Anybody know about servers?

[spazus_maximus]

We have 4 Global images in our Metrology Lab that i want to network together to a small server so i can automate a backup process every night. I know nothing about setting up or buying servers. All i need this for is daily backups so i wont need anything fancy. Any reccomendations??

[Underspec]

If you want something easy and cheap, go with an external hard drive. Looks like your company doesn't have a dedicated network for the company? Buying another computer to act as a server is pretty much useless unless you plan on using it for something like offline.

[Matthew D. Hoedeman]

We have 4 Global images in our Metrology Lab that i want to network together to a small server so i can automate a backup process every night. I know nothing about setting up or buying servers. All i need this for is daily backups so i wont need anything fancy. Any reccomendations??

Well, a server is a good idea, but not the only option. A couple questions:

1) Are the machine all using the same programs?
2) Are they attached to any kind of server at the current moment?

What you can do is simply make a partition on the drive of each PC (you can get software to add partitions to an existing drive) and use a simple batch file to backup to the partition on each machine. I do this on a nightly basis. BUT, you say, what if the hard drive goes out? Good question. I am also on a network and every night the IT (yuck!) department also makes backups of all the computers. (my backups are belt & suspenders kind of thing).

With a simple directory structure, this abck-up batch file will be easy to set up and easy to run. It could ALSO be made to backup to a server PC just as easily. You could also do the nightly to your own PC partition, then do aweekly burn to a DVD.

[#2#]

Well, a server is a good idea, but not the only option. A couple questions:

1) Are the machine all using the same programs?
2) Are they attached to any kind of server at the current moment?

What you can do is simply make a partition on the drive of each PC (you can get software to add partitions to an existing drive) and use a simple batch file to backup to the partition on each machine. I do this on a nightly basis. BUT, you say, what if the hard drive goes out? Good question. I am also on a network and every night the IT (yuck!) department also makes backups of all the computers. (my backups are belt & suspenders kind of thing).

With a simple directory structure, this abck-up batch file will be easy to set up and easy to run. It could ALSO be made to backup to a server PC just as easily. You could also do the nightly to your own PC partition, then do aweekly burn to a DVD.

Never tried it, but... would it be possible to have a batch file do a backup by burning the programs to a CD? The only problem is that you would have to remember to put a CD in the drive.

[Matthew D. Hoedeman]

Never tried it, but... would it be possible to have a batch file do a backup by burning the programs to a CD? The only problem is that you would have to remember to put a CD in the drive.

Well, not sure about the EASY batch file doing the burn to the DVD UNLESS you ahd one of those burner options installed (Nero had them, or used to) that treated the disc as a 'floppy', more or less and allowed 'drag-and-drop' burn capabilities. I'l try to find a name for this option.

[cmmguy]

Get one of these....

http://www.synology.com/enu/products...images/top.jpg

for your lab.

Then setup a local batch file to XCOPY your entire hard drive up to the NAS.
Then setup a second SATA backup on the NAS, rotate the backups into a fireproof safe.

[spazus_maximus]

Yes the machines are running the same programs> Wanna dump dmis directory & datapage nightly

They are not on our company network. Our IT Department say they cant do it apparently we have an antiquated server....At the last company i worked for i actually had the pcdmis directory on the server along with the part programs and it worked fine.

Dont wanna mess with cd's every night. I will create a batch file to automate this though...External Hard Drive may be the way to go

I want t

[spazus_maximus]

How much do those ds107's run $$$

[Matthew D. Hoedeman]

Yes the machines are running the same programs> Wanna dump dmis directory & datapage nightly

They are not on our company network. Our IT Department say they cant do it apparently we have an antiquated server....At the last company i worked for i actually had the pcdmis directory on the server along with the part programs and it worked fine.

Dont wanna mess with cd's every night. I will create a batch file to automate this though...External Hard Drive may be the way to go

I want t

You should just be able to buy a PC and some cards and hook them all together, not really as a server, but just an intranet thing (2000 & XP have this built in, I think) and then just mount the extra PC as a drive on each CMM PC and back up to it.

[cmmguy]

~$200 plus the hard drive of your choice (up to a 750GB)

My setup with the DS106, (2) 500GB SATA drives, (1) external SATA drive box for backup was under $400


Matt - thats what this does exactly but but cheaper and better. It behaves like a local server but without all the headaches...

1Gb network built-in. I run my whole office on the older version(DS106) - NO SERVER at all.

[spazus_maximus]

Seems easy enough...

[Underspec]

How much do those ds107's run $$$

Go with an external harddrive. You can connect it, backup, and remove it, lock it up. I wouldn't buy a new computer just for backups. If you go with a computer, you will have to get a router to hook up all the computers. You will have networking cables running all over the place.

[Matthew D. Hoedeman]

Go with an external harddrive. You can connect it, backup, and remove it, lock it up. I wouldn't buy a new computer just for backups. If you go with a computer, you will have to get a router to hook up all the computers. You will have networking cables running all over the place.

You CAN do the PC thing with just the USB ports and a single USB hub.

[Underspec]

You CAN do the PC thing with just the USB ports and a single USB hub.

The thing with USB is that it's limited bandwidth. And the longer the cable the weaker the signal. You will have to buy a USB signal booster if the machines are too far away.

External harddrive, plug and play. Easy and simple.

[CFisher]

After living through a small business computer data disaster - once - I can say you are on the right track when planning for backups.

The problem is there are so many options. A small NAS box connected to a switch with your CMM computers in a workgroup is certainly a good start. I hate tape drives but if you want offsite storage, they still have a place.

With the above mentioned disaster (almost wiped us out - thank God for paper), I've become slightly paranoid. Let just say the budget was increased for some equipment. We've got a disk to disk to tape system - yes, we had to drop some change, no it's not completely foolproof - not much is, but I can sleep at night.

As for software, I would recommend looking at either Symantec's Backup Exec System Recovery or Acronis True Image.

They operate on the same principal - a complete image of your drive is sent to the NAS box. If need be, you can 'mount' the saved image as if it were a drive to recover individual files. The nice thing is backups can be generated at any time. For example on some of our machines, I can recover files as they were an hour previous - versioning if you will.

Whatever you do, make sure it is seamless and nearly effortless to use because it won't be used for long if you don't.