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Hey guys;

I’m building a new business topology, including physical infrastructure and software system setup. I’m new to this scale of production and I want to get it right the first time. I am testing everything on a Virtualized server we have and building the entire forest in a box (Hopefully) for proof of concept.

I wanted to ask for a shopping list for when it comes time to roll this out. Top level but specific i.e. how many of what hardware and what their functions will be. I would hate to try to put this into production and find that none of the computers have internet or some other problem.

I know this is a big question so any help and collaboration is greatly appreciated. Hopefully this can help more than just me.

As to scope of project: 10 Users at this time, we are going to use zero clients for each. we have 6 printers, and 3 laptops that go home with the employees. they need to be able to work from remote locations. the layot is taken care of i.e. cabling and rackspace etc. is not a concern :smiley:

i want this to be as high level as simply saying: Workstations and monitors for each user.

What level of security do you need? Small business level (this is where i am knowledge weak)

Are you hosting your own email? No we use Office 365.

Are you hosting a webpage? We need to get to that level but it is not in house hosting.

Are you hosting an e-commerce server? No

Do you need wireless?How many Access Points do you need? Yes, I’m not sure, we have a warehouse environment to cover 30,000SqFt.

8 Spice ups
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A scope of project (number of users. PCs, printers, physical layout) would help …

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Routers (gigabit), switches (gigabit), hubs, printers, APC’s, network cables (CAT 5E or CAT6), Networking equipment like punch downs and patch blocks. Server room temp/humidity monitor.

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Eric this is a good question, but very vague. We need a lot, of information, and from what you’re saying I would recommend hiring some help, its going to be a lot more planning then a few lines in a forum can deliver.

How many workstations do you need?

How many monitors?

How many employees?

What level of security do you need?

Are you hosting your own email?

Are you hosting a webpage?

Are you hosting an e-commerce server?

Do you need wireless?

How many Access Points do you need?

More information is helpful. But you’re going to need in person help to fully solve this problem. Hire help, work with a team.

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And not purchasing something you do not need. Small businesses can get away without having a dedicated server infrastructure, it really depends on the business and what you are trying to accomplish.

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My point exactly. This question is best answered by a team that is involved with it physically. Its not our project, we don’t know the requirements, and we aren’t getting paid to do it. The answers you’re going to want Eric aren’t going to come from a forum wall.

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I appreciate the size of this project, I’m trying to crowd source a team to help me get a shopping list setup. Mostly i don’t want to overlook a core component.

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If you hire the right people they should give you all the appropriate equipment. It is easier for us if you come with their recommendations and then we can tell you if they are trying to rip you off. Although I do agree with several comments in regards to not being there physically and only getting some of the detail.

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The big thing that I would be concerned with is that you said you wanted an entire forest in a box. I take that as your entire business is residing in a single piece of hardware. If that thing were to go under, you would be in a world of hurt. I would never rely on an architecture that had a single point of failure. Correct me if I misread.

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Is crowd source similar to a flash mob?

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OK so what I’ve read lets talk about networking. You want remote access to the office, so obviously you’re going to need a VPN. Have you ever configured a VPN?

What vendor have you used and are most comfortable with? Juniper, HP, Cisco, ETC.

30,000 SQ/FT warehouse, thats going to be tons of wiring, Cat 6 or Cat 5E, get a crimper, and buy spools of cabling. Do NOT exceed 100 meters per cable.

Buy 2 23" monitors per person.

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Switches, routers, access points, firewalls, cabling, phones, servers, storage, backups (onsite and offsite), software and licensing (OS, apps, antivirus, etc), desktops, monitors, peripherals, printers. Of course taking into consideration that some of this will need to be made redundant and/or have an emergency plan in place.

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It sounds like you do need a way to extend the LAN to remote users. If so, are you set on configuring a hardware VPN, or would you prefer a software client that can be deployed, scaled, and configured almost instantly?

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You’ve mentioned using thin clients and office 365. The clients need to connect to something that then interfaces with 365. What are you using for that? RDS? VDI?

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Add (4) HP Proliant DL380s to your shopping list. Two for your VMware View Horizon environment so your Zero clients have something to connect to, and two for your VMware Vsphere cluster.

Just kidding, you need a consulatant to ask you alot more questions to be able to come up with a list, and as others have said, then we might be able to see if they forgot something. For example, VDA licenses with those Zero clients.

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Don’t run everything on one server. Get at least 2 servers and use free VMware or Hyper-V to virtualize both.