Full server or NAS for an office with 36 desktop workstations?

[Battousai01]

Hi guys, I am helping a friend in setting up a network for their office. Their office has no network, only standalone desktop workstations that share files via USB flash drives.

The workstations are only used for word processing, spreadsheets and inventory tracking. No internet connection. I suggested to him that we can set-up a centralized storage for their office files via a network attached storage device or a file server so that they do not have to share USB flash drives among employees and that when a workstation breaks down their files are safe in a centralized location.

My question is, what is the best set-up if we only need a centralized file storage system? will a business-level NAS do or we have to set-up a full server? The office has 11 departments with a total of 36 desktop workstations. The files being shared among the workstations are not big as these are only office files. What would you suggest?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

[PliotronX]

I've heard that a lot of businesses are forgoing the whole server bit and going with say a Synology because its apps are powerful enough to perform a lot of tasks that you wouldn't think about, even act as an LDAP controller, SMTP relay, etc.. I would go that route because those things are time tested. QNAP equivalent models are usually more powerful per dollar in hardware but are playing catchup on the software side of things, however still worth checking out. Warranty service with the big server vendors is a PITA and then you have Windows or Linux to deal with. Another option of course is a FreeNAS box if you are into building your own.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

If you're having a bunch of people accessing files on a NAS, I'd be looking for file locking or change tracking software.

 

[Elixer]

Are the office files lots of DB stuff? If that is the case, I wouldn't use a NAS, but an actual server.

P.S, you still need some sort of redundancy, with perhaps hourly/nightly backups.

 

[Battousai01]

Thanks guys for the replies! Actually, I have checked some local shops here and found some Synology and QNAP units. I found a Synology DS216 and DS416 and for QNAP I found a TS212P and TS431.

The files are mostly MS Office files and images (docx, xlsx, jpg etc.) and database backup files.

What NAS model could accommodate up to 30 workstations? I will draw up the network diagram and show it to you guys.

 

[yinan]

It depends on utlization. But, with the exception of the database backups, almost any 4 bay unit would be a fine starting point.

 

[sdifox]

If you are comfortable with Linux, freenas with a big tower case or dense drive server case and have network storage and scheduled backup taken care of. Off the shelf has enclosure are quite expensive for what you get.

 

[MrDudeMan]

If you're having a bunch of people accessing files on a NAS, I'd be looking for file locking or change tracking software.

If you mount the drives as network drives in Windows, isn't this type of thing already handled? I'm assuming there's a DC somewhere with file history that's also mounting the drives, but maybe that's not how it works.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

If you mount the drives as network drives in Windows, isn't this type of thing already handled? I'm assuming there's a DC somewhere with file history that's also mounting the drives, but maybe that's not how it works.

Not really, although it depends on the application and whether it flags a file as "in use" or not.

In theory, two people can open the same document, whoever saves first "wins." Or "loses," if the other person overwrites their changes.

Something like Sharepoint allows you to "check out" Office documents, track and revert changes. Checkout locks prevent other people from editing a file while you're working on it, at least. There are other platforms/solutions that are more generic (e.g., they work for non-MS Office document types.) Something like Egnyte maybe.

There are also programming-oriented things like Git or Team Foundation Server that do a lot of the same stuff, but with line numbers and things programmers like. Git doesn't work particularly well for anything that isn't a text file, though.

Nothing on the file server is keeping track of file history. For the most part it's just dumb storage. (There are a lot of potential exception to that statement, depending on... things... like how you define "server" and "file history.")

 

[Battousai01]

Hi guys! I have decided to use a NAS. However, I would like to know if the following example scenario is possible:

There are 10 workstations
Workstation 1
Workstation 2
Workstation 3...
etc.

I would like to assign a single folder in the NAS for each Workstation, for example Workstation 1's folder in the NAS is called "Workstation 1". Workstation 1 will save his/her files to the "Workstation 1" folder. No other workstation can access Workstation 1's folder in the NAS except Workstation 1 and the "admin".

Consequently, if Workstation 1 saves all his/her file on the local desktop or local folder, can I or the "admin" schedule an hourly or nightly backup of the selected local folders of Workstation 1?

------------------------------------

The goal of the set-up is to be able to have a centralized storage of all the files of each workstations in the office and be able to keep backups, also the other goal is for the "admin" or the boss to have access to all the files of the workstations. Is this scenario possible?

Also, I have decided to get a Synology DiskStation DS216.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Hi guys! I have decided to use a NAS. However, I would like to know if the following example scenario is possible:

There are 10 workstations
Workstation 1
Workstation 2
Workstation 3...
etc.

I would like to assign a single folder in the NAS for each Workstation, for example Workstation 1's folder in the NAS is called "Workstation 1". Workstation 1 will save his/her files to the "Workstation 1" folder. No other workstation can access Workstation 1's folder in the NAS except Workstation 1 and the "admin".

Consequently, if Workstation 1 saves all his/her file on the local desktop or local folder, can I or the "admin" schedule an hourly or nightly backup of the selected local folders of Workstation 1?

