Do I need a workstation or server?

[0pTicaL]

I have a client with 5-6 users running Sage Peachtree Quantum. Currently it's connected peer to peer with one system hosting the files while other systems are connected to it via Mapped Network Drive.

Should I run a centralized server running Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 or continue running it as a workstation with Windows 7 x64?

 

[kegobeer]

If you don't have any problems, I don't see any reason to change.

 

[0pTicaL]

If you don't have any problems, I don't see any reason to change.

The problem is, the client believes and insists his network will be better off running as a server than a workstation.

I told him it's unnecessary but he believes it's a solution to his problem. His problem is software related and has nothing to do with hardware.

Is the installation process of Windows Server the same as Windows 7? Just install OS and drivers?

 

[profdlp]

The installation process is identical, but in my experience getting everything set up afterwards can be a learning experience. Server is designed with security in mind and if you think UAC is a pain - what until you try and do something as simple as googling "tips for windows server" from IE. That was the very first thing I did and I immediately encountered a message telling me that for security reasons I couldn't visit Google.

It gets easier once you get the knack of giving yourself permission to do stuff, but that may not happen right off the bat. It's not as simple as merely clicking "Allow" and going forward from there.

 

[2xg]

Hello,

In addition to great suggestions, having a server needs maintenance by someone that knows Windows Server and networking well. Is the Server going to be a Domain Controller or just part of the Workgroup? If everything is playing nice right now, you don't have to have a Windows Server. If you are a Consultant I am sure that you'll be able to assist your Client with any server issues just in case.

I have setup a Domain network with less than 10 employees for a Small Business. I've installed Quickbooks Enterprise in a Windows Server 2008 R2 and things are going well for them. Issues will come up no matter what and there's always a solution.

I hope that this helps as well.

 

[0pTicaL]

Hello,

In addition to great suggestions, having a server needs maintenance by someone that knows Windows Server and networking well. Is the Server going to be a Domain Controller or just part of the Workgroup? If everything is playing nice right now, you don't have to have a Windows Server. If you are a Consultant I am sure that you'll be able to assist your Client with any server issues just in case.

I have setup a Domain network with less than 10 employees for a Small Business. I've installed Quickbooks Enterprise in a Windows Server 2008 R2 and things are going well for them. Issues will come up no matter what and there's always a solution.

I hope that this helps as well.

It will be setup as part of a Workgroup. It's basically a Workstation that's not connected to the internet with the main Peachtree files stored on it with all other machines connecting to it.

 

[2xg]

The Server would work in a Workgroup setup even if it's not connected to the Internet. Having a Gig Network Switch and Gig NICs might help whether or not you will be using the Server or just another Win 7 computer.

 

[Dave Atkin]

Another thing to consider is how your backing up at the moment. Windows Server 2008 comes with its own backup software (Windows Backup) which allows imaging an entire disk. Does the workstation get backed up?

I 100% agree on the gigabit network. Sage recommends gigabit for its products.

The client maybe better off using a server in certain conditions. For example, if the workstation PC is hosting files and printers etc, then a server maybe better suited for this. I cant see there being much difference in performance to Sage just by changing to a server OS. Just bare in mind that there is a limit of 20 Concurrent connections in windows 7. If you are going to end up getting a server then it would be easier to implement whilst you dont have a massive amount of staff.

Another Con is that it will take an Techy to maintain it correctly.


Dave

 

[kegobeer]

What problems does he have? If we know that, we might be able to give you a few more good reasons why it's not necessary to move to server hardware.

 

[0pTicaL]

@ 2xg Yes, I have the current setup on a Gigabit switch.

@ Dave Atkin The main workstation is being backed up using Acronis TIH 2010 on a daily basis and it's also configured as RAID1. The client is currently running Peachtree Quantum and recently purchased Sage ERP MAS200. He wants to convert everything over to MAS200, since he's upgrading to MAS200 he wanted to know if it was a good idea to run a server. I told him it's unnecessary since he has 5 stations and no more than 2-3 users on at the same time. I told him a Workgroup peer to peer is more than sufficient.

@kegobeer

The problem that is annoying the crap out of my client is after he upgraded to Peachtree Quantum 2011 from 2010 whenever he opens up Sell Invoicing and starts punching in the item number it takes around 3-4 seconds for the item to show up.

It's like Google Instant when doing a Google search the second you start typing in letters it starts searching/guessing what you're trying to search. The problem with Peachtree Quantum 2011 is that when he starts typing in numbers it takes the software 3-4 seconds to guess the remaining numbers whereas in Peachtree 2010 it was instantaneous.

