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Setting up a Small Office Network?

Posted by Cliff on from the for-those-new-to-it dept.

A not-so-anonymous Anonymous Coward asks: "I am embarking on a startup with some business contacts. I'm the only tech-guy in the group so I'll be the one to set up the network for our small office of 5-7 people. I've spent the last 15 years immersed in the development end of things (numerical analysis software and parallel computing codes). The downside of this is that I'm quite naive when it comes to networking: there's always been someone else taking care of revision control, backups, security, servers, etc., even purchasing stuff and running cable. What advice would you give someone who isn't afraid to roll up his sleeves, but is starting from ground zero on setting up a small office network? Can you recommend any books that are up-to-date and practical (e.g. "howto")?"

2 of 88 comments (clear)

  1. Been there done that! by DaoudaW · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Be humble! Seek help when you need it. It sounds like you have a "can do" attitude which can take you a long way, but I can tell you from personal experience that an inexperienced person can spend a lot of time and resources on problems which a call to someone with a bit more experience could quickly resolve. Be honest with your partners! It's real easy for us to position ourselves as gurus, but more difficult to be honest about our strengths and weaknesses. I've seen many shops where systems were poorly designed because the "tech guy" was unwilling to admit that they were in over their head.

  2. The myth of "grow or die". by V.+Mole · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Or, one could assume that the people involved are interested in having and controlling a successfull small business. Sure, you may not get stupidly rich, but there can be a lot of satisfaction in simply controlling your own destiny and turning a profit every year.

    And even if you *do* plan to grow the number of people in the company, the likelyhood is that you're not going to do it in the first six months, and that when you do, you're going to *move*. In the meantime, building up infrastructure is a waste of time. Building a small, reliable net that you don't have to dick around with on a daily basis should be your goal. When it's time to grow, buy new stuff. It will be cheaper and more capable then than it is now.