Hi there, I was hoping if someone could give me some suggestions on this matter. I have some IT knowledge but a bit rusty. I currently have 5 pcs all running web based applications on their own. So filesharing is a headache. I decided to setup a small server for the office. This is what I need the server to do. 1) Internet connection comes through server protected by a firewall and then distributed to the 5 pcs (star topology) 2) Print and file sharing. 3) application sharing (accounting software) 4) fax facilities 5) internal intranet (web page to get documents used daily as reference) My question to you all: How do I go about setting this up. What do I need (OS, softwares, etc) How do I secure the internet and distribute it to the rest. (switch, router, etc) I would appreciate any guidelines or suggestions on this matter.

Windows Server 2003 or later will provide you with many of those features, however it can be pricey. I have set up and maintain a network with around 10 computers for one of my clients using windows vista business, it does all the above exept application sharing. In this network we use RelayFax which recieves fax's and puts them in the relevent persons email inbox. and we use winroute as a firewall (its got an inbuilt virus scanner) In your case i would reccomend windows server for the use of terminal services to have multiple users log-on to the server and use software at the same time. Hope i have helped, if you need any more info just drop me an email or message. -Cody Joyce PHP Developer / Technician

I'll try to address each point individually but first let me say I see nothing in your post that says you really need to use a Server operating system. 1) May I suggest instead of your internet going through the 'server', get a SOHO router and have the internet go through that. A good one will provide a firewall as well as NAT and DHCP. Then you just plug all clients into the router, or if you have more than 4 clients, plug a switch into a LAN port on the router (using a crossover cable) and then plug your clients into the switch. Using a router for NAT/Firewall/DHCP means not having to have a special (read: expensive) server type operating system to provide you with those services. 2) This can all be done on XP, Vista or even Windows 2000 (client) with ease so no server OS required. 3) If you have a network capable application, you don't require a server OS, just a computer that's connected to a network. Check the manual for your accounting software and read up on running it over a network. If there's nothing in the manual about that, then contact the people who created the software and they'll let you know if it's capable of a network install or not. If it's not, a server OS won't change that....if it is, again, a server OS is NOT required. 4) You can puchase (for a reasonable price) fax software to allow you to fax from the desktop. My wife's company installed this on her work PC here at home (she works from a home office) and it's quite inexpensive and works very well. She can, and does, send and recieve faxes quite easily. 5) I'm not a web admin so this is a wee bit out of my field but if you can't do it from say, XP Pro, I'm sure you could (again, for a reasonable price) purchase some front end software to allow you to build an intranet. Personally, in a small home type environment like you're talking about, I can't see any benefit to having an intranet....but that's just me. My question to you all: How do I go about setting this up. What do I need (OS, softwares, etc) How do I secure the internet and distribute it to the rest. (switch, router, etc) I believe I've addressed all those questions above. Just for clarity, using a SOHO router, here's how the physical setup should look: DSL/Cable Modem >> SOHO Router >> Switch >> all clients and the server Now, if you can afford a server operating system I would suggest you use something like Windows 2003 SBS (Small Business Server) as it comes with most everything you need as a part of the OS....including IIS and ISA server. However, if you're not real familiar with it and all the services and not up on administering a Windows, active directory based domain, you will likely need to hire a professional consultant to come help you set it up. There are benefits to a domain and if it were me, I'd go that route myself. But, I have plenty of experience building/maintaining a windows based domain so I wouldn't require outside (expensive) help.

Might also look at linux distro's. Almost every big name linux distro does this out of the box.There are a few exceptions if you need microsoft asp pages or a few other features that haven't been re-created or similar on linux. The learning curve is steeper than maybe 2003 server. Each can open many holes if you are not sure of what you are doing. Most newer come in a hardened state. "Best Practices", Event viewer, host file, perfmon, antivirus, anti-spyware, Live CD's, backups, are in my top 10

Thank you all for your feedback. I will look into all your suggestions. CodyJoyce: I will surely look into the relayfax software that you suggested. TQ Curt R: Yes the SOHO router seems like a interesting alternative to a server. But just curious on how to configure the internet through the server. I am assuming (just theoretically), I need to set it as a gateway and connect it to the rest, so does that mean the server will have 2 network cards, 1 receiving the DSL line and 1 going out to a switch to be shared to the others? Windows 2003 SBS, I have heard about it, but have not seen it in action. I was also thinking of the AD domain, with the VPN benefits and easy user administration but like you said not sure if i can maintain it. I have a trial version with 5 licenses maybe I might try playing around with it. Jefro: Linux distro..I have been eyeing UBUNTU. Their desktop version was really easy to install. Never tried the server version, not sure if it is as user friendly as their desktop version.

Curt R: Yes the SOHO router seems like a interesting alternative to a server. But just curious on how to configure the internet through the server. I am assuming (just theoretically), I need to set it as a gateway and connect it to the rest, so does that mean the server will have 2 network cards, 1 receiving the DSL line and 1 going out to a switch to be shared to the others? To set everything up to go through a server you would need two NIC's in the server. One would be configured for DHCP and have the incoming internet connection hooked to it (unless of course, you're paying extra for a static IP from your provider in which case you would configure the adapter accordingly). You would then confirm your server has a working internet connection and configure the firewall so as to prevent intrusion from external sources. Assuming you're using a Windows based 2000/2003 server you would then plug the second NIC into a switch that also contains the connections for all your clients. Once that's ready you would then enable RRAS and set it up. You would then configure your LAN NIC and then likely enable and configure DHCP to dish out IP addresses to clients. Once that's ready, you would then connect a client and confirm it get's a proper IP and is able to access the server and the internet. Once you have it all setup and working, you're ready to bring up any/all other clients. NOTE: doing it this way requires the server be on at all times.....no server, no internet. This is one reason everybody uses a SOHO router, if the server dies for any reason, clients can keep on accessing the internet. Windows 2003 SBS, I have heard about it, but have not seen it in action. I was also thinking of the AD domain, with the VPN benefits and easy user administration but like you said not sure if i can maintain it. I have a trial version with 5 licenses maybe I might try playing around with it. Excellent idea. Do a lot of reading/research into the different aspects of SBS that would be beneficial to you...like IIS and likely ISA server. In all honesty, I would highly recommend you get a SOHO router. This would simplify your life and reduce the overall amount of new stuff you'd have to learn (by making it so you don't have to learn how to setup/configure/maintain RRAS). As for Linux, that's also a VERY good idea. If you know Linux, that would probably be the best, and most cost efficient, way to go. I'm not much of a Linux guy as of yet, I'm busy learning UNIX in-depth (OpenBSD) But I have looked over several Linux distro's for my desktop (I'm moving away from Windows in general here at home) and checked out the desktop version of Ubuntu. I would suspect their 'server' version is as user friendly as the desktop. Also, they have real good support and discussion forum's available where you can get all kinds of help from knowledgable people.