Setting up a simple network

[Wrapdup]

Hey there. I need to set our office up with a small network and i have no idea where to start or what i need.

Running cable and such is not my concern, its the other elements. almost like a map would help.

What i need to network....

2 laptops that are taken home nearly everyday
1 desktop computer
1 office printer
1 mutoh 1614 printer
1 graphtec cutter

have internet with a wireless router already and need to know whats my best first step. currently running printer via usb and mutoh says i need to get it on a network.

 

[Techman]

mr google is your best friend with this one.
There are only 101345 sites that will tell you how and for what version OS you are using

 

[ironchef]

Im with aftermath, i already setup a simple network using google instructions and my router. I do experience aalot of lag or latency with the connection, sometimes it just wont connect. Im looking into external drives with cloud option or wifi connectivity. Any comments or ideas? On which direction would provide connection 100 percent of the time. I know we can find anything on google but nothing beats hand on experience from people within the same profession. I got two desktops, working on getting a third, we have a graphtec and mimaki plotter and a roland sp540i. So if anyone could point me in the right direction that would be awesome, thanks again.

 

[ironchef]

Ps. I dont really use the network to print so its really just about getting customer files. So thats why im looking into a drive with wifi or a small server so i can centralize all 20,000 plus files we have from the last 10years, and i want to be able to sync all my files ive worked on, at the end of the day, anyone know other options to do so? Also im thinking about digitizing all of the files, which theres alot... is their a program to scan and attach the scanned invoices to folders including the files, pics of job, etc. And attach several keywords for easy access? Please help me!

 

[ThinkRight]

Ps. I dont really use the network to print so its really just about getting customer files. So thats why im looking into a drive with wifi or a small server so i can centralize all 20,000 plus files we have from the last 10years, and i want to be able to sync all my files ive worked on, at the end of the day, anyone know other options to do so? Also im thinking about digitizing all of the files, which theres alot... is their a program to scan and attach the scanned invoices to folders including the files, pics of job, etc. And attach several keywords for easy access? Please help me!

this is what I have.
Works great .No issues for 2 years now
http://www.seagate.com/external-hard-drives/desktop-hard-drives/goflex-home/

 

[2B]

here are a few points that work for us.

get a NAS, since you have multiple machines you will need/find that having the files in a single location improves efficiency

get away from using your router as the network connector. you need a switch, this will allow faster transfer of files and keeps the internet from lagging as bad.

do not run the printer through the switch that needs to be a dedicated Ethernet cable, add another port card to the rip machine.

stay away from wireless as much as possible, this will improve overall performance and stability.

 

[ironchef]

Nice, ya i was looking at those, also at their servers, anyone habe any pros and cons between the seagate goflex or their servers?. Heres the link for the servers... http://www.seagate.com/external-hard-drives/network-storage/business/blackarmor-nas-110/

 

[CanuckSigns]

We bought a Netgear ReadyNAS about 6 months ago to replace an old PC we had set up strictly as a file server, we noticed a dramatic decrease in network speed with the NAS, vs a 8 year old computer, some files take a good 4-5 minutes to open now vs. 10 seconds with the old setup

 

[rcook99]

I bought the Seagate black armour and it lasted just over a year. It was the I believe 110 model. Yesterday I bought a new WD My Book Live 2TB I believe that's the name. It's supposed to allow cloud storage for photos. Planning on hooking it up Monday.

 

[jkdbjj]

Most cutters are not networkable as far as I know. They are USB or some older cable type. You might be able to set it up via a hub of some sort, but it doesn't have an address like printers do.

Another way, is to network the PC the cutter is hooked up to, and then that PC has to be on at all times for anyone to be able to use it.

My background is in network administration, it is what I have a degree in and did for years before entering the printing industry. I would suggest you simply call a local networking company, and they can come in and do two things:

1)set it up fast
2)teach you how it all works, so you can manage it from that point forward.

This should set you back $300 - $500 + switch/router costs etc. Maybe a few network cards etc...

These days this is not expensive to bring someone in, as there are so many people who have their own small businesses doing this now.

Good luck...

 

[ironchef]

Thanks, im not trying to network the printers, im contimplating having one xp with an old mimaki plotter, plus an hp pavillion 8gb 1tb phenom2, only to print with the versacamm and buy a new one with i7,lots or ram and better graphics, and use it to design and cut on the graphtec fc8000-75. You guys think that set up is ok? Plus i just need a way to access files and sync them to a centralized storage device.