Peachtree tech support kept giving me the runaround, they either said it was a problem with his hardware or how he has too big of a inventory or his previous years didn't close, which all doesn't make any sense because on his old XP machine running Peachtree 2010 everything was running smoothly.

I asked tech support if there was a way to go back to 2010, and of course, being more of a "sales support" they told me there was no way to convert the database back to 2010. I'm sure there is a solution but I don't work accounting software frequent enough to dig for a solution and obviously their "paid" tech support is a joke.

 

[Coram Daes]

Hmm, that Peachtree problem seems similar to a Navision issue we had at our finance department. Something about the database not being indexed or whatever it was. It did the same, you entered some numbers and it stalled waiting for database response. I will ask for details and get back.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
just to add my two bits

If the workstation is powerful enough why not consider installing something like VMware workstation on it and set up a VIRTUAL SERVER.

With Workstation version 8 you can run the Virtual server in the background so no user actually needs to be logged in to the workstation - they can of course access the Virtual Server.

This is VERY easy to set up for a smallish organisation. And you CAN use the Workstation too as a PC.

(Things like Esxi or Hyper-V are great but need a bit of knowledge to get going).

In general I'm of the opinion anyway that pretty well ALL servers should be Virtual Machines these days. - Flexible, can be moved at will and Scaleable as your company grows.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Dave Atkin]

Check your anti-virus settings and make sure that real time protection isnt scanning the Sage files. Its a common problem. Maybe worth disabling your anti-virus just as a test - Re-enable afterwards.


The workstation machines seams well backed up from what you have said (providing the backup is being taken off site as well). I dont think changing to a server will fix any problems...



Dave

 

[0pTicaL]

@ Coram Daes Thanks, that would greatly be appreciated. There was one tech support person from Peachtree that made some sense. He recommended my client to close his current company and create a new company and import all this records from his current company to the new company. His current company hasn't been closed for almost a decade.

@ jimbo45 That's a good suggestion, I'll have to do some homework on VMware as I'm not too familiar with anything virtual at the moment. As of now I don't want to give my client any more "server" ideas, lol.

@ Dave Atkin That was the first thing I disabled. Still the same problem. I've narrowed it down to a 2011 vs 2010 problem. My client has old 2010 backups and I did a fresh install of Peachtree 2010 on one of my machines. The 3-4 second delay was not there. I'm quite sure it was something Sage added or tried to "improve" with 2011 that's causing this problem.

 

[Coram Daes]

The Navision issue was a user interface problem. Turns out that when they activated a certain control the application went heywire doing new queries to the database, seriously reducing performance, instead of presenting cached/indexed existing content. After receiving instructions on how not to do, and how to do instead, the problem was solved from that perspective.

I have no idea whether this would help, but I promised to get back and here it is.

 

[Dave Atkin]

Installing it on HyperV will be a waste of time. There will be no change in performance.... In the future it maybe that all machines are visualized but its not required at the moment.

I'm not that familiar with Peachtree. On Sage Accoutns there are maintenance options line database re-indexing. Do you get that with Peachtree? - Always do a backup first though.



Dave

 

[0pTicaL]

@ Coram Daes Thanks for the update I will take a look into that later today.

@ Dave Atkin Sage ERP MAS 200 arrived yesterday and when I tried to install it it says not compatible with OS. I checked Sage's site for MAS 200 Supported Platform Matrix and it says it supports Windows 7 x64. I called tech support and they told me it "should" support Windows 7 but they will only provide support it the software was installed on a Server OS like Windows Server 2008 R2.

 

[Dave Atkin]

It sounds like they are very difficult to deal with.

They cant expect you to upgrade to a Server OS if their website says that the program can be installed on Windows 7. On the back of the disk case does it say the requirements on there?


Dave

 

[0pTicaL]

It sounds like they are very difficult to deal with.

They cant expect you to upgrade to a Server OS if their website says that the program can be installed on Windows 7. On the back of the disk case does it say the requirements on there?


Dave

No, the box has no system requirements listed. Only the installation DVD and manual.

It looks like I need to install Windows Server 2008 R2 to get things running as Sage will not provide support if I install it on non-server OS.

I'm not sure which version of WS 2008 I need. I see on Newegg there's a few flavors of WS 2008.

There's:

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard 64bit 5clt

Microsoft Windows Server Standard 2008 R2 SP1

Microsoft Windows Web Server 2008 R2 - 64-bit - Complete Product

 

[Dave Atkin]

Because you are only a small company I would go for Microsoft Small Business Server 2008/2011 (Check that this is supported but its basically Server 2008 with add-ons..)



Dave