Networks Setting up PXE booting

hello,
My dad wants a server for his home business and he has given me the task of building it and setting it up.
he has a laptop and there are two desktop PC's in the house (one of them mine )
all the computers are unidentical and he wants them to all boot from the server.
I am completely new to servers and I need advice on how to set it up. he wants to use freeNAS (will it work with that?) all advice would be very much appreciated.

also how powerful a server will I need. No more than 1TB of storage will be needed.

thanks

 

I am not sure what you mean by that. Please explain.

 

In its basic form (taking whats wrote and trying to put it into an example which works), the only way I can see you doing this is booting a pre-defined image from a server running a PXE client. This isn't something straight forward and not something I would suggest trying as a first project for someone new to a server environment.

FreeNAS is a open-source (as I understand) storage server. I may well have some form of plug in support for extra features but I've a feeling what your asking is not what you actually want (if that makes sense) or you simply want some network storage space shared between the 3 machines.

As above really, you would need to explain in much more details (or much clearer) what your end aim is before I think you'll get any worthwhile support on this.

(think I just called my post worthless there somehow?!?)

 

You do not want the PC's to boot from the server (unless you're running some sort of small Linux based OS that runs a terminal session from a Linux server).

You usually use a server for storing files, databases, email etc.

What exactly do you want to achieve from installing a server?

 

+1 to sas pro WHAT DO YOU WANT IT TO DO.

Usually the main purpose of a PXE boot is to load an image to the desktop i.e one with all the apps and driver stored on it so a rebuild take less time(been there).

I can't see why your dad would need this(not that i know him) .All i think you need is a file server acting as DHCP/DNS/AD and maybe exchange if you host your own emails.

Regarding power of the server that is more determined by the amount of users if you got 3 plus maybe a expandable 5-10 i say it needs RAID functionality and a Quad Port gigaethernet card and maybe a giga switch to go with it.It really depends how much you spend/make to determine the server might be able to get away with a PIMPed out desktop rather than a DELL or HP rack mount server.

 

remember when speccing this out for him, BACKUP!!! please create a backup solution that is rigid and will work, i have seen too many people lose everything due to never setting one

 

+1 to those already posted. PXE is not what you need. What your Dad wants is more than likely a small fileserver to keep files on.

If he already has a business I'm guessing he already has email and websites sorted, and you also already have DHCP and DNS services provided by your router.

You shouldn't necessarily need a "server" per-se either, a standard NAS box will work (look around for reviews). If the data is critical to business, make sure you keep a second copy in a different physical location - both in the house and (if you can) outside the house. A fileserver is not a backup solution, although many people treat it like one, and neither is a RAID'ed NAS box.

 

Thanks for all the great advice! He got the idea in his head that PXE booting was the way to go and told me so I initially took his word for it (bad idea) but taking in all your advice and further research i found that it is actually a file server we need Sorry for all the confusion!

One more thing.. what would you say is the best offsite backup soultion??

 

If you just need a storage server then yes, FreeNAS is a good choice, and as for hardware, GB networking is a must, and although you might have to splash out on a router/switch with GB,. pretty much any computer from the last 5 years will have it onboard.

As for online backups I've found mozy to be pretty good but depending on the size of the business you *might* get away with just backing up to a USB drive that you rotate with another one offsite (ie, at home). The only trouble with that approach is the week you forget to do the backups is the week you loose your data.
Automated and _reliable_ backups are a must, and you should put at least 20% of your budget towards it in my opinon.

 

I have found the best way for off site back up solutions if an encrypted portable HDD stored at FAMILY/FRIEND HOUSE. Make sure it is known that it is encrypted and can not be opened without your key. (Possibly label the drive accordingly)

Just the way I do it with my most critical data (not all that important but I like keeping things safe)

 

i have mozy out on a few clients site for offsite backup. on all sites, as standard though we do a tape run every day, as well as weekly full snap shots to disk. Never had a problem with this system, and have done successful recovery's many many times.

but yeah, as other's have stated cannot impress heavily enough the importance of a good back up system.