NAS or ammyy admin set up for small business

[tf76]

I have been asked to setup a better solution for a company that would like a server backup solution as well as remote access to folders and files from outside office. They did have another tech take care of this but according to them he was quite unsocial and unreliable.

Right now the setup is a win xp pro workstation with a vpn connection. Then owners access remotely from home with laptops and RDP session. Of course this solution for them is problematic as they can't connect up very often.
The owners RDP into the xp pro machine and used that to load account programs and email. According to them it is very slow. So I'm thinking use the program locally then grab the files they need edit them and save them back to the xp pro machine.

At the office they have a wireless setup with a billion router. Ethernet wired connection is not being used to the xp pro machine.

I'm thinking of implementing this instead.
A Synology DiskStation DS213+ NAS Server with a win 7 home premium machine.
But I'm thinking also of getting them to purchase a static ip from their ISP so it will be easier for remote access to files.

I've been reading a bit of YeOldeStonecats approval and love of these synology NAS servers and trust he knows what he's talking about.

So right now there is only 3 people that would need access to the files and data remotely.

So I've read up on this a bit and they say that using webdav is not available for win 7 unless you install netdrive for this service.

It's either this type of setup or I could build a win 7 workstation and purchase ammyy admin which is also quite popular and affordable. Then they could easily remote in and use the remote file service as well.
Of course this would be cheaper but I suppose would do the job seeing this is only for a small business.

Anyway I suppose I just want to ask is setting up the Synology NAS easy with a RAID and remote file access setup?


I would appreciate your thoughts on this.


Regards,

 

[4ycr]

instead of a static IP try dyn DNS or no-ip
I have set up one synology NAS and it was easy and so far (3 month) I have not had a problem with it.

I have not tried ammyy admin so can't comment on that

 

[smashedbotatos]

Part of their problem with RDP being slow could be the mess of routers you mentioned. Also using wireless on the host is a bad idea.

Before you go any further, check their LAN and make sure it is functioning properly. Check each router and each switch/hub. Make a note of each one and it overall function on their network, and draw a diagram or network map. Just so you have it for the future.

If you don't make sure the problem isn't with their office LAN running sluggish, a NAS may not be much faster for them and that would look bad on you. The host machine NEEDS to be wired somehow. It will greatly increase RDP and file transfer speed. I am assuming Since it is WinXP you are dealing with 802.11g or 802.11b.

Odds are if you sit at that host machine and try to transfer something over wireless....I bet it is slow and probably the culprit.

As far as static IP goes, you should have the ISP give you one if they don't have a gateway that supports updating to dydns or no-ip.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Couple of things.....

The Synology NAS units (depending on the model) have a remote access portal on them....log in and access files on it's storage through it's portal window. Works quite well.

However, a few things to realize.
*One has to copy the file from remote...to local....work on it..and then copy from lcal ...back to the office. Not all end users are capable of being on top of this. So they'll end up with stale copies somewhere.
*You mention accounting software. Typically most business grade accounting software needs its file kept on a Windows box that acts as the server for it. Such as Quickbooks..since it's served via .NET Framework and there's an ODBC layer in there. Can't be installed/stored on a NAS box. And you do not want to run accounting software through a VPN tunnel. Needs a thicker connection, pulling the rubber band tight in a VPN tunnel will result in poor performance and likely result in corruption of the database.

You mentioned that they VPN into the office....and then use RDP to connect to an XP box there. IMO...RDP is the approach that they need. Of all the remote access technologies....native Windows RDP usually gives the best performance. You do mention they feel it's slow. Here's some input:
*You mention the XP rig that they remote into is a wireless client. Here's one big reason that they complain of slowness. Remote its wireless and wire it in!
*They VPN in first..and then RDP. Why the VPN? Newer RDP is secure...ensure they have all Microsoft updates on that XP rig, ensure the Administrator account password is a good complicated one, have the account they use have a good password too..and you're all set. No common usernames or simple passwords. Depending on the horsepower of the unit you're using to do the VPN...it can contribute to latency. But if you/they want the comfort of having a VPN be the only door in from the outside...fine...I doubt it's adding much to the slowness feeling.
*Horsepower of the host rig they RDP into. Hopefully a multi-core processor..and since it's WinXP...2 gigs minimum of RAM. Modern accounting software is heavy on ram consumption...you don't want that rig to be minimal in RAM for the software..and allow remote access. For Windows 7 I do 8 gigs of RAM for my standard...remote or not.

