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Office Setup

We are in the midst of upgrading our Macintosh computers and migrating to OSX. We currently use an Imac to hold the C&P database and we access it through an Ethernet network using AppleTalk. All of out systems are currently running OS9.

Can anyone offer any advice/recommendations on setting up an efficient network/server? Apple share vs. OSX Server vs. no server software at all? I need the fileserver to hold the C&P database, hold the email POP accounts, and word/excel/powerpoint documents

The majority of our computers are Imacs running at 300MHZ. It seems that it takes an unusually long amount of time to run small reports, open the "estimate" window and open "my clients" window. Does the speed of the processor greatly depend on how fast the database is processed. I know with graphics and video files, it does, but with C&P being disk-based, does the processor speed have an impact? Is Ethernet the fastest way to go? What is the correct way to set up the Ethernet?

Are the new Emacs or Imacs running 1.0 GHZ fast enough to support OSX and C&P? How about a system to act as a dumb terminal, so to speak, so you can access not only C&P from other terminals, but also access Microsoft 2004 from any computer in the office. Any advice as to what kind of server/network you need to run that? TCP/IP?

I thank you in advance!!!

Billy Doherty

I'm not knowledgeable enough to answer your server questions, but two things I learned in our experience switching over last year:

1) 300MHZ will not do with OSX (your staff will go crazy). My imac runs at 700 Mhz and is at times a bit leisurely. Nothing else in our 15 person shop runs at less than 800 Mhz. When we went X, we upgraded all the accounts and bookeeping staff to current, inexpensive i-macs, e-macs or i-books at 800, 1000 or 1250. They're very happy and productive with them.

2) Ethernet is fine if you're using it to full potential. If you're using an old hub that's limited to the 10baseT standard or cables that are less than category 5e, you'll max out at 10baseT data transfer speeds (10 megabits per second). Upgrade those puppies and they'll turn into Iditirod champs at 10 times the speed (100baseT).

In general, we found that moving to OSX entailed a complete examination, review and upgrade of all hardware and software components in the agency. It was a little painful and more expensive than we'd hoped, but we're good with it now. Good luck...

Al Aasman Managing Director Aasman Design Inc. www.adiyukon.com

First off, let me say, best of luck to you on your upgrade to OSX. All in all it's a very fast and stable environment. And I look forward to the OSX native version of Clients & Profits.

We are on a 10/100 Ethernet network, which handles all of our traffic including the graphic design portion. Our database lives on a G4 and we successfully use OSX Server. Silly thing, but be sure your network is 10/100 and not just 10BaseT. (Gigabit Ethernet is the newest, latest and greatest - but is really only needed for moving huge amounts of data and images around, and would likely require rewiring of your space.

Also, on your network, check to see if you have a router or a switch. You want a fast Ethernet switch, not just a router, though I'll be darned if I can remember the technical reasons why. It has something to do with the way they handle the data.

For issues of speed, much more important than processor speed is RAM (though obviously a jump from 300MHz to 1 GHZ machine will be noticeable. The G5's are particularly speedy!!) An iMac can handle OSX as long as it has the RAM and the space on the hard drive.

I would max out the RAM on all the iMacs and you should have noticeable improvement for minimal investment. Here's a little secret, too. Though the iMacs say they max out at 256MB (or 512 or whatever it is) as long as you've done the 9.2.2 firmware update, you can double it.

If your server is a 300MHz iMac, it might be worth upgrading to a faster machine. It will speed everyone up, though I start by looking at how much RAM you have and how much space you have left on your hard drive. A full drive can also slow things down. (Fragmentation, too.)

I don't know anything about using a terminal, so have nothing to offer there. Sorry if I rambled a bit here, but I just went through this at the beginning of the year. Though time consuming, it went pretty smoothly. Good luck!

Ann Marie Financial Coordinator Ph.D

First point: I wouldn't recommend putting your C&P database on the same box as your e-mail server. It's possible that it would never cause trouble, but if you store your database on an otherwise busy server, it's the first thing C&P tech support will point to when you have problems.

How big is your shop? If you have a lot of users who will be hitting the db at the same time, you'll need some kind of server software. However, if you're smaller, you may be able to get away with simpler file sharing. If you're planning on growing, though, server software is probably a worthy investment.

OSX will crawl on iMacs at 300MHz (if it will even install), particularly in C&P since it has to run in Classic. But it should be more than fine on a 1 GHz eMac.

The speed of C&P is more dependent on your server and network/switch/hub than it is on the client machines. An Ethernet network is a must, at least 100 Base-T if not Gigabit. Your older iMacs might be 10 Base-T... and if your iMac is the slower, older variety, that's the source of your slowdown, especially if more than a few users are accessing the database at the same time.

By having a "dumb terminal," do you mean housing all apps on a server and either running the programs from there or using a program like Apple Remote Desktop to run them? Personally, I'd go with housing all apps on each client machine, particularly with a network-intensive app like C&P. Otherwise you'll create a lot of network traffic doing things that could easily be handled by your client machines. I definitely wouldn't recommend running the C&P app at all on your server machine. Just use it to house the database -- and access it through the network browser or connect to server dialog box.

Please feel free to e-mail with more questions. We're still struggling with a multi-multi-platform environment (OS9, OSX, OS8!, Win2K and WinXP) so I'm curious to hear about the success of your migration to OSX. We use a Win2K server-based system and have a separate e-mail and web server, along with a separate server for remote access to the C&P application via terminal services.

-- Richard Heend thembcgroup

Billy,

I can address part of your concern and then I will forward this to Greg Miller, who can tell you about the server setup we have.

There is a vast amount of difference between the way an iMac handles C&P and the way an eMac handles it. The eMac's processing speed on C&P reports is instantaneous. That's it. I suggest you upgrade to eMacs and/or powermacs.

Good Luck!! Make backups frequently. Laura Graham

Richard,

While all factors of the network obviously affect the speed, don't discount the speed and memory on the client as being major factors. In a position at a previous firm I had occasion to upgrade from a 400mhz (or thereabouts) PC to a 2ghz machine. The speed increase was phenominal. I may not have really been 5 times as fast -- although watching some of those counters click by it looked even faster at times -- but the increase was definitely a multiple of the base speed. Nothing else changed on the network at that time, so it was a perfect test bed for seeing the difference.

I'd recommend using the 300mhz iMac as a My C&P! web server, not the server for the whole thing. Just because a machine can be set up as a server doesn't mean it should be. Besides processor and disk speeds and memory, other things you don't normally think about such as bus speeds and i/o bottlenecks can significantly affect the server-side performance. That's why machines on the PC side are definitely split into server and client (desktop/laptop) areas.

And yes, I know y'all are going to say Macs are inherently superior. But that doesn't mean they do everything perfectly. (It's a floor wax! It's a disinfectant! It restores hair loss!)

Brent A. Byrd
C&P Consultant

Can you recommend a FAST Ethernet Switch? We are currently using the MacSense MIH-130 Xrouter Pro.

Billy Doherty Art Director