Deciding which way to go - terminal server or client/server??

Hello everyone:
we are a small company with 15 users/ desktops - one p3 and rest p4 2.2

- all with 256 mb ram and 40/80 gb hdd - single location - on a
workgroup with one xp pro and rest xp home machines. v were ok till we
upgrade our accounting software to peachtree quantum 2007 which is our
main application which has runtime sql server database. new peachtree
slows down our system to a good extent but still works
we have been adviced to go for new server with 4 gb ram and raid 5 with

3 hard disk - install windows 2003 and terminal server - so that v just

have to buy terminal server licenses for users and not to invest in
upgrading from xp home to pro and 256 mb ram to 512 or a gig on all pc.

our main concern is we need to know the experience of someone with
similar setup and also how much difference it will make in speed and
maintenance? are there any technical issues?
we thank you in advance for your feedback.
Mike.

Mike

Well it will be faster because TS has a very low system demand (TS will run
on dumb terminals) as the processing is all going to be on the server.
However, IMHO this is a very poor and ill-advised solution for you and I
certainly wouldn't suggest this to any of our customers. The main issues I
see a

1. The tail is wagging the dog: your buying a really powerful server because
your workstations are end-of-life;
2. The workstations are totally unsuitable with the wrong OS (needs Windows
XP Pro not Home), inadequate memory, etc and most importantly, poor
security.

I really suggest that you think carefully about your current workstations:

What is their expected life?
The older a PC, the more likely they are to cost money to maintain.
XP Home is really unsuitable for logging into a Domain server.
A new PC will (probably) have 3-years (or more) onsite warranty, use less
power, be faster, be cooler, be more secure, require a simpler server.
You can get OEM Office with a new PC (by far the cheapest way to upgrade to
a newer version).
Wait until January and you can get Windows Vista too.

The simple answer to your question is Yes. But it isn't the best solution
and is probably not the most economical answer over a three - five year
period.

--
Terry Farrell - MS Word MVP


"Mike" wrote in message
ps.com...
Hello everyone:
we are a small company with 15 users/ desktops - one p3 and rest p4 2.2

- all with 256 mb ram and 40/80 gb hdd - single location - on a
workgroup with one xp pro and rest xp home machines. v were ok till we
upgrade our accounting software to peachtree quantum 2007 which is our
main application which has runtime sql server database. new peachtree
slows down our system to a good extent but still works
we have been adviced to go for new server with 4 gb ram and raid 5 with

3 hard disk - install windows 2003 and terminal server - so that v just

have to buy terminal server licenses for users and not to invest in
upgrading from xp home to pro and 256 mb ram to 512 or a gig on all pc.

our main concern is we need to know the experience of someone with
similar setup and also how much difference it will make in speed and
maintenance? are there any technical issues?
we thank you in advance for your feedback.
Mike.

Thanks Terry. Btw our desktops are not that bad or old - they r all p4
- 2.2 and works great. managing users is not much of an issue as there
is users right in peachtree that v use the most. now if v go for
terminal server with windows 2003 server, and 4 gb ram and enough hdd
space, will it be faster? thats the main concern. if its going to be
the same speed, it is not worth.
another option is to get a better computer and connect all computer to
that again as workgroup. but in that case if v don't upgrade ram on all
desktop, it will not be faster.
pls advice.
thanks,
Mike.

Terry Farrell wrote:
Mike

Well it will be faster because TS has a very low system demand (TS will run
on dumb terminals) as the processing is all going to be on the server.
However, IMHO this is a very poor and ill-advised solution for you and I
certainly wouldn't suggest this to any of our customers. The main issues I
see a

1. The tail is wagging the dog: your buying a really powerful server because
your workstations are end-of-life;
2. The workstations are totally unsuitable with the wrong OS (needs Windows
XP Pro not Home), inadequate memory, etc and most importantly, poor
security.

