Cost to add a server?

Steve R Jones · November 2nd, 2009, 12:13 PM

So...anyone that's sick has to work from home...Why not just have em come into the office and spread around a little of the joy they have

butch81385 · November 2nd, 2009, 12:28 PM

Lol, well we had some guys with flu-like symptoms that were still able to work, but were sent home so that our whole office didn't have to be shut down if we all got swine flu or something. But being able to remote in on the weekend instead of driving to the office to work on a project would be nice. Also, there are times where we are working on a laptop on a jobsite, but it can be a pain not having access to our network drive (we do have 1 or maybe 2 laptops with Autocad licenses).

EXreaction · November 2nd, 2009, 12:51 PM

What OS is on the desktops/laptops?

You can throw a cheap server together for $250 without an OS.

butch81385 · November 2nd, 2009, 01:10 PM

We have everything from XP Media Center Edition through Vista Professional.

For budgeting purposes, do you think I could build or buy something to do what I need for $500? $1000? More?

EXreaction · November 2nd, 2009, 01:44 PM

Minus the license, easily. I built a HTPC which I also use as a server for under $500 (and it has way more than you would need).

butch81385 · November 2nd, 2009, 01:58 PM

What kind of software (and price) are we talking to allow VPN or other secure access? I am only familiar with Cisco VPN from college tech support days.

EXreaction · November 2nd, 2009, 02:51 PM

My cheap router with DD-WRT supports VPN, as does my server with Win 7 Ultimate (not sure how many clients are supported though).

**GroundZero3** · November 2nd, 2009, 06:23 PM

DD-WRT can do VPNS between other DD-WRT routers (it takes some hacking up openvpn to get regular computer clients to connect but really more hassle than its worth)

As for the windows 7 server vpn, i believe that is just a client to connect to some sort of VPN software. So you will still need something to host the VPN

I guess the big question is how much do you want to spend on this box? You can setup a windows box with VPNs easily in a matter of a few minutes but even windows 2003 is still pricey

Configure a Windows Server 2003 VPN on the server side

Linux has openvpn on it which isnt too bad to setup, however who will manage it and what if you leave? Will someone else be able to do it?

HOWTO: Openvpn and Ubuntu (Dapper)

As for building the box, that is up to you. Again, if you have people vpning and really using the box and something dies, you are at the mercy of the manufacture when you build your own box. Server replacement parts will come in a day or so depending on the warranty you have. And if people start using it, trust me they will miss it when its down. Im all about saving money but when it comes to a home resource, but when it comes to a business environment you don't cheap out

I would talk to your boss about the pros and cons and what others have suggested about RDP. You lose a lot of control when you do that, but its easy and its a free solution but your opening up ports (the more computers the more ports).

EXreaction · November 2nd, 2009, 06:51 PM

DD-WRT and Windows 7 can both act as VPN servers.

Flying JJ · November 2nd, 2009, 07:09 PM

Glad you guys are talking about this, have 5 desktops and 2 laptops. I want to link them thru a server, so that I can remote access them. Main reason is to grab a file or restart F@H from work or when away.

Don't want to hijack the thread, just want to say thanks for the ideas.