Best way to set this up..

[ttek]

First time posting here, always been a lurker but I thought I would put this out there..

Currently I maintain my sisters computer network for her business.. Long story short it turned into a matter of who she could trust and be reliable..
She has 2 offices hours away from each other and does have people working for her in both offices.. the 'Home' office does most of the work with the satellite office doing approx 20% with her also going there one day a week..

Currently she has her own office computer hosting/sharing a couple of folders on the network for other computers to access.. She uses Carbonite for backup and that is working fine.. I set up a VPN for the other office and wrote a quick script to maintain connection between that office and have her home router running dd-wrt with vpn setup.. Everything works fine.. basically her computer is the server for everything.. Her applications include quick-books and Drake tax software.. multiple others as well.. They are configured to access her computer as a mapped drive and read/write to the files as needed.. The applications are configured and set up as multiple user and work well together..

Issue is now it's time for an upgrade.. I kind of stepped into this and kept it the way it was for simplicity and cost but think it's time to step up.. Her own computer is going crazy trying to act as a server and allow her to work on it, all from a single hard drive.. It is a dual core,4 gig ram, 64 bit windows 7 professional, so the computer is ok, but it is now the oldest one of the bunch.. some of the larger files take a while to load on the other computers(50-60MB files), the non-megabit network and her computer being the bottleneck at this point.. Wireless is something of an issue, still running WRT54G units, they run great, but time to upgrade.. Only the laptops are wireless and they're not as important as the wired desktops.. The satellite office uses some of the same files with a major exception of the larger quickbook files, Just doesn't do that type of work at the other office..

I am upgrading to a megabit network with wireless, any suggestions on a megabit router that will
allow a dd-wrt install and run smoothly without breaking the bank? As for the server I am researching Carbonite and finding out that they don't allow server backups?? Anyone have any ideas or personal knowledge of this?? the Synology units look pretty good but I am thinking I am going to have to go with a windows based server in order to be able to run carbonite nightly.. Is a computer running home server seen as a server?? or just a windows computer with Carbonite??

My other option is to run my own Raid on the server and swap out drives annually and get rid of carbonite.. I am planning on running a Raid 1 just to protect myself but she still wants to have carbonite as a backup of server.. If I can't get the server to run carbonite, I'll have to set up a large weekly backup and carbonite upload instead of nightly..

Thanks for any input, hopefully I didn't type too much.. Ttek

 

[Lifted]

Not sure about carbonite, but other services will backup a server, though they will probably charge more than what you're paying now for carbonite.

If you're looking for a good gigabit router than can run dd-wrt or tomato, the latest cisco/linksys E series routers work well.

Also, important thing to keep in mind, RAID is not a solution for backups. RAID is used to prevent downtime, but if the array craps out for whatever reason you'll lose the data and any backups on the array (such as previous versions) that are on the array. You'll want at least daily incremental backups either to an external drive or NAS (Synology) or an online service such as carbonite, but one that supports backups from server OS's.

 

[bobdole369]

I trust that by megabit you actually mean gigabit?

What speed are the WAN links on either side?

Just FYI: you gain very little and lose functionality and choice by specifying that you want a "router with gigabit".

Those are still fairly uncommon - as the WAN links to which they provide access are typically orders of magnitude slower. Even 50mbit cable doesn't need gigabit LAN ports on the router.

Carbonite doesn't support "Windows Server" without an appropriate plan: So are you intending to add a full-fledged Win2k8 server to the mix? If it works with whatever OS she is using now, I don't see a reason to change that, unless you are looking for the benefits - centralized user management, profiles, group policy, running Exchange, etc.

4. Can I use Carbonite to back up my servers?
The BusinessPremier plan ($599/year) allows you to back up servers running Microsoft Windows Server 2003, 2008 and 2011. You may include as many servers running these operating systems as you'd like, provided your account has enough storage. If you need additional storage, you may add it to your account at any time.
The Business plan ($229/year) does not include server backup. If you would like to back up a server, you must upgrade to BusinessPremier.