------------------------------------

The goal of the set-up is to be able to have a centralized storage of all the files of each workstations in the office and be able to keep backups, also the other goal is for the "admin" or the boss to have access to all the files of the workstations. Is this scenario possible?

Also, I have decided to get a Synology DiskStation DS216.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Normally you would create folders for each user (not each computer) but otherwise, yes.

Might be sensible to map the user home directories straight to the NAS so the copying-to-the-NAS part is transparent to the users.

Are you running any kind of Active Directory environment?

 

[sdifox]

Normally you would create folders for each user (not each computer) but otherwise, yes.

Might be sensible to map the user home directories straight to the NAS so the copying-to-the-NAS part is transparent to the users.

Are you running any kind of Active Directory environment?

Doesn't sound like it. Me think workgroup only.

 

[Battousai01]

Normally you would create folders for each user (not each computer) but otherwise, yes.

Might be sensible to map the user home directories straight to the NAS so the copying-to-the-NAS part is transparent to the users.

Are you running any kind of Active Directory environment?

Thanks for the reply, no, I am not running active directory, the workstations are not even on a domain, the set-up will be just NAS and a switch connecting everything.

 

[sdifox]

Thanks for the reply, no, I am not running active directory, the workstations are not even on a domain, the set-up will be just NAS and a switch connecting everything.

I think you should have a server, any reason you guys are not running a server? Group policies are kind of important from a business practice standpoint.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Thanks for the reply, no, I am not running active directory, the workstations are not even on a domain, the set-up will be just NAS and a switch connecting everything.

Then you've really got no practical way to hide the files of one workstation from the users logged into all the other workstations.

You can still leave the security door wide open, dump everything on the NAS, and back it up, but you're more likely to lose data via user error that way. (Somebody "accidentally" deletes a bunch of stuff from the NAS.) Giving everybody the admin keys is, like, a terrible idea. (Otherwise, you'd have manually create and maintain a complete list of office users on all the computers and the NAS, and make sure they had the same UUIDs, which is next to impossible.)

Like sdifox said: you probably should have an AD domain. If nothing else, it helps you manage access to shared network resources.

 

[mxnerd]

Synology supports SMB2 natively & SMB3(must be enabled in Control Panel/File Services/Windows File Service/Advanced Settings). You can cretae Shared Folder, users & groups, set permissions in Control panel.

Synology also has Diretory Server (an LDAP ) available as a package (in Package Center), https://global.download.synology.co...kages/DirectoryServer/DirectoryServer_enu.pdf

I'm not familiar with the LDAP on Linux things, however.

 

[Battousai01]

Then you've really got no practical way to hide the files of one workstation from the users logged into all the other workstations.

You can still leave the security door wide open, dump everything on the NAS, and back it up, but you're more likely to lose data via user error that way. (Somebody "accidentally" deletes a bunch of stuff from the NAS.) Giving everybody the admin keys is, like, a terrible idea. (Otherwise, you'd have manually create and maintain a complete list of office users on all the computers and the NAS, and make sure they had the same UUIDs, which is next to impossible.)

Like sdifox said: you probably should have an AD domain. If nothing else, it helps you manage access to shared network resources.

Hi dave_the_nerd, thanks for the reply, yes I agree with you on the active directory, but as mxnerd mentioned, it seems that Synology supports LDAP, does it mean we do not have to set-up active directory or domain services anymore? I will be trying out a Synology DS216 next week and see what it can do.

Also, is there a NAS that will automatically backup (or copy) files stored on individual workstations on a fixed schedule? The rationale for this is, for example the employee forgot to save his/her file on the NAS, the NAS can still get the file and back it up and save it.

Lastly, the office does not need internet connection, and there is no internet connection available. There are 30 workstations separated in 3 rooms, should I buy three pieces of switch, cables and the NAS itself? no need for a router anymore?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[MrBill10]

I don't have the qualifications of the other posters, but I do have a Synology DS216+. Their software package includes an automatic backup program called CloudStation that does two-way sync. I have it set up to protect all the important stuff.

https://www.synology.com/en-global/dsm/6.0/cloud_file_syncing

 

[dclive]

Hi dave_the_nerd, thanks for the reply, yes I agree with you on the active directory, but as mxnerd mentioned, it seems that Synology supports LDAP, does it mean we do not have to set-up active directory or domain services anymore? I will be trying out a Synology DS216 next week and see what it can do.

Also, is there a NAS that will automatically backup (or copy) files stored on individual workstations on a fixed schedule? The rationale for this is, for example the employee forgot to save his/her file on the NAS, the NAS can still get the file and back it up and save it.

Lastly, the office does not need internet connection, and there is no internet connection available. There are 30 workstations separated in 3 rooms, should I buy three pieces of switch, cables and the NAS itself? no need for a router anymore?

Thanks in advance for your help.

You *could* do everything you discuss with a NAS, but having a server, so you can manage all of this better, would be a really good idea. For example, if you had VEEAM Backup v9 on a server, you could manage all your clients, running VEEAM Endpoint Protection, fairly easily - or you could have them run unmanaged E.P. and simply back up to shares on the NAS - up to you.

