Network and Server Room Rewire/Fix/Re-design
A client needed help with their current network. Upon inspection, I found a network in a discernable state. There were many issues in the server room and across the entire network. The server room consisted of the following:
1. SunFire X3200 server | Company email server hosted behind a Charter cable connection (6mbps upstream)
2. SunFire X4600 server | Company file server, DNS server, Active Directory server and remote desktop server (running Windows 2000)
3. Dell Inspiron Desktop | Linux Firewall
4. Dell Slimline Desktop | Data storage for email server (device in the before pictures with hard drive hanging out of open case)
5. Custom built Desktop | Company website server hosted behind a Charter cable connection (6mbps upstream)
These devices controlled the website, email, all workstations (50+) and connected all remote location (4) to corporate. In its previous state, the file server experienced downtime 4 - 5 days per week, the website went down 1 - 2 times per day, the company email failed to properly sync and failed several times per day for multiple users, and the entire network and the internet for all locations went down 3 - 4 times per week.
Before Photos
After extensive review and planning, I implemented an entire overhaul of the server room and network to be better positioned to maintain constant and reliable operations. The follow key items were addressed:
1. I moved the company email to the Google for non-profits platform (free for non-profits)
2. The company website was set up on a dedicated VPS
3. The Dell Desktop acting as a Firewall was replaced with a SonicWall NSA 2600
4. An HP Proliant file server was put into place to function as the new file storage using SharePoint.
5. Remote desktop connections were removed from the network, removing the need for this service.
6. The SunFire X4600 was updated to Windows Server 2008 and a proper Active Directory and domain setup was implemented (with satellite servers at each remote location to act as a forest).
Complete re-wire of all devices
After Photos
There were several other network-wide issues that were addressed (but not pictured here), including replacement of 10-year-old workstation hardware, a complete WiFi network setup at multiple locations (4) and various other upgrades and network fixes.
