Networking Suggestions

Hello, I'm new to the forums.

I'm in a small office. Currently we are set up on a peer-to-peer network that hooks up five PCs. We are looking to switch to a stand-alone server and keep the peer-to-peer. Once we do that, then we hope to allow remote server access for two to three other computers.

Any advice on operating system or software? I've heard Linux thrown around quite a bit, but it appears to be rather difficult to learn. Are there other systems that people have tried?

Monica

 

What OS is your current system running?



By the way, Welcome to the forums!

 

The PC acting as a "server" is running Win 98. We have a blend of Windows 2000 to XP professional on the other machines. We're looking to do away with the Win 98 as the primary machine and replace it.

 

I you are already use a network based on Windows, I'd stick with windows.

From what I understand, ther are a couple of OS's provided by Microsoft that will allow you to set up a server.

Windows NT
Windows XP Pro
Windows 2000

XP Home can serve as a small network server, but I believe Pro is better.
There may be others, but I know those will be better for you than Win 98.

It's kind of difficult to configure a Linux OS to serve as a Windows network server.

 

There is another option.

Rather than replacing the Win98 server with a new one. Try reconfiguring one of the newer workstations you have now to act as the server in it's place. Then using the Win98 as a workstation. It'll save some money.

 

Those are really good suggestions. I've heard that XP Professional is better than NT. I use XP home myself, and so far so good. Have had lots of IE issues, so switched to Firefox.

We were thinking of getting a new box because we wanted to start fresh. We do a daily backup so it is also essential that I have full access to the machine when I get the chance to do that, not to mention ease of maintenance. It wouldn't be used for browsing the net, so less chance of spyware/adware. We've had problems with that amd not enough RAM in the past.

Is it true that if your processor is slow it doesn't matter how much RAM you have? How does RAM work in a networking environment? Any recommendations on how much we should have?

 

A computer tech once told me you can never have enough RAM. Most people recommend at least 512 Meg for newer computers, you might want a lot more for a dedicated server that will be access by more than one other computer at the same time. I don't have a lot of experience with setting up a server, but as long as it has a fast processor and about 1Gig of ram it should be more than efficient for a small network like your describing.

You'll notice speed differences more on an older system than on a newer one, when you add more RAM.