- Sep 24, 2012
- 12
- 0
- 10,510
Hi, I'm the local tech for my friends and family and they have all been pushing me to start my own tech support and I finally gave in. Most of my experience is setting up home networks and basic troubleshooting/setting up various aspects of individual PCs.
My first two official jobs were installing new office networks into the office of my long time friend and my mother's office. I thought it would be interesting enough and said I would give it a shot, only to find out I really am not sure about how to approach these. ANY and all advice is appreciated.
Mother's office - Simple cosmetic medical office (laser treatments)
Current setup - 4 Desktops running XP, various specs
3/4 have max ram of 1GB, all have HDD < 150 GB, most less than 80Gb
1 old Dell PowerEdge server running Windows 2000 server
another computer I assume is holding their Z: drive (cant access because too many wires around everything, looks like it was from the 90s but could
have been refurbished)
The server is housed in a small back closet next to the water heater and underneath the office's audio equipment (really no other place for it but small cramped
and wires everywhere, cant move much of anything without pulling on something else)
Has an older Cisco router connected into a network switch which splits it out to all the computers, wiring all seems solid and fine, never saw any issues with that.
What the Dr. is looking for is to replace all the computers with new ones, and include 2 additional laptops for a total of 6 computers, all needing to print off the same printer. Would also like to install Wi-Fi for the laptops to connect in to the network and can access the Z drive. If possible also have the wireless for patients while they wait. Would like to keep costs as low as possible, to the point of not wanting to get a new server but new computers.
So far I'm runnign at about $2500 - $3000 with 4 new desktops, 2 laptops (all with 7 Home Premium)
I thought I could do a WHS2011 with the best of the old computers upgraded (max 4GB ram allowed, 125GB HD), but I'm not sure if it's a domain controller or not since it's a 2000 server, or if that's even an issue. Also would I need to get the computers upgraded to 7 Professional or would the Home Premium work?
For the wireless I have a simple Netgear wireless router, could I just replace the Cisco router with the wireless and run that through the switch to get the wireless integrated, or would it be better to run a cable form the switch to the router for the wireless?
The other thing that I wasnt sure about was if I do need to use the old server, would it be compatible with Windows 7 computers?
My long time friend is a bit different and have a much bigger budget to work with. They have a tech company they keep on retainer but were quoted a price of over $16k for everything. He asked me if I could do it for less (was upwards of +75% cost labor install fee).
It's a bigger office, but was downsized during the economy slump so they need it expandable later should they decide to hire more people later. No one there knows much of anything about computers.
Current setup - 5 computers all running XP Pro with about 1 GB of ram (one got upgraded to 4GB)
1 PowerEdge server running Server 2003 (no one knows the password so no idea of the specs for it)
1 networked printer (no one was sure how it works, it just does)
basic wireless setup
What they are looking for is just a basic upgrade from XP to 7 that will have the printer working with it as well with the ability to add in more computers later if the business picks up again.
Budget is ~$10k. Was thinking of getting a new PowerEdge or similar server with SBS 2008 (similar to what their guy gave them) and 5 new windows 7 Pro desktops.
Also, are UPS good to reuse, or would it be a better idea to get a new one with the new server?
Again, thank you in advance for any and all help you can give me.
My first two official jobs were installing new office networks into the office of my long time friend and my mother's office. I thought it would be interesting enough and said I would give it a shot, only to find out I really am not sure about how to approach these. ANY and all advice is appreciated.
Mother's office - Simple cosmetic medical office (laser treatments)
Current setup - 4 Desktops running XP, various specs
3/4 have max ram of 1GB, all have HDD < 150 GB, most less than 80Gb
1 old Dell PowerEdge server running Windows 2000 server
another computer I assume is holding their Z: drive (cant access because too many wires around everything, looks like it was from the 90s but could
have been refurbished)
The server is housed in a small back closet next to the water heater and underneath the office's audio equipment (really no other place for it but small cramped
and wires everywhere, cant move much of anything without pulling on something else)
Has an older Cisco router connected into a network switch which splits it out to all the computers, wiring all seems solid and fine, never saw any issues with that.
What the Dr. is looking for is to replace all the computers with new ones, and include 2 additional laptops for a total of 6 computers, all needing to print off the same printer. Would also like to install Wi-Fi for the laptops to connect in to the network and can access the Z drive. If possible also have the wireless for patients while they wait. Would like to keep costs as low as possible, to the point of not wanting to get a new server but new computers.
So far I'm runnign at about $2500 - $3000 with 4 new desktops, 2 laptops (all with 7 Home Premium)
I thought I could do a WHS2011 with the best of the old computers upgraded (max 4GB ram allowed, 125GB HD), but I'm not sure if it's a domain controller or not since it's a 2000 server, or if that's even an issue. Also would I need to get the computers upgraded to 7 Professional or would the Home Premium work?
For the wireless I have a simple Netgear wireless router, could I just replace the Cisco router with the wireless and run that through the switch to get the wireless integrated, or would it be better to run a cable form the switch to the router for the wireless?
The other thing that I wasnt sure about was if I do need to use the old server, would it be compatible with Windows 7 computers?
My long time friend is a bit different and have a much bigger budget to work with. They have a tech company they keep on retainer but were quoted a price of over $16k for everything. He asked me if I could do it for less (was upwards of +75% cost labor install fee).
It's a bigger office, but was downsized during the economy slump so they need it expandable later should they decide to hire more people later. No one there knows much of anything about computers.
Current setup - 5 computers all running XP Pro with about 1 GB of ram (one got upgraded to 4GB)
1 PowerEdge server running Server 2003 (no one knows the password so no idea of the specs for it)
1 networked printer (no one was sure how it works, it just does)
basic wireless setup
What they are looking for is just a basic upgrade from XP to 7 that will have the printer working with it as well with the ability to add in more computers later if the business picks up again.
Budget is ~$10k. Was thinking of getting a new PowerEdge or similar server with SBS 2008 (similar to what their guy gave them) and 5 new windows 7 Pro desktops.
Also, are UPS good to reuse, or would it be a better idea to get a new one with the new server?
Again, thank you in advance for any and all help you can give me.
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