Office Networking - Advice & Planning

[buddhantraining]

Hey Gang!

This post might be a bit on the long side but please bear with me. I thank you in advance for your advice and replies, it's greatly appreciated.

Here's the deal. A local kennel wants to get their office computerized. Currently they're doing everything on paper and it's just becoming overwhelming for them. They've appointed me the task of handling the job and maintaining their systems, and...well...I have no idea which direction to go with their setup. I've never networked in a business location before and never had to network more than three systems.

They have a large U shaped front desk where they will need three computers. The employee in charge of bookeeping/finance will also need a computer - her office is sort've behind the front desk in a cubby hole kind of thing. I plan to custom build all computer systems. All four computers will be running a boarding program called Kennel Connection (www.kennelconnection.com) - but only the finance office PC will also need Quickbooks. However, all four computers will need access to a central database where the QB and KC files will be stored. They'll also be sharing a printer. I'm not too sure what else they'll be sharing but I imagine maybe a fax at the most. It would be nice to set up remote access so I could offer them support off-site but it's not mandatory. I'd like to avoid using a server; I've just never worked with them before and would hate to get involved in something I'm not sure if I could handle. I'm also not too sure if a server is REALLY needed for only two programs and a relatively small office setup. I'd prefer to just build a workstation in place of a server.

I also don't know what would be more beneficial in such a small office space - wired or wireless neworking?

With that said, how would you networking gurus plan out this project? What sort of things should I be taking into consideration, what things do I need to find out before taking the first steps? What system specs would you recommend for this project?

Really, any advice or suggestions would be helpful. Feel free to ask any questions if I didn't explain things well enough. I've never tackled this sort of project before so want to get as much planning and advice as I can before I get started.

Thanks guys!

[crazijoe]

Hello buddhantraining,

I have about 5 businesses I maintain plus I have a full time job.
My first advice, Do not custom build computers for the company. It will be one big headache when thing go down on them. It will be hard enough to keep their network straightened out and keeping all the users up and running. My recommendations for computers (I'll probabaly get flak for it but I do know from experience) get some Dell Workstations and pay extra for warranty and support. I would still get a centralized server for files, print server, and security. You do not want the users to keep all there files on their own machines. Have them keep them in a share on the server. Then back up the server every night.
As far as a network, find a storage closet with a lock to keep the server network swith and router. Do not use wireless. Wireless is not fool proof. I can hack into any wireless network with just the free tools on the internet. Always use wired networking. much more safe.

To sum it up.
You want a centralized server for all important data. Plus you want to keep it secure so that unathorized personel do not have access to certain files and/or documents. And it creates a centralize place to do network maintence.

[johnwill]

Originally Posted by crazijoe

Do not use wireless. Wireless is not fool proof. I can hack into any wireless network with just the free tools on the internet. Always use wired networking. much more safe.

Interesting statement, but I believe you are discounting WPA/WPA2, as well as the possibility of using a RADIUS server with the server. Unless something has changed radically, WPA/WPA2 with a long and random key are still quite secure.

FWIW, I'd still go wired, simply because of all the other issues with wireless.