get an external hardrive.

If you have a USB 3.0 port on your PC and get an external hardrive that plugs into it then its extremely fast (a few gig a second)

[mit74]

Originally Posted by Blood Lust

Instead of a server why dont you just get an external hardrive.

If you have a USB 3.0 port on your PC and get an external hardrive that plugs into it then its extremely fast (a few gig a second)

An external USB harddrive is not a good long term solution for an office storage and backup.

[Comspec]

I'm not a fan of relying on RAID to keep your data safe tbh, it's not all it's cracked up to be in most situations.

By all means, get a NAS drive, cable it to your Router/Switch and let it act as your 'filesharer', but maybe look at some other options to back the whole thing up.

We recently built a simple PC with 2 Hard Drives for someone, installed free LINUX onto it, shared the 1st drive, and used the 2nd drive to backup the 1st drive onto automatically.....incrementally and fully on a scheduled backup. It is a very inexpensive way of doing all this, and it is much easier to maintain, as well as recover anything in the event of disaster striking.

There are many options out there, but it would depend upon what volume and priority, as well as numbers of Pc's likely to be sharing etc.

I would, however, look at options other than relying on RAID to cover your important stuff.

There is also the need for off-site storage, to cover complete disaster, etc....lots of little things to be looked at tbh, but all dependent on your needs, your budget, and your volume of data.

[Jameschillman]

Originally Posted by Stationery-Direct

Hi Guys

Please excuse my lack of knowledge on this, hence the question.

I need a server in my office that holds all my important documents and files, with 2 x 1tb drives at least in Raid.

I need my desktop PC to connect to this via a cable and other laptops in the office wirelessly, I need to be able access/edit files on the server quickly, for example an excel file, I need to open it from the server on my desktop PC or laptop, edit and save the changes quickly.

I already have a Netgear Router N600 Wireless Router and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations or anything I need to look out for? I was looking at this > http://www.netgear.co.uk/home/produc...r/RND4210.aspx

Any thoughts?

Many thanks

Whilst I agree RAID will help in terms of physical disk failure it certainly isnt a replacement for a proper backup solution.

RAID guards against one kind of hardware failure. There's lots of failure that could easily occur that would not be stopped by having RAID.

• File corruption
• Human error (deleting files by mistake)
• Catastrophic damage (someone dumps water onto the server)
• Virus'
• Software bugs that wipe out data ..

If your looking for an in house NAS and are happy knowing that RAID won't protect you from the above i'd strongly reccomend looking at the synology range of devices: http://www.synology.com/products/index.php?lang=enu