Small Business Server

[adrianmarkey]

Hi guys,

Looking some recommendations for a small business server plus firewall with VPN. Have around 3 desktops and two laptops connected to server. Laptops are occasionally used off site and need connectivity to network (VPN mapped network drives and RDP for network apps).

Had been looking at HP Proliant Microserver and also the Sonicwall TZ300 but open to suggestions. Budget is around £1,000-1,500GBP ($1,250-2,000 USD). In terms of storage, 500GB SSD should suffice but should i be looking at RAID configs or multiple drives, hot swaps etc. Have a basic understanding of these but no practical experience.

Also interested in opinions on AMD processors? Recently moved to one on desktop PC and find it great. Are server chips as good?

Thanks

 

[failboat]

pfsense is pretty nice. it has an openvpn guided setup plus export for the client. it doesn't need a lot of resources. the xeon d lineup is for networking. it's somewhat expensive. VPN does require decent cpu speed. I would avoid anything under 4k passmark.

https://www.amazon.com/Supermicro-D-1521-Rackmount-Front-RS-SMX104C2N-FIO/dp/B01M04AVPI/ref=sr_1_12?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1542248637&sr=1-12&keywords=supermicro+xeon+D

 

[kanewolf]

What function(s) is the server providing? That should determine what you purchase. You might be better off with a commercial NAS rather than a server.