Help - any problems in my dads office network? he wants tomayb upgrade.?

Question

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w237/...

me old man is looking to upgrade his office IT eqp, this is current set up,

First - is it safe? if not what does he need to buy / implement etc...

firewall is just a router at present, not allowing people in from the net and stopping employees looking at some types of sites.. (porn i guess, haha)

his webserver is his PDC for his windows domain or something too if that makes any difference..

thanx!

Answer 1

First, done correctly, upgrading should never reduce security. Newer hardware and/or software will almost certainly improve security (again, assuming it's done right).

Second, he needs to move to Small Business Server 2003, R2, along with a strong enough server to run his business well (I'm assuming he has less than 75 computers). If he's using a PDC... well, SBS 2003 has so many great features it's like switching from a Model T to a Lexus. Web support is built in (remote web workplace, sharepoint... a host of features). Internally, it provides so much more convenience. A world of difference.

I prefer having the router handle firewall/security issues (Symantec makes a very good internet security/gateway device that also handles corporate antivirus). However, the Premium edition comes with ISA, which is a very tight firewall. You can dual-layer security (first at the router, then at the server).

If you could give better information about what your dad has currently, and what he wants to do with his network, I could give very specific advice. (If you e-mail, make sure your account allows me to e-mail back, otherwise I can't respond).

Answer 2

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