Network advice needed

[LPB]

Any network boffins on here?

After a disk failure at the weekend I need to replace our ageing office server. Its an IBM running Windows NT4 with 16 workstations.

Any ideas for a decent machine and software thats easy to set up, and configure (if that is possible), and a backup solution to go with it.

And if anyone can recommend a utility or a company to try and get the files back off the dodgy disk that would be great,
Thanks
Lloyd.

 

[Dansin]

Probably not much help but is there no raid array or even a backup on the old server? I was mcse certified on nt4 when it was current but thats a long time ago now.

 

[Clive]

With NT4 I presume it is a "simple" file/print server? What client O/S do you need to support?

I built my last server around an Intel S2600CP2 board running Windows 2012 R2 Server Essentials. (https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/server-cloud/products/windows-server-2012-r2-essentials/default.aspx)

The replacement will be something along the lines of http://3xs.scan.co.uk/configurator/3xs-ser-t35

 

[LPB]

Thanks for the suggestions.
We are running XP on the clients and yes just a simple server file access and printing.
Lloyd.

 

[mvrandery]

If it's just a file server and for printers, consider getting a Synology NAS.

 

[mvrandery]

Forgot to add-

they are very easy to set up and run, very fast and flexible and you can have 2 units running simultaneously for failover. Or you can attach a separate extension unit or eSata array for backup. ALso have VPN built in for off site access if needed.