BSI File Server™
As companies grow, the
need to place their files on a shared file server becomes paramount. There
are many benefits to using shared file servers:
- Centralized control of who can share what
information.
- Better performance and greater reliability
through redundant disk drives (RAID systems).
- Backups and archiving are easier and more
reliable.
- A common directory structure makes finding
information much easier.
- It is easy to grow by dividing up files across
multiple file servers.
In a Microsoft Windows environment, using a
Windows Server as a file server is a standard solution for File Sharing
Services. If there are applications
that only run on a Windows server, e.g. accounting or database applications,
then this is a good solution as long as the load on this one server is not too
great. As the load gets large, it
makes sense to split the functionality of the server into two (or more) servers:
the application server(s) and the
file server(s). With this split,
using Windows servers becomes expensive, since Microsoft requires a Client
Access License fee for each client that accesses each Windows server. Typically
most clients need to access most servers; hence the number of Client Access
Licenses needed can be as large as the product of the number of servers and the
number of clients.
It often makes sense to
save money by licensing the application servers for only those clients needing
the applications on them and to use a non-Microsoft solution for the file
servers. Large companies have saved millions of dollars in this way, and
small companies can easily save thousands of dollars. Bristol Systems Inc.
recommends using a Samba file server on an appropriate server platform that runs
the Linux operating system. Both Samba and Linux are free of client
licenses, and an end-user desktop application cannot tell the difference between
this file server and a Windows-based file server. The hardware,
installation and system management costs are the same, and the security and
performance of the Linux/Samba solution are better than those of the Windows
solution. Linux/Samba systems provide huge savings when deployed in large
numbers. Illustrated above is a rack of 1U Linux/Samba file servers
providing high capacity, high throughput, and high availability.
Bristol Systems Inc.
can install a Windows or a Samba/Linux
file server on the hardware of your choice. Ask us how much money
you can save with a Linux solution. Call us at 714.389.4136 for pricing on
both hardware and installation.
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