[SOLVED] Hardware and software required to download /upload and browse the net fast

diliptimblo

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Oct 29, 2018
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We have a small office with 2 or 3 employees. We do a lot of downloading and uploading of documents and browsing the net. We have a don’t talk an opening for our line which is performing satisfactorily.
There used to be a Dell server which was installed some 11 years back. But was removed for some reason. There is still a provision for installation of a server. What we are concerned with is that downloading and uploading should be fast. Accessing websites should be quick. So tell us what hardware and software we need to attend this goal
 
Solution
With a server, you had single storage that everyone shared, so access was quick and easy, you could find anything at any time as it was all localized to a select few folders. With a serverless network, that means everything gets stored local, on the seperate pc's, so nobody has a clue exactly what data is where or what any one person has or doesn't have.

I'd suggest setting up one pc as a master pc, using shared folders in a server-like setup, so while individual pc's might have local data, that data can/should be backed up or copied to a shared folder for network storage.

Any decent router/switch can handle internet access across all the pc's, software isn't really a concern or applicable, network speeds, uploads and downloads are...

kanewolf

Titan
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We have a small office with 2 or 3 employees. We do a lot of downloading and uploading of documents and browsing the net. We have a don’t talk an opening for our line which is performing satisfactorily.
There used to be a Dell server which was installed some 11 years back. But was removed for some reason. There is still a provision for installation of a server. What we are concerned with is that downloading and uploading should be fast. Accessing websites should be quick. So tell us what hardware and software we need to attend this goal
All that is needed is a wired network. Then it depends on your ISP. If you do a lot of uploads, you want symmetric bandeidth. That would be something like 100/100. That is usually a fiber ISP. Coax service is usually 400/40. You will get faster downloads but slower uploads.
 
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Karadjgne

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With a server, you had single storage that everyone shared, so access was quick and easy, you could find anything at any time as it was all localized to a select few folders. With a serverless network, that means everything gets stored local, on the seperate pc's, so nobody has a clue exactly what data is where or what any one person has or doesn't have.

I'd suggest setting up one pc as a master pc, using shared folders in a server-like setup, so while individual pc's might have local data, that data can/should be backed up or copied to a shared folder for network storage.

Any decent router/switch can handle internet access across all the pc's, software isn't really a concern or applicable, network speeds, uploads and downloads are a hardware concern. If you only get 5kbp/s like with dial-up speeds, no software can increase that to gigabit traffic.
 
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Solution
If all people from OP office does work locally, they indeed require local server in office with shared document directories. Will work very fast.

For stable and fast cloud document storage access - wired/fiber uplink to ISP as folks above said.
 
What is the hardware that you are currently using?
If all is 11 years old, you could probably benefit from more current hardware.

Performance will be limited by the slowest component in your setup.
If, for example, your pc's are not using ssd devices, a ssd upgrade is a very effective performance improvement.
If you do not have sufficient ram, that can slow you down.
11 year old processors are not very quick.

The browser you use can be an issue. It is not likely that changing that would be a worthwhile thing to do.

Your connection to the internet may be the limiting factor.
The upload/download capability of your internet service will be one factor.
If you are connected to your gateway via wifi, that is likely to be slower than a lan connection.
Then also, your lan connection between the pc and the gateway can have different speeds.

Does your ISP throttle downloads if they think you are using too much bandwidth?
You may need a service upgrade.
 
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