[I couldn’t really find a subject ideal for this thread so if this isn’t the correct place feel free to tell me to move it or move it yourself]
I work with a specialist teaching organisation which gives 1 to 1 specialist teaching to students with dyslexia or other learning difficulties along with diagnostic tests. But the centre I work with is setting up independently so they need to start from the beginning tech wise.
I work/volunteer with the centre providing tech support and guidance. Everything from setting up new pcs to installing printers to diagnosing and fixing network issues. And so it will be primarily my responsibility setting up this new office space.
TL:DR What we will use is :
1 to 2 PCs or laptops in each teaching room (approx 5 teachers)
1 or 2 office computers
on sight network storage e.g. NAS
off sight storage (maybe dropbox?)
E-mail service
What I really need advice/ a second opinion on is how to implement each of these things.
The PCs we will be able to source, but what networking is best? The network speed does not need to be huge, the most they will be used for is basic browsing and maybe SD video.
For the office things get a little more interesting. Again the broadband requirements are low, but what we mostly need to pick is software. Is there any accountancy software you can recommend? Possibly some management software to manage orders? There is some in mind but I can’t remember it’s name off the top of my head.
For the NAS we don’t need a huge amount of storage as it will mostly be word and PDF documents stored on it. But what we need is for the data to be secure for a minimum of 10years. So would it be better for a custom machine with something like freeNAS? Or should we use a premade machine? We want to avoid as much start up cost as possible but I think they will accept a larger spend if it saves money over the long run and keeps the data more secure.
Also for the external back up. Is drop box secure? We need not only reliability and ease of use but we also need to keep the data safe as it will have personal information included. We were also considering a way for customers to access their documents from their home. Similar to sharing a file link on drop box.
More on storage, we were considering having an on site file backup for all these documents, could a memory stick be a reliable backup for 10 years? What about things such as bitrot, how will these things effect the data?
What do you recommend for secure email? Is there a case to be made for running an email service and freenas from I’ve machine? Or is out sourcing a more economical choice?
And finally, networking we don’t need fast, the speed into the centre will likely not exceed about 2020mb and the largest internal file to transfer will probably be a pdf. We do however need reliable and preferably cheap. We cannot afford to loose connection to a class room during a lesson.
Thank you for reading. Any help on any topic is much associated, I hope I didn’t ramble too long and it makes sense.
I'm not trying to be rude, but for this level of help someone should be paid to do this. You are basically asking use to do a network consultation which are not cheap. I hope someone doesn't just give you all the information for free. If they do that is up to them decide. and I have nothing against them. I just think you are asking for people on a form to do way more work then what you may think.
We have a plan currently, but I am just asking if anyone goes, 'don't use x because x' we ready to implement the plan but I thought any second opinion wouldn't harm anything.
I totally agree with that point. I don't want a detailed plan, just personal opinion on individual points.
I do want to make it clear I really am not asking for someone to do the job. The designs are already there. I am just asking for little points and opinions on this like long term life. I don't want any one to go v through answering every point in detail. I wouldn't at all want someone to spend that amount if time or effort.
I sorry if that's how it sounds, that's not at all what I intended.
Okay. You should be fine if you use a gigabit network.
There are some pre build nas that have many services built into them. you can check out Qnap and Synolgy, both produce enterprise grade units as well has "home/small business use". like my synogly one has the ablity to be a vpn service, a cloud back up that works like dropbox, it can do remote backups to some services it also has a mail server application, word press and a camera app as well all built in.
thumb drives/flash sticks are the worst you can use to store stuff for extend times.
if you want true redundancy you should run 2 Ethernet lines to every pc/server/nas/switch. you don't want to have to fish a new line down if something goes wrong with one.
Yeah, at first I was looking for gigabit. But most of the infrastructure is only cat5, so I was wondering go for something like 100mb. Mostly for networking I was wondering if someones knows of specific routers that are known to be reliable.
Thanks for the suggestions. Those company's products definitely look interesting. Most of my experience is in enthusiast grade so I don't know much about the enterprise aimed companies.
I would implement the double line however the cables and built in infrastructure all belongs to the building owner, which us rented out, so we only really gave control over each 'box' on either side.
