Server services requirements

[purge]

Hello,

We are a small school with 80 students. We are looking into getting a server, be it windows or another platform, but I am wondering what benefits apart from the server being a file server can offer the school. We would like to look into the server allowing access to accounts from another location. Perhaps a good quality machine, be it dual core, with 250 gb drives with raid 10 and intel cpu, with backup exec. I was told windows server 2008 standard would be great, but what things can it offer our school?

Plus what problems or things should we look out for when accquiring a server?

Thanks in advance.

[Ned Seagoon]

If you are a small school you could establish a server using a Linux platform, the software is free. You could also use a high end desktop machine for the job at a considerable cost saving over a purpose built machine.

The server could serve as a web server for the school with both an internet interface and a protected interface for use as an intranet server. Both of these would use the built in Apache server.

You could also use the server as a file server for staff and students in the school if the HDD was sufficiently large, by use of Samba which is also built in and will allow it to serve files to windows machines.

Of course you could always get a dedicated machine, but install and configure the above software. It is possible to purchase such machines with Linux already installed.