Need suggestions for a new building wireless/wired network

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Tryle

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The company that I am working for purchased some land and is building a new building and they have asked me to come up with what we need for our network layout. The entire building is only one floor with office space and shop space.

We are going to have 10-15 office PCs hard connected to ethernet outlets in the wall and about 5 PCs in the shop that will be connected via a wireless connection. All PCs are part of the same windows workgroup and share a business DSL connection. All of the PCs are either XP, Vista32, or Vista64 based. All ethernet jacks are wired back to a common closet for the network equipment.

At our current location, we are leasing the building and our options were quite limited and I simply made everything wireless except for (4) wired connections. All of the computers are networked together thru a Linksys WRT54G. It does the job, but definitely not what I want to do at the new building.

My question to [H] is what hardware should I use? I don't want anything too complex since our company won't grow much larger than what we have as far as PCs are concerned. It is important that all of the PCs see each other on the network and can access the internet.

Thanks.
 
Some questions to help others out when specing things our for you.

What gets done on these workstations? Just basic computer things? Heavy file sharing amongst co-workers, what type of LOB (line of business) software is used? Things of that nature.

Are you running a server? What type of roles is it taking care of?

Do you absolutely need wireless? Wireless makes some things complicated, or just plain old expensive. (depending on what is housed on these machines, we're talking about compliance issues)


In my very amateur opinion,

DSL -> Untangle UTM (it's a *nix router operating system, that runs on it's own hardware) -> 24port switch. (I really dig both Dell and HP's solutions in this area)

I know you mentioned theyre in a WorkGroup setting, so I'm assuming no Domain, and no Server capable of running as a DC. If you can fit it into the budget I would really try and get Server 08 (or better yet SBS08) in there. 20+ PCs in a WorkGroup just sounds painful...
 
d3c1us said:
Some questions to help others out when specing things our for you.

What gets done on these workstations? Just basic computer things? Heavy file sharing amongst co-workers, what type of LOB (line of business) software is used? Things of that nature.

Are you running a server? What type of roles is it taking care of?

Do you absolutely need wireless? Wireless makes some things complicated, or just plain old expensive. (depending on what is housed on these machines, we're talking about compliance issues)


In my very amateur opinion,

DSL -> Untangle UTM (it's a *nix router operating system, that runs on it's own hardware) -> 24port switch. (I really dig both Dell and HP's solutions in this area)

I know you mentioned theyre in a WorkGroup setting, so I'm assuming no Domain, and no Server capable of running as a DC. If you can fit it into the budget I would really try and get Server 08 (or better yet SBS08) in there. 20+ PCs in a WorkGroup just sounds painful...
Click to expand...

Most of the workstations are CAD based and we use specialized drafting software in which we share a common database. The database is housed on an external HD off of one of the office PCs. We don't have a server. The rest of the office PCs are for basic secretarial work.

The wireless is needed because of the shop equipment. The information between the shop and office is quite minimal. I would doubt we send 500k of information per day to the shop PCs.

The office PCs (which are wired) do the bulk of the filesharing with the database read/writing.

I'm very much an amateur when it comes to networking. I've setup a few Linksys routers and that's about the extent of it. If you could guide me with this in mind, I would greatly appreciate it. :)
 
Tryle said:
Most of the workstations are CAD based and we use specialized drafting software in which we share a common database. The database is housed on an external HD off of one of the office PCs. We don't have a server. The rest of the office PCs are for basic secretarial work.

The wireless is needed because of the shop equipment. The information between the shop and office is quite minimal. I would doubt we send 500k of information per day to the shop PCs.

The office PCs (which are wired) do the bulk of the filesharing with the database read/writing.

I'm very much an amateur when it comes to networking. I've setup a few Linksys routers and that's about the extent of it. If you could guide me with this in mind, I would greatly appreciate it. :)
Click to expand...

Sounds like very basic needs, but I still have to insist on setting a low end server, for the pure ability of redundancy, assurance of parts, ease of backup etc etc. If this is not possible, atleast rethink the way and location of the CAD database.

I still stick by the original suggestion.

Take a look at www.untangle.com/. It requires another computer to run it. Something in the PIII range with 1GB of RAM will do you good. This will be your router. It will also be your firewall, which has the ability to scan all incoming traffic for any type of malware, plus logging and all sorts of great things. (You may not need it now, but once you have it, it'll be nice)

You would set that up directly to your DSL modem. Then you would connect your Untangle box to the switch. For switches take a look at Dell or HP

As for all the network lines going out to the workstations, pick up a 24port Patch Panel to go with the switch. you run all the lines to the patch panel, and then from there you connect to the switch. Anything else, please don't hesitate to ask on the board.

And if something seems to be way over your head, please do everyone a favor and let your boss know that. . .
 
wow, 15-20 PCs? You have officially outgrown your workgroup. Do you guys backup any of your data now? What happens when your database PC quits working? Have you thought about getting a real server? I would suggest guys start seriously thinking about moving to a server based network. HP or Dell server running SBS2003/2008 and a tape drive for backup. Host the database on the server. Join the workstations to the domain. Redirect my docs and desktop to the server. Now all your critical crap for business is running reliably and you have a backup! Nice thing with SBS is you also get Exchange for email and calendar sharing. You can also run WSUS for centralized windows updates deployments.
 
I will also third the recommendation for Untangle as a much more robust firewall. You also get spam filtering, web content filtering, protocol control and vpn.

As for the switch, I like Cisco. If you want a decent wireless solution then go look at the Cisco Express 500 switch and the 526 wireless controller and some express APs.
 
I'd definately go the route of Small Business Server 2008 if you aren't going to see more growth (in the PC arena) than what you've got. Cheapest package that does everything you need.

I'd second Untangle as a router. All the Advanced features for no cost (aside from finding an old PC to run it on).

But overall, going to a Server-based network is the biggest issue I see.

For physical wiring, just make sure to label both ends (saves you a ton of PITA work later on toning/tracing). Use wired wherever you can, and wireless with WPA2 only where you must.
I'd suggest dedicated server closet that only you and the boss have a key to: and keep it locked.
 
Agree time for a server. Gives a good location to store all the information, CAD drawings, accounting, sales/data/documents. I'm guessing this business has some e-mail needs also....SBS includes Exchange..why not kick up to that. Backs up your e-mail, allows sharing of information, contacts, distribution lists, calendar. Also SBS has remote access..including web mail. CAD drawings...fast disks, don't waste time with SATA, go SAS.

HP ProCurve 1800 24 port gigabit switch...lifetime warranty, and damn affordable.

As for the wireless....hard to say without more information, what sized area are you trying to blanket with wireless? How many "shop" PCs? Are they close enough together so that just one AP can cover them? Any other laptops in the main office which would also run off the wireless? Zero budget solution..flash the existing wrt54g with DD-WRT and run in AP mode. More stable solution..HP ProCurve 420 AP...rock solid, handles heavy transfers well.
 
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