I see a NAS more as something you add after you have a basic AD environment but you want more storage... or for really simple environments. With 30 users yours is no longer super-simple, mostly for password management reasons. Are you happy to allow the users to have different passwords to log in vs. to get to the NAS appliance? If so, maybe that's a non-issue, but it wouldn't be fun to support...

 

[mxnerd]

Are you sure you want to help your friend for this setup?

I think you better off just ask your friend to find a computer shop to setup the network. It costs money but you won't be liable.

Networking 30+ PC is no easy task.

You have to route all the cables from each desk / cubicle to a central place, where servers/NAS located that no one can access except the administrator. You don't put switches in each room. You don't want anyone to touch them.

Then you setup a rack there so that you can install patch panels and switches. You use punch down tools to punch down every cable on the patch panels, then connect patch cables from patch panel ports to switch ports.

You will need 36 ethernet cables (solid core) from desk/cubicle socket to patch panel and 72 patch cables (stranded, one for cubicle/desk socket to PC & one from patch panel to switch).

And you need to make sure every connection is installed properly.

Why no internet? If you use Synology, you can't even download any packages or updates, same is Windows Server & all workstations. Any basic DSL is better than nothing. Of course you can cut off internet access by unplugging the router most of the time or config DHCP so workstation don't have gateway.

Don't know LDAP's management capability. Active Directory is expensive compared to Synology but is a lot more powerful, however. You can set up folder redirection and force users to save their files on server. Schedule backups on the server. You can also setup DHCP so the workstations don't get gateway. Setup central updates on server and then push to workstations. Prevent users from changing workstation settings, etc.

If you want to setup an Active Directory, every Windows machine needs to have Pro/Business/Ultimate/Enterprise version installed. Home edition can't join a domain and can't be managed. If all workstations need upgrade, it's going to cost your friend.

Windows 2012 Server software alone cost $800, plus 36 CAL licenses and 36 Windows pro. Make sure server hardware has at least some kind of RAID setup.

It costs a lot but I think it's necessary to manage an environment like this. Better let professionals handle it. You then can take over from there if you & your friend really want to.

 

[Battousai01]

Thanks dclive and mxnerd for the suggestions, yes I completely agree and understand your points. As for the set-up there are guys who will be doing the hardware setup, ie cabling etc. Their office is already established and has been in operation for years. Their operations doesn't really rely on high-end IT infrastructure, as long as they can do word and spreadsheet processing, save docs and xlsx, do simple desktop publishing work and printing documents then they are ok.

But since we wanted to make things more convenient, easy and keep data backups more secure I think we are pretty much hitting the goal with the NAS set-up. When the time comes when their business structure and business model requires further than having a centralized storage and backup then we will definitely look into full server set-up.

As for the 30 workstations, we might start off connecting 10 workstations first and see how the NAS setup works, then we will look into replicating it with the rest of the workstations.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[sdifox]

Thanks dclive and mxnerd for the suggestions, yes I completely agree and understand your points. As for the set-up there are guys who will be doing the hardware setup, ie cabling etc. Their office is already established and has been in operation for years. Their operations doesn't really rely on high-end IT infrastructure, as long as they can do word and spreadsheet processing, save docs and xlsx, do simple desktop publishing work and printing documents then they are ok.

But since we wanted to make things more convenient, easy and keep data backups more secure I think we are pretty much hitting the goal with the NAS set-up. When the time comes when their business structure and business model requires further than having a centralized storage and backup then we will definitely look into full server set-up.

As for the 30 workstations, we might start off connecting 10 workstations first and see how the NAS setup works, then we will look into replicating it with the rest of the workstations.

Thanks again for the help.

Err staged cabling is very expensive. Just do all the cabling at once. You don't have to hook everyone up to the has at the same time.

 

[Enigma102083]

Hi guys! I have decided to use a NAS. However, I would like to know if the following example scenario is possible:

There are 10 workstations
Workstation 1
Workstation 2
Workstation 3...
etc.

I would like to assign a single folder in the NAS for each Workstation, for example Workstation 1's folder in the NAS is called "Workstation 1". Workstation 1 will save his/her files to the "Workstation 1" folder. No other workstation can access Workstation 1's folder in the NAS except Workstation 1 and the "admin".

Consequently, if Workstation 1 saves all his/her file on the local desktop or local folder, can I or the "admin" schedule an hourly or nightly backup of the selected local folders of Workstation 1?

------------------------------------

The goal of the set-up is to be able to have a centralized storage of all the files of each workstations in the office and be able to keep backups, also the other goal is for the "admin" or the boss to have access to all the files of the workstations. Is this scenario possible?

Also, I have decided to get a Synology DiskStation DS216.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

You need a Domain Controller with Folder Redirection GPOs to do that. You can even do it with the Synology.

Get yourself a small 1U server, something with at least 8GB of RAM, deploy Active Directory (remember all the workstations need to be Pro version or higher). Then do Folder Redirection GPOs, TechNet will have step by step instructions for you. The one difference is you'll want to join the Synology to the domain, then in the GPOs the user directories need to point to the Synology.