Domains vs Workgroups?

[Alex]

we have a small office, 9 comps + a fileserver and so all we run is a workgroup, we're in the midst of upgrading the server and i was wondering why don't we setup a domain...
i don't really have any good reasons for doing it cause well, networking isn't my forte...

so basically, in a nutshell, what are the advantages and disadvantages of using a domain vs a plain ol workgroup?

thx!

 

[ktwebb]

Management. Groups instead of users, Group policy instead of logon scripts. I'm sure if your google your query you'll have a long list of hits differentiating the two.

 

[Alex]

Originally posted by: ktwebb
Management. Groups instead of users, Group policy instead of logon scripts. I'm sure if your google your query you'll have a long list of hits differentiating the two.

so really, with this few users (9)...possibly ~15 sometime in the near future and less than 20 for a raelly long time, it wouldn't be worth the extra administrative hassle of setting up a domain eh...

 

[netsysadmin]

What OS's are you running on the server and workstations? That could make a difference on how you do your setup.

John

 

[OmegaXero]

I personally would go with a domain, I think it would make administration of all the clients easier. For instance, you can setup your own DNS server within the domain, this can speed up internal network requests to other systems on the local network. Each user can store their profiles on the server and have a roaming profile (assuming you're running 2K/XP on the clients). Basically, the domain would give you more options of advancement than a workgroup.

 

[nweaver]

Just remember, XP Home cannot join a domain, so if any of the boxes are home, your SOL. I agree, Domains make user managment and other IT tasks soooo much easier.

 

[OmegaXero]

nweaver brings up a great point, I totally forgot about that. XP Home could be a big gotcha for people that don't know that.

 

[yipperzz]

Originally posted by: nweaver
Domains make user managment and other IT tasks soooo much easier.

so very true

 

[ktwebb]

so really, with this few users (9)...possibly ~15 sometime in the near future and less than 20 for a raelly long time, it wouldn't be worth the extra administrative hassle of setting up a domain eh...

Really depends on what you do with those users. For 9 or 15 users I'd setup AD in a windows domain. But you may not do enough with users and network resources to justify the expense of a server OS.

 

[Colebert]

i administer a 2k3 box in an office of 6 people with identical computers. before that, everything was decentralized.

life is SO much easier with group policy, symantec anti-virus, and active directory.