SBS plus security questions
Discussion
I'm in the middle of upgrading the company server and terminals and look set to go down the Dell path with a decent server running SBS plus 5 terminals all on XP pro, It's all new kit and to replace an old NT server plus a mixture of 2000 and xp machines.
However we've only recently had ADSL made avaliable due to distance from the exchange so I'm upgrading and changing the ISP from ISDN on FS Business (or wanadoo as they are now) to a good fixed IP provider with atleast a 2M speed, firstly suggestions on this?
Then I've got to look at antivirus stuff plus firewalls etc I basically want to know what is best to go for that will run on microsoft SBS plus the XP machines with 5 licenses, It's got to have minimum maintenance, be easy to renew subscription or ideally have lifetime for one off payment and be pretty much run in the background set it up once and forget it.
Plus is there anything else I need or will sbs run all the mail and net access stuff for all the machines (one has 4 user profiles on single terminal) so we have total 7 id's for mail etc and how hard is the fax from desktop thingie to set up?
However we've only recently had ADSL made avaliable due to distance from the exchange so I'm upgrading and changing the ISP from ISDN on FS Business (or wanadoo as they are now) to a good fixed IP provider with atleast a 2M speed, firstly suggestions on this?
Then I've got to look at antivirus stuff plus firewalls etc I basically want to know what is best to go for that will run on microsoft SBS plus the XP machines with 5 licenses, It's got to have minimum maintenance, be easy to renew subscription or ideally have lifetime for one off payment and be pretty much run in the background set it up once and forget it.
Plus is there anything else I need or will sbs run all the mail and net access stuff for all the machines (one has 4 user profiles on single terminal) so we have total 7 id's for mail etc and how hard is the fax from desktop thingie to set up?
Ukonline.net for the DSL (Joust)
SBS is all in I believe, so mail, internet access the lot.
Desktop faxing is fairly simple if on a per machine basis, if you want centralised faxing you need to look at a faxing product.
Trend for corporate virus checking.
Get your parcel?
>> Edited by Plotloss on Tuesday 31st January 15:05
SBS is all in I believe, so mail, internet access the lot.
Desktop faxing is fairly simple if on a per machine basis, if you want centralised faxing you need to look at a faxing product.
Trend for corporate virus checking.
Get your parcel?
>> Edited by Plotloss on Tuesday 31st January 15:05
Couple of version of SBS. You want the premium version if you need firewalling/proxy access. Otherwise the standard version will do all you need.
www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/products/server/features.mspx
www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/products/server/features.mspx
As BliarOut has said, you really need the Premium edition to include ISA Server for firewall and caching, although the Standard edition does include a basic firewall/NAT via RRAS. This obviously is excluding any hardware firewall/router.
As well as UKOnline, have a look at Eclipse (although their website currently has a problem
). Fixed IP, 2Mbps, £34.03.
For anti-virus, have a look at AVG Email Server Edition : five mailboxes for £81, plus AVG Network Edition : five workstation licences for £101. The licences are valid for two years. Updates and a full system scan can be scheduled for overnight and client updates and maintenance can be controlled centrally. I've installed this setup on several client's servers (as well as my own) and it works great.
SBS2003 has all the thing's you mentioned. For faxing, you may not need any other product. Hang a fax modem off the server and you can send faxes from any of the desktop computers using: File>Print, Send To, Outlook or the Fax Console. Incoming faxes can be printed off a network printer, emailed to a designated recipient/distribution or saved to a SharePoint services folder. SBS doesn't offer automatic routing to additional email accounts (recommend Zetafax if you need that).
Cheers
As well as UKOnline, have a look at Eclipse (although their website currently has a problem
). Fixed IP, 2Mbps, £34.03. For anti-virus, have a look at AVG Email Server Edition : five mailboxes for £81, plus AVG Network Edition : five workstation licences for £101. The licences are valid for two years. Updates and a full system scan can be scheduled for overnight and client updates and maintenance can be controlled centrally. I've installed this setup on several client's servers (as well as my own) and it works great.
SBS2003 has all the thing's you mentioned. For faxing, you may not need any other product. Hang a fax modem off the server and you can send faxes from any of the desktop computers using: File>Print, Send To, Outlook or the Fax Console. Incoming faxes can be printed off a network printer, emailed to a designated recipient/distribution or saved to a SharePoint services folder. SBS doesn't offer automatic routing to additional email accounts (recommend Zetafax if you need that).
Cheers
If you're just close enough to the exchange, check you can get 2mb
We're 4.3km from the exchange and can only get 512k. Would like 2mb, but not possible at the moment.
Check here www.samknows.com/broadband/checker2.php
We're 4.3km from the exchange and can only get 512k. Would like 2mb, but not possible at the moment.
Check here www.samknows.com/broadband/checker2.php
mattley said:
and look set to go down the Dell path with a decent server
Oxymoron of the day.
If you can't afford HP build your own beige box, Dell servers are shit, and the support is dangerous at best.
Er, can you say why? I seem to have not had a problem, and they are much nicer to work on than HP. Granted *Nixware support is crap, but then if you want support on *nixware you probably are in too deep if you don't know what you are doing.
Me, and most likely hundreds of others here are probably very happy with Dell Servers.
Indeed the cost of them is what makes them so great!