This doesn't answer whether "Home Server" is supported but I suspect it would work. However - why are you adding Home Server to the mix? Is there something that is needed in the office that is solved by adding Home Server?

Let me suggest this:

Leave the remote site alone - I trust it has a 100mbit switched network. There will be no benefit to changing anything there.

Add up the number of users in the main office - and buy an appropriately sized "smart" switch that supports 1gbit ports. If you ever get to where you need vlans you can use this to split out the traffic. Useful for VOIP phones, keeping accounting in accounting, etc. It'll reduce some of the cost now while supporting a very basic expansion for the future. If you ever get into vlans you only need to add a l3 router on a stick. Something like:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833129249

Plug everybody into that guy - then plug your WRT54g's into it, and the existing router into it too.

Disco - computer to computer gbit network.

Regarding wireless - perhaps you may not need to change them. Do you have all 802.11n wifi cards in all clients? If not at least a big majority there isn't that much impetus to move from the WRT54g's. However you CAN do a little to help with throughput.

Do you have each on its own SSID? If not - are they WDS-bound? Or are you doing poor-mans roaming?

1. If each on own SSID - recall that each needs to be on its own channel, and a number of them overlap. So if you have 3 AP's - 1 goes on channel 1, 1 on channel 6 and another on channel 11.
2. Reconsider why you have more than 1 AP. Is it that a certain area can't get access without the additional ones? Would an external antenna help in that case? (Goal is reduced complexity)
3. Interference might exist - any 2.4ghz phones, doorbells, cameras, user networks, adjacent business networks, microwave ovens?


OK so to the actual server - I take it you'll just buy a beefy machine, use RAID 1 and backup using external drives (or carbonite)? Consider that this machine is her companies lifeline. What happens if the motherboard catches fire? Will you be able to get another identical motherboard in time? Or at all? Utilize a big-name company and purchase an extended/expedited support contract so you can have them overnight you parts. Consider carrying a few spares for it too - like a power supply and a hard drive, memory sticks, identical CPU, for the emergency.

 

[ttek]

Thanks Lifted and bobdole369, I do appreciate the help and insight.. I have a cisco E2000 at home and I am pleased with it, I could use that, but I thought I would put the question out there to see if there was a must have.. The main reason to upgrade to gigabit is for the internal networking, not the WAN.. When someone trys to open and work with a file that is on the large side, there is a lag while the file transfers.. I haven't checked speeds but going by the file size I seem to be hitting about 8-10MB/s,depending on what my sister is running on her computer sometimes it's a bit slower.. I am figuring the bottleneck would be her computer, and the network.. Both laptops are 802.11n so I thought instead of just a gigabit switch it would benefit the laptops to upgrade to an 802.11n router and gigabit switch at the same time.. One computer and one printer is plugged into the router and the rest use the switch.. That's the way it was, and rerunning wire, although not impossible, would be unpleasant..

There is only 1 router at the main office and one router at the remote sight.. No need to have seperate SSID's, or use WDS.. There's only 6 computers at the main office, plus 2 networked printers and a couple of laptops used mostly for take home work.. They do get brought in occasionally.. Thanks for linking to the switch bobdole, but I think that one is a little overkill for her needs at the moment, I will talk to her about the future needs for vlan or voip..


For the server:

I have to check, but I think the plan she has does not have provisions for server backup as it won't backup from a networked drive.. I assume that if I did want to keep carbonite(which she is comfortable with using and does want to keep) I would need a server capable of running carbonite itself.. Only other options include upgrading to the $599 carbonite plan or backup up from the server to a desktop and running carbonite from there.. Not really viable options in my opinion.. Her total backup at the moment is 11 gig's with probably 500 megs for the current year.. The rest are archived and kept for storage..

