Hardware and Infrastructure

 File Server

Essentials requires its own file server. A file server is similar to a normal desktop computer but is designed to hold multiple hard disk drives for additional storage and to be more reliable as it is intended to be powered up continuously. The main suppliers of file servers include Dell, HP, Lenovo, Fujitsu and IBM. File servers are not usually available in retail stores but are obtained from specialist IT dealers or online. 

Choosing a server can be daunting, particularly as it is not something that a small business is likely to buy very often. It is partly a matter of striking a balance between something which meets the current needs of the business and any likely changes during the next few years, such as an increase in employee numbers, whilst avoiding the temptation or being persuaded into buying something which is overkill. Not surprisingly, sellers and consultants have a vested interest in upselling you more than you need. The argument that “this server can be upgraded” is sometimes used, but in practise servers are not usually upgraded but rather replaced when no longer suitable. 

For a small business or other organization with less than ten staff, a suitable choice may be a microserver. This is a proper server rather than just a glorified PC, but in a small, low-cost form factor.The genre was largely invented by Hewlett-Packard and their Proliant MicroServer series is very popular. For a slightly larger organization – up to the maximum size of 25 users permitted by Essentials – a standard entry-level file server is more appropriate. Servers are available in both tower format (similar to desktop PCs) and in horizontal rack format, for mounting in cabinets. As mentioned above, there are a number of vendors to choose from. Dell are a popular vendor as everything can be conveniently ordered from their website. 

Often the given base price for a server is for a bare-bones model and hard disk drives and memory may have to be additionally specified. For instance, at the time of writing some HP Proliant MicroServers are supplied with 4GB RAM but no hard drive whatsoever. The memory is sufficient for running Essentials in a very small business - although more is preferable - but clearly at least one hard drive will need to be purchased. The hard drives should be server grade or enterprise grade, meaning they have high-performance and improved reliability, for instance something from the Western Digital SE or Seagate Constellation series. In the case of Dell all of this can easily be done online, plus they often have pre-configured servers that offer sensible combinations of RAM and storage. 

Similar to microservers are the NAS boxes that come pre-loaded with Storage Server, such as those manufactured by Thecus. These have Storage Server loaded on a smallish hard drive or solid state drive (SSD), but it is still necessary to purchase one or more hard drives for data storage as discussed in the following section. 

Note that it is not necessary to purchase a monitor, keyboard and mouse for the server, as it can be operated without them (so called headless operation). Borrow them from another machine for the initial installation, as thereafter they are not required.