network advice

[steveuns911]

We run a small office with 3 desktop machines running XP. Id like to buy Sage Act CRM software and have it on three machines. Can I buy a 4th desktop to act as a server running win xp pro (with a hub) or do i need to buy a dedicated server and have Microsoft SBS etc running? All we need the server for is to share Act.



thanks

[Leondrums]

Interested in this as well - we have 2 pc's over a wireless network. One with Act installed. We'll need to but another license for the other machine but Act are saying they wont give Network advice, not sure how best to run it on a network (ie buy a dedicated server)....

[itsnotarace]

Windows XP can have upto 10 concurrent connections, and supports SQL 2005 Express, so technically yes it should work fine. Would recommend a reasonably new CPU, 2 or 3Gb of RAM and at least a 7200rpm SATA drive for the XP machine to get reasonable performance though.

[TonyToniTone]

Lots of info if you search for: sage act network

http://www.experts-exchange.com/articles/Database/...

[lestag]

There is also forums at the act website
http://community.act.com/sage/

[joewilliams]

Act should run fine using an XP Pro machine as a server.

Do you plan to access Act remotely, or only from machines physically in the office?

I'd recommend one of the For Dummies books, as Act isn't entirely intuitive when setting up sharing.

[steveuns911]

good site there toni, thanks for that. is it quite simple to setup an xp network? i have some IT experience but have never set a network up before, wired that is. or should i go for wireless? the room is not that big but my experience of wireless tells me that in an office environment you want wired connections.

thanks

[lestag]

steveuns911 said:

good site there toni, thanks for that. is it quite simple to setup an xp network? i have some IT experience but have never set a network up before, wired that is. or should i go for wireless? the room is not that big but my experience of wireless tells me that in an office environment you want wired connections.

thanks

Wired - your experiance is right , also it will probably be cheaper
make sure each computer is in the same workgroup (right click my computer /properties etc )just makes it easier to browse them

[steveuns911]

and if i run LogMeIn i should be able to access this remotely am i right in thinking?
Also do you think i need a server or just run it off one of the desktops?

[Man-At-Arms]

itsnotarace said:

and at least a 7200rpm SATA drive for the XP machine to get reasonable performance though.

i would probably put the OS on a single drive and then drop in 2x 10000rpm velociraptors on a RAID1 to ensure data integrity in case of drive failure

steveuns911 said:

or just run it off one of the desktops?

sharing your desktop as a file server

would you also share your wife ?

Edited by Man-At-Arms on Thursday 22 April 11:20

[steveuns911]

ok thanks for your advice guys. i think il go down the route of buying a dedicated desktop to run win xp pro just to run Act on. I can also take weekly backups via usb harddrive.

[buggalugs]

If you do set it up with LogMeIn or some other remote desktop solution you won't even need a monitor for it, you can just shove the box under someones desk with power and network hanging out of it.

Don't forget to think about backups Couple of USB sticks should do you.

[TurricanII]

I dealt with ACT a year or two ago - beware when buying new computers/operating systems - it would not run on a 64bit computer and ACT said they were never going to develop a 64bit version. You could install virtual PC to run a copy of 32bit windows to work around this but not ideal

[dba7108]

how do you link the two databases? one running xp, other win 7
thanks

[paddyhasneeds]

Have a look at a dedicated server with something such as Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation assuming your software is compatible (I don't know Sage but if it just needs to live on a shared folder somewhere it shouldn't be an issue).

It's less than five hundred quid.

You could do what you want with a 4th PC, it's like most thing it'll be fine most of the time but do you really want someone rebooting their PC without thinking and knocking out your whole office etc.

Go wired too, wireless is nice but wired

[dba7108]

thats the option i was thinking, 3 desktops for the users and a 4th desktop tucked away just to run Act on and maybe some file sharing.

I'm a little confused as to how I set this up. Do i need 4 copies of act or 3 and they all access the shared folder on the 4th desktop (server)?

thanks

Edited by dba7108 on Friday 23 April 18:03

[dba7108]

thats the option i was thinking, 3 desktops for the users and a 4th desktop tucked away just to run Act on and maybe some file sharing.

I'm a little confused as to how I set this up. Do i need 4 copies of act or 3 and they all access the shared folder on the 4th desktop (server)?

thanks

Edited by dba7108 on Friday 23 April 18:16

[paddyhasneeds]

I think this covers the licensing query:

http://kb.sagesoftwareonline.com/cgi-bin/sagesoftw...

Just a thought (I know Jack about Sage Act) but have you considered hosted Act?

It might work out cheaper once you factor in hardware, licenses, blood sweat and tears and backing it up etc.