Article
Do you need a network?
Creating a network in office is a simple and cost-effective way of sharing resources like printers and fax machines between all employees
Even for small businesses, which have only a few employees using computers, creating a network helps all employees use resources such as printers in a cost-effective and productive manner. Here are some points about how to create a network for your office.
Types of network
There are two types of network that can be considered—peer to peer or client-server.
Client-server network
In this network, there are two types of computers—the client computer makes service requests from the server computer. The server houses resources that all the employees would share.
You don’t need different machines to share different resources. For a small network, say less than 50 employees, you can use one machine to share more than one resource. Some resources that can be shared are:
- File server: This server will house files and applications that all users on the network can share. You should not use this server to connect to the Internet for mail downloads or sharing Internet connections.
- Mail server: This can be used to connect to the Internet, download mail for the entire office and distribute it. You will need to install a firewall, spam filter, antivirus software and other security software on this server.
- Print/Fax server: This can be used to share printers and/or fax machines across users.
- Internet server: This can be used to share an Internet connection among employees. This server would also require the installation of security software.
- Database server: This server will house the database that all employees connect to.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) network
In this network, each computer acts as both client and server. For instance, one workstation can act as a PC for a user, as well as a printer server for all the employees; while another workstation can double as a mail server.
While a P2P network is cheaper to set up than a client-server network, it works well for fewer users.
If you plan to expand the number of users to more than 10, a P2P network will tend to get difficult to use and to manage.
Therefore, for small and medium organizations that intend to grow in future, investing in a client-server network is very helpful for increasing productivity and simplifying the task of monitoring and managing the network.
Essentials of a client-server network
To set up a client-server network, you will require at least one computer with high-end configuration—hard disk space, RAM and processors—to act as server.
You will need to build in redundancy for the server, that is, have a hard disk system, such that if one hard disk fails, the server will not crash—you should be able to fail the server over to another hard disk in this situation.
Similarly, servers often need to have more than one high-speed processor. You will also need to take regular backups of the data on your servers, such as mail servers and file servers. This will require backup hardware and software.
Apart from the hardware, the software on the server is also different from that of a regular workstation. You will need a server operating system – Microsoft, for instance, has operating systems specifically for small and medium business servers. Besides, you may need other software for the specific services that you will offer through the server.
Depending on your needs, more than one server can be used to share different kinds of resources and hardware.