What file server is right for a business with 40 computers ?

The business computers handle document creation and customer management with

the and the others used for CAD software.



What type of file server should I be looking for ?What file server is right for a business with 40 computers ?
That depends on the exact usage scenario.

Are your users just moving files to and from the server or are they opening the files on the server and working with them remotely? Are they large files?

If that's the case your largest problem will likely be your network as no matter how awesome your storage is if the network is too slow it's going to hurt you.

How much do you have to spend? While I'm fairly sure someone will chime in here and say you don't need to spend $300 per disk there actually *IS* a difference between enterprise class and consumer class hard drives so you need to keep that in mind as well.

Also, have you thought about your backup strategy? RAID is *NOT* a backup strategy don't ever depend on it for such it's only intended for redundancy and speed. Good offline storage (tested monthly with documented (simple) instructions on how to use it!) is worth it's weight in gold because the need for a backup always happens on a three day weekend when you're a 5 hour drive away.

Here's what I'd build assuming worst case scenario. (I typically purchase HP as I've had the best experiences from a reliability (ignoring the G6 series) and warrenty support).

HP ProLiant DL380 G7 X5660 2P 24GB RPS Server/S-Buy - (Tons of power and allows for expansion to multiple disk shelves)
Add an additional NIC as you'll be using all of the onboard controllers for bandwidth.
Add the Battery backed cache for your onboard controller.
Purchase two 160GB 15K drives and do RAID1 for your OS (more than fast enough so don't worry on the overhead)
Purchase six 300GB 10K drives as those will serve as your online storage for the most frequently used stuff and scratch space for backups.

HP P2000 G3 SAS MSA DC w/12 1TB 6G SAS 10K SFF HDD 12TB Bundle (QR531A)

HP 1/8 G2 LTO-4 Ultrium 1760 SAS Tape Autoloader (AK377A)

From there your next challenge will be the network... and that gets rather messy as I go for Cisco (it's what I know best) and the biggie for that one is bonding. You said 40 machines but didn't specifiy what type of netowrking infrastructure so I can't comment on it.What file server is right for a business with 40 computers ?
You'll probably want to go with a Windows Small Business Server. Supports up to 75 users. For hardware, you'll need to do some investigation first.

What is your storage requirement now? What will that be next year? And the year after that?

CAD files tend to be on the large size, survey your users. The last thing you want to do is explain how you need to purchase more storage space before you even finish your roll out.

If you are not a tech, hire someone to spec and install the server. It will be more than worth the money for time you'll save. Get a few quotes, there are plenty of business out there that will do this for you.

Hopefully you internet connection is fast enough to support a cloud backup strategy.What file server is right for a business with 40 computers ?
try windows server