Office network

[abiedadj]

Good day fellow mybb members. I need some advise.

I'm currently helping a family member to setup a network for his accounting business that accommodates 10 employees all working from laptops. They need Internet for mainly Emails, doing accounting on SAGE products and afterhours they use it to monitor 8ch CCTV system remotely.

My questions are as follows:
* What ADSL speed would be fast enough, I was thinking 4Mbit Business ADSL
* I'm thinking of using cat5 cabling for network connections to laptops, will this be fine
* I am thinking of building a dedicated PC for them as a pastel server maybe in a rack mount chassis , does anyone know what would be sufficient resources.
* I'm thinking of starting to build a rack to house a switch, patch panel, UPS and an Adsl router to make everything neat. Any suggestions on affordable products and where I can physically purchase them.
* What security measures can I take to ensure the business is safe from viruses, hackers etc.
* is there anyway I can create a central automated daily backups from all the laptops

Any advise will be appreciated

I should probably stop typing before this post gets too long, Oh no I'm still typing...

 

[RoganDawes]

Is their SAGE accounting web-based, or only using the local pastel server? This will influence the line speed that they will want. I guess it may be possible to upgrade at a later time, but check what is actually available at their location. If at all possible, fibre will be more future-proof (and probably, more reliable!)

Cat 5 will likely be adequate, but the cost difference between Cat 5 and Cat 6 is likely too small to be noticed, and will again be more future proof. That said, it doesn't sound like they will need gigabit speeds internally, other than perhaps for backup purposes from the pastel server (and you can use cat6 for that inside the cabinet easily enough) DO get a gigabit switch, though.

It might be worth setting up the Pastel server as a domain controller, although I have no idea of the cost implications of that, unfortunately. This will allow you to manage the various laptops from a central point using Group Policies (but you may need to learn a new way of doing things to do so, and this might not be worth the effort.)

You can get racks in various sizes from Uniterm (https://shop.dbg.co.za)

Security measures is a *long* story. Antivirus is obviously a good idea for people who are likely to click on anything and everything they receive in their email. Make sure everyone uses good passwords (go for length over complexity - 10+ characters is a good idea) - you can enforce this using a domain controller, or otherwise manually on each laptop/PC. And make sure that everyone installs patches when they are released (or at least, shortly afterwards).

There are lots of mechanisms for centralised automated backups. It depends on whether you want to pay for a solution, or do something free (and are prepared to put in some time working on it)

 

[rpm]

A few suggestions from my side:

--Increase your Internet speed to as high as possible. The difference in price between a 4Mbps ADSL service and a 40Mbps VDSL connection is not significant for a business.

--Use cables where possible. Wi-Fi can be challenging when you have 10+ users, unless you use proper Wi-Fi equipment which is made for multiple users. Do not think 10 laptops – think 10 laptops, 10 smartphones (minimum), tablets, and the like.

--UPSs are a valuable addition, and a small expense in the big scheme of things.

--Cloud backup is great, as long as it is automated. Do not trust on users to do their backups manually – it will not happen.

 

[MickZA]

--Cloud backup is great, as long as it is automated. Do not trust on users to do their backups manually – it will not happen.

^^This

... users have always got better things to do with their time and when the inevitable happens it's always the IT departments fault

 

[RoganDawes]

Since we are talking about backups, wired will obviously beat wireless in terms of getting it done. Since you are talking about laptops, though, don't think that you can schedule the backups for after hours, as I suspect that people will close them or take them home with them.

 

[abiedadj]

Is their SAGE accounting web-based, or only using the local pastel server? This will influence the line speed that they will want. I guess it may be possible to upgrade at a later time, but check what is actually available at their location. If at all possible, fibre will be more future-proof (and probably, more reliable!)

Cat 5 will likely be adequate, but the cost difference between Cat 5 and Cat 6 is likely too small to be noticed, and will again be more future proof. That said, it doesn't sound like they will need gigabit speeds internally, other than perhaps for backup purposes from the pastel server (and you can use cat6 for that inside the cabinet easily enough) DO get a gigabit switch, though.

It might be worth setting up the Pastel server as a domain controller, although I have no idea of the cost implications of that, unfortunately. This will allow you to manage the various laptops from a central point using Group Policies (but you may need to learn a new way of doing things to do so, and this might not be worth the effort.)

You can get racks in various sizes from Uniterm (https://shop.dbg.co.za)

Security measures is a *long* story. Antivirus is obviously a good idea for people who are likely to click on anything and everything they receive in their email. Make sure everyone uses good passwords (go for length over complexity - 10+ characters is a good idea) - you can enforce this using a domain controller, or otherwise manually on each laptop/PC. And make sure that everyone installs patches when they are released (or at least, shortly afterwards).

There are lots of mechanisms for centralised automated backups. It depends on whether you want to pay for a solution, or do something free (and are prepared to put in some time working on it)

Thanks for the response RoganDawes, please advise on the following
* The pastel is installed on each machine in the office, they use "HR & Payroll" and "Partner", i hope this answers your question
* I have had a look at dbg.co.za i saw CAT6 cables have a "CCA Solid UTP" and "BC Solid UTP" which one is recommended and where can i get a server chassis that can fit a standard PC motherboard for time being.
* Which antivirus would you recommend i install on the laptops
* The switch im looking at is the TP-link TL-SG1016 16 port Gigabit switch, is it any good

 

[abiedadj]

A few suggestions from my side:

--Increase your Internet speed to as high as possible. The difference in price between a 4Mbps ADSL service and a 40Mbps VDSL connection is not significant for a business.

--Use cables where possible. Wi-Fi can be challenging when you have 10+ users, unless you use proper Wi-Fi equipment which is made for multiple users. Do not think 10 laptops – think 10 laptops, 10 smartphones (minimum), tablets, and the like.

--UPSs are a valuable addition, and a small expense in the big scheme of things.

--Cloud backup is great, as long as it is automated. Do not trust on users to do their backups manually – it will not happen.

Thank you RPM ,
* Do you think i can get away with 8Mbit or 10Mbit for now and upgrade later , for the ADSL im planning on using Afrihost, are they any good?
* For wifi and ADSL connection i have bought an ASUS N14U, will this be reliable.
* I will shop around for UPS' and see what i can find
* What kind of relaiable cloud backup solution would you reccomend

 

[RoganDawes]

Thanks for the response RoganDawes, please advise on the following
* The pastel is installed on each machine in the office, they use "HR & Payroll" and "Partner", i hope this answers your question
* I have had a look at dbg.co.za i saw CAT6 cables have a "CCA Solid UTP" and "BC Solid UTP" which one is recommended and where can i get a server chassis that can fit a standard PC motherboard for time being.
* Which antivirus would you recommend i install on the laptops
* The switch im looking at is the TP-link TL-SG1016 16 port Gigabit switch, is it any good

I actually know nothing about Pastel, so cannot really advise in that regard. It *sounds* like it just need a shared directory to function, from your description.
re cabling, I believe that solid copper is preferred over Copper Covered Aluminium.
No idea where to get a server chassis. You may find that simply using a tray will suffice to hold a standard desktop chassis, depending on the size of your preferred desktop.
No opinion on the remainder.