 

[choucove]

For the highest reliability, especially in a business environment where you are opening and saving a lot of larger files, I would stay away from wireless. A lot of people like wireless because it is easy, but you will notice connectivity issues now and then and it would be terrible to have that happen regularly while working with your customer's files. Stick with a direct wired connection.

Get a gigabit switch to connect all your devices directly to and that to the router. It will offer you greater speed and more ports to expand multiple computers on your computer than a standard router is going to allow.

A NAS is going to give you more backup options and performance than just an external drive for storage. Additionally, they are going to be much more stable and resilient against failure as external drives are known for not lasting long. Protect your data and invest in something that can sustain hardware failure!!! A server is going to give you even more performance, flexibility, upgradability, and fault tolerance than a NAS but is also going to be more expensive in most situations.

 

[ironchef]

So i need a switch, and connect all my printers, plotters and computers, and then connect that switch to my router? And also connect an external drive to the switch?

 

[anotherdog]

So i need a switch, and connect all my printers, plotters and computers, and then connect that switch to my router? And also connect an external drive to the switch?

Yes, Sounds very similar to my setup. Gigabit router (although my VP540 and rip are currently only on 10/100), Get a router or switch with plenty of ports on the back. Get a NAS external drive that has some kind of backup going on (I mirror the 2 drives internally, halves capacity though so I have 2x 2tb drives). Just join all the boxes with ethernet and keep wireless for your ipad and office printer/scanner. I also have the NAS backing up to a 1tb on one of the spare computers too.

You will find the gigabit makes it easy to keep large files on the NAS and still open them on the design computer(s) and the RIP/print will be very happy at those speeds too.

 

[mattybrownuk]

From your description, you will need:
1. Gigabit network switch (these typically come in 5/8/16/24 or 48 port versions. Gigabit means 1000mbps or 125MB/s each direction. Make sure you buy a decent brand - a cheap switch could give you performance issues. Buy one with enough ports on it to plug all of your network devices into it.
2. A cheap Small Business server is your best bet for file sharing - that or read some reviews and buy a NAS. Watch out though - some of them can be tricky and unreliable. Small business servers have come WAY down in price recently, so although they require a few more IT skills to setup, they're the better investment over NAS. That said, if you're a one man band with minimal IT skills, you may find NAS is more up your street.
3. You may need to upgrade the network card in your PC if it's only Fast Ethernet (100mbps). Don't be put off - this is a breeze to do and very cheap.

Personally, I'd recommend running cables for the laptops. It's nice to have the option of a WiFi connection, but sometimes they can be flakey and if your laptops have gigabit network interfaces onboard, they'll perform so much faster via cable.

Run one cable from the last port on your router to the last port on your switch. This is best practice. Never run more than one cable between them - unless they're expensive switches and they support this configuration, all you'll do is screw up your network. You will not double the bandwidth between the switches!!

Plug each of your printers, laptops, PCs, etc into available ports on your switch. Remember that although you could use the available ports on the router, devices on the router share a single cable for communicating with devices on the switch. If your router is only 100mbps, the link between them will only run at 100mbps. Since the average Internet connection is <100mbps, this isn't an issue for your Internet connection.

Your router will have a built-in DHCP server - this gives out unique network addresses on your network. Things like printers and servers should always have static network addresses. See your router's documentation on how best to identify suitable addresses on your network.

Hope this helps. I can give more info if necessary.

 

[choucove]

For a network switch I would really recommend the HP ProCurve 1810G-24 switch. This is a smart managed gigabit switch with 24 ports which means for most small offices it is adequate as well as offers room for expansion. This is a very high quality switch, I've used several of them now, and it has many additional features that can be configured for expandability and performance if you have someone who knows about networking to configure them. They do not support spanning tree protocol (RSTP) but they do support VLANs and trunks and can automatically detect and help prevent broadcast storms and loops.