Now for the offices internet connection...Since it's a business...I always have my business clients get business grade internet connections from their ISP. This gives them higher priority, typically allows at least 1 static IP address, and typically offers a larger selection of speed packages. If this office network will have remote users...don't settle for the base speed package...you want to bump them up a few speeds. Important is the upload speed..have it at least at 1 or 2 megs or more (depending on size of the office and amount of remote users). If they're using DSL...typically DSL peaks at 768k upload...so tell them to get cable..or if all they have is the phone company..upgrade to one of the fiber packages they probably offer by now.

If it's a larger office with lots of users, and someone remotes in during the day...during production hours...their RDP traffic will fight with the local office traffic. The blond at the front desk streaming her online pandora/radio will bog down the router and internet pipe...or the people sending out e-mail with large attachments will really hammer the upload for a while. So get a router that allows fine tuning control of traffic...QoS...and prioritize that RDP traffic.

 

[tf76]

Thanks guys.

A couple of things. Looking at telstra business broadband ethernet plans.

Static ip address with 20 GB and 2Mbps access speed is $858 per month.
Holy cow!

There are no switches or hubs in this network. Just straight broadband ADSL 2+ connection with billion router.

We did have a quick talk about solution for around $2000.

From memory the win xp pro box has 3GB RAM and around 3GHZ speed. Not sure if it's dual core though. I'm thinking maybe give that to secretary and purchase win 7 home box to connect to NAS box.

On a side not thanks to the guys on here that informed us about cubby.

Thanks guys. I will have to do a bit more investigation into this.



Regards,

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Static ip address with 20 GB and 2Mbps access speed is $858 per month.
Holy cow!

From memory the win xp pro box has 3GB RAM and around 3GHZ speed. Not sure if it's dual core though. I'm thinking maybe give that to secretary and purchase win 7 home box to connect to NAS box.
,

Wow...I can get symmetrical 20/20 fiber ethernet pipes up here for that kind of money...yeouch!

What is their current speed?

3.0 GHz XP vintage....it's probably a Northwood Hyperthread (meaning soft cores...not true dual core).

Windows 7 Home will not allow remote desktop connections using native RDP. You'd have to turn to a 3rd party like logmein.
Besides..this is a "business"...right? Should be using Windows Professional versions for those networks...not Home. Plus business grade workstation. And Pro does allow RDP host. Something like an Optiplex 790 small form factor chassis, i5 CPU, 8 gigs RAM, upgraded HDD with 32 megs cache, 3 year warranty, etc.

However...some due diligence first....what accounting software are they using? Sometimes a client on a shoe-string budget is running a wicked old version that will not install/run on a 64 bit OS...not to mention a newer OS version like Win7. So what product are they on, and what version...thus does it support Win7 x64?

 

[tf76]

Well I figured if I got the NAS box then wouldn't need pro edition.
As it has remote access already available.

My understanding is they have an ADSL2+ connection.
Have not had a chance yet to connect billion router to wired ethernet port to check actual speed.

Not sure if I will be able to talk them into that expensive ethernet business plan with static ip.

They are using cashflow manager. It's made from an australian company. According to site it can run on win 7.
But I will check what actual version they have.

Regards,

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Well the NAS boxes allow remote access...but it's just a file manager view through your browser. You browse folders/files..and select a file..copy 'n download to your computer, and visa versa. It's not like an RDP experience where you can run applications on/off the NAS itself. So they would be 100% out of luck in trying to RDP into a NAS to run this accounting software.

Curious just for the sake of cost comparison....how much does their current adsl plan cost? That 20/2 connection is still asymmetrical...thus it's still "broadband", not true symmetrical business ethernet like a T or DS3 or optilan/metronet setup.

 

[tf76]

I had a quick check and they're paying around $60 per month for internet plan from telstra.

So a big jump if they want a faster upload speed.

I really reckon they won't be interested in paying extra so I'm thinking the NAS with remote file management will do. I wonder if ammyy admin would do the job.


Regards,

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Gotcha....but yeah I'm shocked at that price.
Anyways...my vote would be:
*Continue to use RDP as they are
*Hard wire that workstation host....get the latency bound wireless out of the mix
*Possibly replace workstation with more current horsepower for zippy response.

 

[marley1]

Do these mobile users have a workstation at the corp location? If so they should just remote into their assigned machine

If not I would be doing a terminal server

Most applications suck over VPN and I can't see how it will be efficient for a user to copy a database for some accounting program work on it "offline" then copy it back. What if someone else takes it offline at same time and over rights it months upload.

Reading again just seems like 3 users and accessing files? What is at the office any computers or they bring laptops in?

Synology units are great and have CloudSync app