I really suggest that you think carefully about your current workstations:

What is their expected life?
The older a PC, the more likely they are to cost money to maintain.
XP Home is really unsuitable for logging into a Domain server.
A new PC will (probably) have 3-years (or more) onsite warranty, use less
power, be faster, be cooler, be more secure, require a simpler server.
You can get OEM Office with a new PC (by far the cheapest way to upgrade to
a newer version).
Wait until January and you can get Windows Vista too.

The simple answer to your question is Yes. But it isn't the best solution
and is probably not the most economical answer over a three - five year
period.

--
Terry Farrell - MS Word MVP


"Mike" wrote in message
ps.com...
Hello everyone:
we are a small company with 15 users/ desktops - one p3 and rest p4 2.2

- all with 256 mb ram and 40/80 gb hdd - single location - on a
workgroup with one xp pro and rest xp home machines. v were ok till we
upgrade our accounting software to peachtree quantum 2007 which is our
main application which has runtime sql server database. new peachtree
slows down our system to a good extent but still works
we have been adviced to go for new server with 4 gb ram and raid 5 with

3 hard disk - install windows 2003 and terminal server - so that v just

have to buy terminal server licenses for users and not to invest in
upgrading from xp home to pro and 256 mb ram to 512 or a gig on all pc.

our main concern is we need to know the experience of someone with
similar setup and also how much difference it will make in speed and
maintenance? are there any technical issues?
we thank you in advance for your feedback.
Mike.

Mike

The answer is still YES, it will be faster. I just don't think it is the
best solution for 15 users.

Terry

"Mike" wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks Terry. Btw our desktops are not that bad or old - they r all p4
- 2.2 and works great. managing users is not much of an issue as there
is users right in peachtree that v use the most. now if v go for
terminal server with windows 2003 server, and 4 gb ram and enough hdd
space, will it be faster? thats the main concern. if its going to be
the same speed, it is not worth.
another option is to get a better computer and connect all computer to
that again as workgroup. but in that case if v don't upgrade ram on all
desktop, it will not be faster.
pls advice.
thanks,
Mike.

Terry Farrell wrote:
Mike

Well it will be faster because TS has a very low system demand (TS will
run
on dumb terminals) as the processing is all going to be on the server.
However, IMHO this is a very poor and ill-advised solution for you and I
certainly wouldn't suggest this to any of our customers. The main issues
I
see a

1. The tail is wagging the dog: your buying a really powerful server
because
your workstations are end-of-life;
2. The workstations are totally unsuitable with the wrong OS (needs
Windows
XP Pro not Home), inadequate memory, etc and most importantly, poor
security.

I really suggest that you think carefully about your current
workstations:

What is their expected life?
The older a PC, the more likely they are to cost money to maintain.
XP Home is really unsuitable for logging into a Domain server.
A new PC will (probably) have 3-years (or more) onsite warranty, use less
power, be faster, be cooler, be more secure, require a simpler server.
You can get OEM Office with a new PC (by far the cheapest way to upgrade
to
a newer version).
Wait until January and you can get Windows Vista too.

The simple answer to your question is Yes. But it isn't the best solution
and is probably not the most economical answer over a three - five year
period.

--
Terry Farrell - MS Word MVP


"Mike" wrote in message
ps.com...
Hello everyone:
we are a small company with 15 users/ desktops - one p3 and rest p4 2.2

- all with 256 mb ram and 40/80 gb hdd - single location - on a
workgroup with one xp pro and rest xp home machines. v were ok till we
upgrade our accounting software to peachtree quantum 2007 which is our
main application which has runtime sql server database. new peachtree
slows down our system to a good extent but still works
we have been adviced to go for new server with 4 gb ram and raid 5 with

3 hard disk - install windows 2003 and terminal server - so that v just

have to buy terminal server licenses for users and not to invest in
upgrading from xp home to pro and 256 mb ram to 512 or a gig on all pc.

our main concern is we need to know the experience of someone with
similar setup and also how much difference it will make in speed and
maintenance? are there any technical issues?
we thank you in advance for your feedback.
Mike.