I also would recommend a file server for people who are setting up centralized storage for the first time. The one we have been using a lot of lately is the HP ProLiant ML110 G7 server. These are very versatile and can be highly customizable yet amazingly affordable for a leading-quality business server. The benefit here of doing a full file server is not only can you use standardized hardware for replacements/upgrades (ECC RAM, Sandy-Bridge or Ivy-Bridge based server-class processors and fans, add-on RAID controllers, etc.) but you can use a user-friendly OS like Windows 7 to set up all your file shares, backups, etc. This means you gain access to a very wide range of compatible backup and security programs as well as more universal network configuration without having to know any linux or other OS services, coding, etc.

Many performance NAS devices out there have come a long way and offer a decent amount of horsepower to backup the actual file storage purpose of the device, and their web management interfaces are becoming easier and more user friendly as well, but they lack the universal compatibility that a full file server will offer.

 

[ironchef]

Wow guys, some of this stuff is like reading a different language lol, i dont know any coding or linux or other os, so im thinking that hp server, nas sounds too hard, i understand most of the stuff, im a chef turned signguy lol. Any cooking questions? Jk.... i need a simple setup, we have two desktops, going to get a third just for designing, and leave the one i use now for ripping. Two plotters, a printer/cutter two printer/scanners, which we dont need on a network, also we have 2 xooms, so we use wifi for that.

 

[ironchef]

I feel good about upgrading parts, i swapped out the power supply for my hppavilion and got it a better graphics card, wanting to put more ram. Will a file server replace my need for neatdesk?

 

[choucove]

A file server will not replace the need for a document scanner/organizer, but instead will be the place that you save all those scanned documents to. The point in getting a file server or NAS device is to centralize your storage.

The way I usually explain this out to customers is to imagine you come in tomorrow and your computer is dead or someone has just stolen it. What have you just lost? What files, artwork, customer information, etc. was saved on that computer that 1) you no longer have and possibly 2) might be in someone else hands? In an ideal situation, there should not really be any company data stored on your individual computers, it should all be located on the file server or NAS so that in the event that one of the end user computers goes down/gets a virus/spontaneously self-combusts, then you aren't out any data, you just swap that computer and you are up and running again.

Achieving this, however, is more difficult that one may think. You have to be sure that your file server or NAS is set up properly to handle fault-tollerance in the event of hardware failures, it has to be properly configured and secured from viruses, outside threats, and inside threats. And for the best performance and efficiency it has to be networked with your computer systems properly to allow for sharing of the right information to the right people, while other information may only be accessed by select necessary people only.

A good NAS device is going to run you about $500 - $600 plus adding in at least two high-capacity enterprise hard drives for storage in RAID 1 for redundancy and continual up-time in the event one hard drive fails. This brings your total to around $1,000 - $1,100. An HP ML110 G7 server begins around the $600 range though to do it with the highest level of fault tolerance, performance, and resilience to allow for continual up time you are looking at quite a bit more:

- HP ProLiant ML110 G7 Server (Part #656766-S01)
- HP 460 Watt HE Common Slot redundant power supply (Part #503296-B21)
- HP P410/256 MB Cache SmartArray RAID controller (Part #462862-B21)
- 2 X WD Caviar Black 2 TB 7,200 RPM SATAIII hard drives RAID 1 (Part #WD2002FAEX)
- 2 X HP SAS/SATA 3.5" hard drive trays (Part #373211-001)
- Windows 7 Professional 64-bit SP1 OEM

Total Approximate Cost: $2,100

The difference between them is that the HP server is running a full Windows operating system so while it requires you keeping it updated with antivirus and such, it is much more user friendly for you to create network shares, back up your data, and you can run additional programs off your server if necessary. Also, you have redundant power supplies in the event that one has a failure the second will continue to run allowing your business to keep running. This has saved more than one of my customers in the past after a power surge or simple failure has taken one power supply offline. Next, you have a powerful hardware RAID controller which is more reliable and flexible for protecting your data on your hard drives.

Just some food for thought. Yes, getting a full dedicated file server can be expensive, and it's not for everyone. However, the benefits that I have seen from having a dedicated file server or NAS compared to just everyone sharing out random files on their desktop computers is immense and the peace of mind alone is worth every cent.

 

[ironchef]

Sounds good, im going to put that on my christmas list... but i would like to maybe find a temporary solution, so im looking at the seagate goflex drive? Or normal external drive, and use a switch for now. Also, what are my options for the scanner organizer, key word search program, so far ive heard about neatdesk, fujitsu and adobe acrobat?