A Guide to Avoiding the Pits of Multiple-PC Design

When small and medium-sized enterprises install a multi-computer system, they often run into problems with hardware selection, network configuration, and software compatibility.From the actual field, sharing techniques for avoiding pitfalls in equipment matching, data synchronization, and troubleshooting, we help SMEs lower their trial and error costs and quickly build a stable and efficient collaborative working environment.

Why is it that your system always has problems?

Many business owners think that all you need to do is buy a few servers and plug them into the network." The result is that the system is slow and files are lost.Actually, the problem usually comes from the early design stage--for example, using a home router to connect ten workstations, or installing an accounting software package on a computer that is used for graphic design.Don't just dump the problem on the employees; first take a look at whether the plan itself has planted these landmines.

Hardware selection: Don't let hardware slow you down.

Don't buy the latest model.

I've seen too many companies buy top-of-the-line servers just for the sake of appearances, only to end up using them at a rate of less than 30 % on a daily basis.If you have a team of 20 or fewer people working on documents, a mid-range NAS might be more cost-effective than enterprise-level storage. And if 3D rendering is involved, the performance of the graphics card will be more important than the number of CPU cores.

Power and cooling are no small problems.

Last week, a customer complained that his machine kept restarting itself, and we discovered that he was using a power strip he bought from Pinduoduo for 9.9 yuan.One of the biggest challenges with multi-computer systems is voltage fluctuations. Although industrial-grade PDUs (power distribution units) are expensive, they can prevent the loss of data.Don't skimp on cooling: If the temperature in your server room exceeds 30 ° C in summer, you can expect a mass hard-drive strike.

Software deployment: Compatibility is more important than functionality.

Beware the family bucket trap.

One company that was selling a software package that could handle all office automation, enterprise resource management and instant messaging needs found that once it was installed, it conflicted with the company's ten-year-old financial system.It is suggested that a small-scale trial be carried out first, with special attention being paid to the problem of linking old systems.If you really can't decide, then you might as well go with open source, because at least if there is a problem you can fix the code yourself.

Access control needs to be down to the pores.

Last year, an electrical appliance company had a staff member log into the system using an administrator account, and the intern mistakenly deleted the database for a promotional activity.Access levels must be clearly defined-who can view, edit, or delete. It is suggested that these be set up in a hierarchical manner, according to the departmental structure.

The unseen battlefield: Network configuration.

Don't be superstitious about gigabit bandwidth.

In fact, if the speeds actually measured are 70 % of the nominal value, that is considered acceptable, especially in a wireless environment.I've encountered cases where people put the Wi-Fi 6 router behind a load-bearing wall, so the only solution was to run a cable.When wiring, remember to leave 20 % extra capacity, in case next year you need to add videoconferencing equipment.

The use of VPNs should be carefully controlled.

In order to facilitate remote working, you open up port mapping. But by then it is too late, because you have already been infected.I recommend that companies use a virtual private network (VPN) or a zero-trust architecture to connect to the cloud, and that at a minimum two-factor authentication be enabled.Important data should be transmitted over the internal network as much as possible, and if it must be sent over the external network, it must be encrypted.

Don't wait until it crashes to take action.

Get into the habit of checking the SMART data on your hard drive each month, and replace the drive as soon as you get a warning.Don't delay patching your system until the end of the year, but also don't automatically update your system during office hours-you never know which patch might cause your printer to go haywire.Finally, remember that no matter how good a disaster recovery plan is, it needs to be backed up by a detailed operations manual. When training new employees, don't just talk about theory. Take them through the steps of a restart procedure once or twice.