Networks - An Essential Small Business Building Block

Most of our small business clients have networks linking their computers together.  These networks have grown organically and are usually comprised of individual computers connected together by routers and/or switches.  Data is either hidden from other users or data can be randomly scattered throughout the network.

Most small businesses have Generation 1 networks.  

These Generation 1 networks are linked computers which behave like isolated islands of data. More importantly, these Generation 1 networks are characterized by:

Data Redundancy, Lost Files and Lack of Data Security

• Data exists everywhere in the network. 
• Files can be lost and deleted.
• Users often have difficulty finding source files and don't know whether they are working on the most up to date files.

• There are no formal back up plans and confidential data can easily be acessed by any network user.
• If computers are stolen or hardware fails than the data is irretrievably lost.

In other words, Generation 1 networks provide few tangible benefits other than the ability to share data and access the internet through a common connection.

At a Minimum You Should Have a Generation 2 Network

Most of you shy away from traditional server solutions. These solutions demand a dramatic increase in your in-house technical capability and often prove to be difficult to manage and support.  There is another option and that is to install Network Address Servers. These Network Address Servers, or Generation 2 network devices, offer you some compelling advantages:

• a simple web based user interface that is intuitively easy to use
• controlled access to specified directories
• automated backups of data from networked computers
• ability to host internal web sites
• ability to access the server data when away from the office
• almost unlimited storage capability on redundant hard drive arrays.
• ability to back up your entire network to another hard drive that can be transported off site for additional data security.

MyComputherapist can install and set up your Generation 2 Network Address Server.  We provide one-on-one training and remote support to ensure that your network performs at its peak.