Member Avatar for petesmithy

HI

I'm a youth worker and I've been given a server and 10 desktop PC's that I want to network. I was thinking of using linux or win NT as the machines are not new.

The main purpose for doing this network is for young people to use for homework. Therefore I want to have high-speed broadband attached to the server and the bulk of programs on the server that all the PC's can access.

Can any help me get started I've never done this before but I am used to using PC's so understand alot of the jargon!!

Thanks

Pete

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Dani AI

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Useful starting plan and practical steps for a small homework-club network. Inventory the server and each PC (CPU, RAM, disk, NIC) and note which machines are unreliable or missing parts. Draw a simple diagram showing broadband → firewall/router → switch → server + 10 workstations (plus any Wi‑Fi AP). As suggested, keep server roles on the server and client roles on the desktops; and as warned, centralising services is fine but plan for performance and backups so users don’t lose work.

Initial setup checklist:

  • Give the server a static LAN address and decide whether it will provide DHCP/NAT or whether a separate router will. Reserve static addresses for the server and printers.
  • Put shared home directories and a central program/share area on the server; enforce per-user permissions and disk quotas so one user cannot fill the server disk.
  • Provide a simple print queue on the server so no client needs direct printer drivers installed repeatedly.
  • Use an unmanaged gigabit switch for 10 PCs; put the server and uplink on the same switch. Protect the server with a UPS.

Deployment and management:

  • Build one clean client image and clone it to the rest to save time. Network boot or an imaging tool speeds rollouts and repairs.
  • Create non-administrator student accounts, and one admin account kept offline. Log and rotate passwords securely.
  • Schedule nightly automatic backups (and test restores) and keep at least one offsite copy or removable disk.

Security and maintenance:

  • Keep the server patched, run a basic firewall, and consider a web-cache/proxy or simple content filter for browsing. Document network layout, credentials, and recovery steps. For practical how‑tos on file sharing and imaging see the Samba documentation (Samba docs) and the Clonezilla site (Clonezilla).

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Member Avatar for TheNNS

For a server I would use windows 2000, NT, or 2003 server, and for the PC's I'd go with win 2000 or xp if they're not too old. If you plan to have a linux server, then you should have linux computers. Since this network will be used for doing homework, I would download edubuntu and install it on the server and on the computers, just make sure you install the server on the server and the workstation on the comptuers.

Member Avatar for jbennet

NO - edubuntu is for like, really young children. Use NT if you want good filesharig and access control with minimal fuss but if you want to run the apps of the server linux is the way to go

Member Avatar for TheNNS

edubuntu is not for little kids only. I guess you don't need most of the packages that it brings, since it'll be a homework club, all you need is an office suite, openoffcie for example, a web browser, firefox, and maybe a few other apps.

By the way, Novell Netware has many problems.

Member Avatar for jbennet

i would say SLED but the requirements are high and the updates are borked and its the same price per year as NT probably is off ebay

Member Avatar for TheNNS

SLED is way too powerful and robust for what they'll use. They could even use a live cd like DSL, SLAX, or whatever. I think you should try CentOS.

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