Neil
mel said:
I'm in the middle of upgrading the company server and terminals and look set to go down the Dell path with a decent server running SBS plus 5 terminals all on XP pro, It's all new kit and to replace an old NT server plus a mixture of 2000 and xp machines.
However we've only recently had ADSL made avaliable due to distance from the exchange so I'm upgrading and changing the ISP from ISDN on FS Business (or wanadoo as they are now) to a good fixed IP provider with atleast a 2M speed, firstly suggestions on this?
Then I've got to look at antivirus stuff plus firewalls etc I basically want to know what is best to go for that will run on microsoft SBS plus the XP machines with 5 licenses, It's got to have minimum maintenance, be easy to renew subscription or ideally have lifetime for one off payment and be pretty much run in the background set it up once and forget it.
Plus is there anything else I need or will sbs run all the mail and net access stuff for all the machines (one has 4 user profiles on single terminal) so we have total 7 id's for mail etc and how hard is the fax from desktop thingie to set up?
Right, this is going to take a while but here goes:
If you are asking questions like this, then it may well be worth you looking at getting someone to do it for you. While SBS is an easy product to build and install, it is very easy to break without knowing what you did. Don't believe the hype when people say that it is a cut dowm version of the full products - it IS the full products with just a nanny hand holding wizard to get you going.
You need to think of these things first:
Server + Licensing
Desktop + Licensing (Office, Anti Virus etc)
Disaster Recovery + Licensing
Firewalling and RPM (Repetitive Maintenance)
Remote Management tools + Patch Managment tools
AV/Spam Cetral Management Tools
Training
Only then can you link the whole caboodle up to an ADSL link.
Think of your ADSL link as the easiest bit!!! I'm not gonna bother recommending one as they all sell the same product, irrespective of what you can receive - it'll be the same. You won't be able to afford SDSL - its nearly £250 a month on average for a 2Mb connection. So ADSL it'll be - easy!
Server
Invest as much as you can on the hardware. A common mistake is to buy SBS licensing and bung it on a weak server - bad mistake. A bigger company will install a domain controller on one server and an Exchange server on another - they are hefty apps, and require some real guts. So buy a dual processor server, with at least 2Gb ram, and a RAID 5 drive array. Additionally MAKE SURE YOU BUY A BACKUP DEVICE AND LICENSING!!! It'll be cheaper with the server - and for gods sake don't make the mistake of not doing it! This will give you something that might last 3 years. Do I need to suggest that you get a 3yr 24hr onsite warranty? Theres 3k gone already
Desktops
Don't go nuts, budget £400 per machine, excluding monitors, and Office licensing. Buy Office OEM as it's cheaper, and paper licensing doesn't give you any benefits. Buy your AV separatly - I'd reccomend McAfee Enterprise 8 for its central management servive EPO 3.6 - but thats pricey so you may be better off with AVG but then I've no experience of it so can't really vouch for it - many do so thats a good sign
Disaster Recovery + Licensing
As in the Server bit - DO NOT skimp on this - you will need it at some point. The business risk far outweighs the initial cost implication.
Firewalling and RPM (Repetitive Maintenance)
I need to point out that once you have Exchange that you have a device that can be used very easily to spam anyone and everyone. Ensure you learn how to configure your server internally so it is hardend. Additionally learn how to program a Firewall to protect from both outside threats, but also internal threats. I would heavily suggest outsourcing your Firewalling to a fully managed service - it's cheap and you can forget about it. The common misconception is that a firewall can be fit and forget. Nope, they are out of date as soon as you turn them on, and they need constant monitoring. I can guarantee you will NOT have the time to do this, and this is a significant business risk. Ever heard of the Sarbanes Oxley Act? No? I suggest you get reading - it affects everyone - and a badly configure network perimeter will expose you as a business.
Remote Management tools + Patch Managment tools
Choose one of each (I use Dameware and WSUS) and learn how to use them. Otherwise you'll be doing 5 times the work to look after your machines, keep them up to date and fix problems.
AV/Spam Central Management Tools
There are cost effective tools out there, but they require administration. I'd recommend buying desktop/server AV, and then getting a fully managed TDS (Threat Defence System) package. This means that your incoming traffic will be scanned for email and internet traffic nasties and stopped accordingly. This is usually packaged with a fully managed firewall. To give you an idea of cost: We pay £60 a month for TDS and a fully managed firewall - no initial cost (apart from setup) - Not bad eh?
Training
I would imagine that by now you've just been scared shitless and wondered what you've dropped yourself into. Its a common thing where someone who 'knows' computers is tasked with dragging a company kicking and screaming into the now of computing, and very quickly gets swamped. This is your atypical IT manager. Now the best thing to do is admit that you'll need help - hell, people like me with 6-7 years of this experience wouldn't take a project like this on lightly, however, we know the gotchyas.
You don't! (hence why you're posting)
Well take it from me, it'll go over budget by twice the cost, take twice as long, and WILL break. Unless you simply stop everything and read all the whitpapers and MS books.
If you don't fancy that - get the business to stump the cash up and get some consultants in!
Or you could go for Hosting, and pay for a fat leased line - but it sounds like thats not an option...
Anyway - have I scared you enough? No?
Then look forward to a very fun and interesting (read hard and lots of late nights) while you project manage everything. No matter what anyone tells you - you will NOT be able to buy any of this from PC World!!!
If you need any more help - just let me know - I do this stuff for a pastime...
Neil
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