Small home office file server vs. dropbox.com?

Question

I have a small home office business. I need to network my 4 computers. I use quickbooks, proseries (tax program), LaserApp, microsoft office, etc. I want to have all the files for all my computers in one location, instead of having 4 different versions, moving files back and forth with a memory stick. I also need to share my 2 printers. I am not proficient with computers, and I can't spend 30 hours learning to use a file server.

My requirements are as follows:
1.) Very simple, with as little to learn as possible
2.) Shared files stored in one location, accessible from any computer on my home network
3.) Ability to use all printers from any computer
4.) Speed and efficiency, low tolerance for downtime/wasted time
5.) Storage space of 500GB should be more than sufficient

My first question is, would a file server such as HP's Proliant MicroServer with windows server 2008 Home or standard edition be suitable to my needs? What server software would be best, I only know the little info that I have googled. I have heard that Linux is more complicated to learn than Windows OS's. Is there a better small server with an OS pre-installed that is still in the price range of $500-$1,000?

Secondly, I have tried the free version of Dropbox.com's file syncing software. It seems to work as advertised, though the saving/uploading seems a bit slow. The main advantage that has drawn me to it is the simplicity. After a couple hours of tinkering, I already feel like I know the basic ins and outs of the program.

Dropbox would cost more in the long run and syncs kind of slow, so the file server would be preferable IF a simple to set up, easy-to-use model existed. What is your opinion on Server vs. Dropbox? Do you have a third alternative that you believe would better suit my needs? Is there any other info I should be aware of?

Answer 1

First, something like the HP server and MS Windows Server is overkill for a situation like this. If you had more than 10 computers then it might be appropriate, but would still be iffy. You'll get by fine with a standard desktop PC running Windows 7 as a file server. You can set up a workgroup and permissions easily for both file and printer sharing. You'll probably want a higher-end PC with RAID capabilities for redundancy, plus some way to do backups regularly. If you only have around 500GB of data, backing up to an external drive could work, or you could buy a blu-ray burner and burn BR backups. Tape backups are probably overkill for your situation.



The concern with DropBox is that it's a third party. You're vulnerable to their whims. If they delete your files, or suffer some kind of security incident, your data could be compromised or deleted or tampered with. If they go out of business, you're hosed. If they change their prices or services, you're also potentially in trouble. What if they are purchased by a new company that doesn't respect your data privacy or integrity? There have been some concerns about data privacy with DropBox as well. There are a lot of unknowns and a lot of variables here.

Answer 2

Quite a number of things, typically as a means to share some set of resources (printers, scanners etc) or to share files from one source rather than copy them onto multiple computers. They might also act as a network proxy or for serving webpages (a web server). The physical server may host any number of software servers so long as it's not overtaxed to the point of being unable to service requests.

Answer 3

Ehm..

You can download Dropbox for free here http://j.mp/1rt6dVK



The downside to having multiple computers is synchronizatiohttp://j.mp/1rt6dVK Dropbox is the perfect solution for these situations.