Server

[bigben]

Hi guys,
I was wondering what sort of specs for a server we would require for work. We were expecting to have to pay about £1k but the guy who we are getting to maintain our system told us it would probably end up between £3500 - £5k!? We only run 6 desktops and this seems excessive.

The list of everything we have connected:
6 desktops
2 normal printers
1 printer/scanner/lanfax
and we would like to make it accessible from home. We are also planning to start using outlook instead of webmail.

I could get a spec like this: for just over £1000 inc. VAT (we would get the VAT back as well) so wondering if anybody has any idea where on earth the other £2500 would be going? His back pocket?

Thanks

 

[Yamikotai]

You need to list what your requirements are for the server - if it's just a basic file server you could do that for £500. If you need a vCloud server that'll run you back £5k easily

 

[LFFPicard]

For what you stated wont cost that much unless you plan on a large expansion in the future.

We have 20+ PC's connected at our work and our server only cost £3000 - The number of attached devices is not much of a issue that is all handed by the network, but if you are using the server for shared storage, exchange etc you will need redundancies.
We went with a rival brand to PCS that specialise in server as well as home use, it had a chunk of ram and 4 hard drive hot swap bays. Rather simple setup, with auto backup by symantec back it up and that's about it for the server really, it simply handles our emails and stores all the data.

In the 3 years we had the server we had 1 failed hard drive, but because of the hot swap bays we simply got a new drive under warranty and swapped it out and let the server handle propagating the new drive.

 

[bigben]

You need to list what your requirements are for the server

n

6 pcs using sage 50
1 of which uses payroll etc.
Then it's pretty much just for storing pricelists, posters, ordering sheets etc.
We want to be able to access the stuff from home if needed.

 

[Yamikotai]

n

6 pcs using sage 50
1 of which uses payroll etc.
Then it's pretty much just for storing pricelists, posters, ordering sheets etc.
We want to be able to access the stuff from home if needed.

So, literally just a file/FTP server. Yeah, £5000 is an arselot of money for it. Could do it very well (as far as redundancy and room for expansion go) for like, £2000 at most.

 

[LFFPicard]

So, literally just a file/FTP server. Yeah, £5000 is an arselot of money for it. Could do it very well (as far as redundancy and room for expansion go) for like, £2000 at most.

Not even £2k, i is not doing any grunt work, only handling files and emails.
The thing that will cost money though is Windows server, They discontinued Small business server so you need to get the full hog.. That's the most expensive part of the build.

 

[Yamikotai]

The thing that will cost money though is Windows server, They discontinued Small business server so you need to get the full hog.. That's the most expensive part of the build.

Funny thing is, I get stuff like Windows Server Standard (worth $800 apparently) and Essentials ($500) for free with Dreamspark. I know that business has increased price to offset people who get it for free, but that's a bit ridiculous. Especially when I can get Datacenter for free (worth $4000) - why would a student need a full copy of Windows Server Datacenter? How many students do you know with datacenters lying around to use it on?