I only mentioned Windows home server because I assumed that be better for networking and it could run carbonite in the background, and would also have other options and features I don't even know about.. I did not know I would have to upgrade her to the pricer plan just for running Windows Server.. I want a system I can simply plug into power and the network and it would just act as a server with remote access to update or change settings or configuration, but once it's up and running it won't need much maintainance.. I was looking at standalone network servers and carbonite will not run on them, and do not seem to be able to backup from them since they would show up as a network drive..

Question for you guys, Would a regular system running windows 7 professional with a gigabit card be able to transfer just as fast as a nas, or a system running Windows home server?? I'm starting to think of just buying or building a system to run windows 7 professional and running a Raid 1 for my own backup protection with Carbonite doing the serious backing up nightly.. If this sounds like a good idea, any particular suggestions on the build besides quality brand name parts?? I've been looking for a ready build NAS that can run windows 7 for a nice fast little server but I'm still looking..


The remote sight would stay unchanged.. Only 2 computers and minimal use, usually only 1 person working full time there.. Just wanted to provide as much information about what I am doing and looking for..

Sorry for being so long winded, but I want to be able to give you as much information as I can.. I do appreciate the helpful information I am getting.. Ttek

 

[bobdole369]

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Supported_Devices_802.11n

several here with gbit ports.

Yes - a regular machine running win7 pro is able to transfer over gigabit, just as fast as the hard drives can read. Most NAS run a linux variant, or even proprietary stuff. One option is to avoid the Microsoft tax and use something like Openfiler or FreeNAS. Careful tho, they tend to be a little bit picky about hardware and specifically onboard "fakeraid" controllers like the Intel ICH10r and stuff you find on motherboards these days. They really want a hardware RAID controller, but it works the same way if you just connect the drives and configure a software RAID1 inside the Openfiler interface. You could run the Carbonite from an existing windows machine - as you could map the network drives from Windows.

Seems like the simple router upgrade will suffice in your case. Glad to help.

 

[jonejam2]

Man can I use your help. I have almost the same situation as you.

1. Main office has 3 computers - 2 are users one is a "drake tax software server"
2. Everyone feeds their drake tax software off of the NWCLIENT in \\computer\drake2012 by mapping the network drive. This all works great in the main office.
3. Remote office has 1 user with 1 computer
4. All are windows 7 boxes (mix of home and professional)
5. I set up a vpn using windows VPN server (network and sharing center, change adapter settings, <alt><file> new incoming connection on the "Drake Tax Software server" and a client on the remote computer.
6. I connect fine and can map a network drive by using "net use z: \\drake server\drake2012
7. i can ping everything

PROBLEM: When I run the nwclient from the mapped drive in \\drake server\drake2012\nwclient It tells me it is creating the icons on the desktop of the remote computer. The desktop of the remote computer flickers like it is trying to do it, but the icon's never show up.

Questions:
1.Any idea how to get the remote location to be able to pull up drake and get it to run from the server? I feel like I am doing something wrong.
2. Do you have them all set as "home" or "work" or "public" locations?
3. Are you running a domain or ?

Note: Same workgroup in all pc's attached to the main office. Even the remote PC has the same workgroup. I have them all as "Home" connection types and everything is shared on the drake server computer.

I see from your post that you have this working - which is why I am begging for help.

Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Jimasap@cableone.net

 

[VirtualLarry]

Is NWCLIENT the NetWare client? I thought that NetWare was a non-route-able protocol, and thus, incompatible with VPN. Is there a new version of NetWare that rides on top of / is encapsulated by IP?

 

[jonejam2]

Thanks Larry. I am not sure. This is "Proprietary" with Drake Tax Software. If it is just a NWClient then I'll tell you that I finally got it to work (though it is VERY slow). So if NWClient is unroutable, does that apply to a "private" network?

TEk1229 helped me a lot (my thanks to him and now to you).

First thing is I had my mapping of network drive wrong.
Next is the "use default gateway on remote server" option on ipv4 & ipv6 was selected so that was slowing me down.

I guess I could try some encapsulation and MTU size changes to try to speed things up as well.

thanks
jonejam2