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Need Topology advice for Network

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adisababa   01-26-2006 at 05:18:13 PM

I want to establish a network for small business purposes. I currently have a star topology off a netgear 4 port wireless router which i run two laptops, and a printer. WHat i want to do is establish a file server which will hold about 40GB of digital pictures, 40GB digital video, 10GB other documention and 25GB of digital music. I want to be able to access the files both remotely and when connected to the network. What i thought i would do is maintain the star topology off the router: printer, two laptops and server. And establish a network through windows xp. I am thinking of buying a Dell Power Edge SC430 for the server (cheap!). I am running all the cable myself. Can you please advise on the best topology for the network, software and steps to take to establish the network (is there anything else i need to think about to serve my purpose)?

...Thanks

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folken   01-26-2006 at 07:32:27 PM
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Star topology is really the the only way to go for speed and reliability.

If you go with that SC430 and just mirror two large sata drives w/ its onboard controller (cheapest way for redundancy) I assume you will probably be running windows server on it? Linux would ad a little bit more security for accessing your files externally but it would probably be a bear to get a non hardware raid going in it.
The easiest way to make your files accessible remotely would be FTP. Not the most secure of methods but it is easy and works great. The built in IIS FTP server in windows server os's is rediculously easy to setup and uses the systems accounts for authentication. After you install the IIS FTP service just go into the IIS manager in administrative tools and set the user home directories, permissions, etc. I sort of like the IIS FTP because I mostly use IE as my ftp client (due to it being on everything) and it always works. I had other 3rd party FTP servers running for a while but it would always be hit and miss as to whether the computer I ftped from would connect or not.
A more secure way to get your files would be setting up a VPN to your home network and accessing files. That is basically directly connecting your computer to your network through an encrypted tunnel in the internet. Your router/gateway would have to have VPN support to do it.

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