Thanks for the quick reply
Cat5e is gigabit capable. and as for routers, it depends on what you want set up. most likely you would be better off with a layer 3 managed switch. The typical "router" is not something you use in an enterprise system. Enterprise routers only route traffic between two networks.
Edit: It will work but not ideal if it is not cat5e
Woops, sorry my phone auto completed. I meant to say CAT5 is gb reiliable over this rj45 cable?
This is a fairly small business set up so not really much more traffic than the average home. We need a router to manage the connection between the LAN and WAN supplied to the building.
How is it you receive your Internet?
I will find and upload the diagram. Sorry I would have put it up earlier but I didn't expect as detailed help
This is based off the current network layout.
We have an RJ 45 cable coming from the building main station where all the utilities enter the premises. So the connect is quite similar to a home network the only difference for us is we need greater reliability from our LAN.
Edit: I should explain that the second rouder is there because there is only one RJ45 cable leading ot the first floor and so it acts mostly as an access point for the laptops.
What do you mean by reliability? In terms of speed, dropped packets, or in uptime?
The answer to that is a big factor in trying to analyse your current topology and then make a educated guess on what to do to fix it.
Edit for email services I would look into google services.
Its just such a headache to manage all the emails and the backups.
Most companies I have worked for/with are going with google services.
It works well on everyone’s phone. Everyone knows how to use gmail and google calendar. You get google drive too so its just easy.
Well I guess I'm going to be the guy that puts more in since I have nothing else to do but listen to music. lol
okay so few more ?.
is it important that the wireless be as good as the Ethernet? (can get really expensive)
How many devices using wifi?
The ISP do they have just a modem in a room that you plug the office router into? And how does it do so, ethernet?
Lol Is my life that sad that I get home from doing tech support and go home to drink a beer and do free tech support. X D
haha same but im just getting into it, im a assistant sys admin at my work. i started looking at stuff and just like oooh maybe this or this or....suddenly im the guy offering free networking consulting haha. The network at my work is so hodge podged lol when i started working there im like what the fuck is this shit.
Sorry, I should have metioned. I wasn't expecting the willingness for such detailed response.
What we need is for the router to be relied on to be constantly running. Dropped packets is less of a problem as it is mostly webpages being basic webpages being loaded. The staff on the center are not very technical so if there is any problem, even a basic one help will likely be about 1 hour away.
So the router does not need any complex features but needs to just run and have a good uptime.
I really don't expect professional level help, although it is very much appreciated I wouldn't ask you to work for free. You have already helped more than I expected, I was expecting mostly one line answers.
Edit: if it makes you feel any better this is a charity so all your help is making it possible for children to get the full access to education support.
Are google services encrypted? We can handle the hassle of other services but complete data protection is a must.
Here is how I would do it.
some kind of router>switch>(access points and Ethernet) https://www.ubnt.com/unifi/unifi-ap/ are easy with a nice webui as are http://www8.hp.com/us/en/products/networking-switches/product-detail.html?oid=4218346#!tab=models
so handling them from remote should be okay, I haven't used them personally
at my home i have TWC modem> netgear WNDR3700v4>some tp link 5 port>nas>server>pc>pc i very rarely have to reset anything and if i do its because some wifi device isn't connecting to the netgear.
Practice makes perfect! lol
Now not to Hijack the thread.
I would set up a on site NAS, FreeNAS is a good option. (ECC RAM!)
I would get a NetGate or similar ALIX based hardware firewall.
You can get a nice one with PFsense loaded on it for around 300-400 they are rock solid, and you can build one out of a old PC, but this is a business get the low power cost rock solid hardware and do it right.
Get a Gb Managed switch that can support your users and room for growth.
Off that go and find a reliable and affordable WiFi access point.
Open-Mesh may work great for your size.
Ubintui < or however the f*ck its spelt.
and others like that. Dont get a WiFi router and bridge it. just get WAPS.
You can put print services and other things on the PFsense router.
Not going in to crazy detail as has been stated this is a profession and people make good money doing this lol. But I don't mind giving some general pointers
the Google Services you pay for are encrypted. You get a @yourbiss.com address. Its just you log in through google just like a normal gmail account.