joust888

Hi, I am running a Windows Server 2008 R2 server with Terminal Services. I would like to make our accounting software available to a client of ours, but I would like to restrict access to the server for this client so that they can only see the Accounting Software. They should not have access to folders and data other than what the accounting software is using. Is there a way of locking the server down for a group of users and only giving them access to one application? Any pointer in the right direction will be much appreciated. Thanks! Jacques

Thanks ICTCity, This really has given me a much better idea of what is needed and how to approach this project! I'm wondering (and a little bit off topic, but I guess there is no harm in asking) what your opinion would be of initially hosting something like this on a cloud server / VPS / Dedicated hosted server. Would it even be possible to use something like rackspace's cloud environment? Sorry if this has gone completely off topic and I will move this into another forum / thread if needed, but I would value your opinion when having to lay down all the options to my directors! Again, many thanks for all your help and quick responses.

Hi there, first off, I am not from Switzerland (unfortunately :) ). I'm resident in London (originally from South Africa), but I think we are talking about the same SAGE although I don't think it is the same version. We are using the SAGE Line 50 Client Manager. This version of Sage does not use a SQL Server, but, as far as I can tell, its own 'File system' database. It is a good thing you mention the SQL server though, because I do quite a bit of VBA programming which makes use of SQL server combined with Excel and would like to use this host some of those applications on here as well (although traffic to them will be minimal). Therefore, I would definitely like to install an instance of SQL Server if I could. The following will need to be installed on the server (this includes everything that I foresee I might possibly like to install going forward.) Sage Line 50 Client Manager (No Database needed as the 'file system' database is installed along with the application) Excel File Server Microsoft Sharepoint (This is a future possibility, but we have this hosted with Microsoft as well, so we could do without it) MS SQL Server There will be no need for Exchange as we have this hosted with Microsoft Online Services.

Oh, and by the way, the Operating system that I am planning to install is the 64bit version.

Thanks a lot once again. Essentially, the traffic from our users will be very low. I don't think there will ever be more than 5 active users connected consecutively (not to begin with anyways). They will, at first only need to access the Sage Windows Based accounting software and Excel (only when exporting information from Sage). I believe 4 Gig should be enough, but I would like to configure the server in such a way that it would be easily upgradable. I would like to implement a file server at some point though, but that will probably only happen a little later on. Thanks for the RAID controller and hard drive tips. My thinking was to keep the cost as low as possible, but if not having the controller and initial RAID setup will make it much harder to upgrade later, then this will probably be worth having to start up with. I do not need a lot of HD space. 250Gig will probably be enough and 500 Gig will definitely be enough. At the moment keeping the server costs down is important, but I don't want to set up something that cannot be upgraded, so finding the right balance is what I'm looking for. Taking that into account I would really appreciate some more help on which HD configuration would be the best combination of price, ease of implementation and meeting my needs. Thanks, Jacques

Many thanks for your quick reply and willingness to help. We have now decided to go ahead with this and I am in the process of figuring out which server I would need. As my server will only serve around around 15 people (most of them remotely) I was thinking I probably don't need too powerful a machine to start with but would really like some assurance that I am not buying something that will come up short for what I need to do. I will be installing Windows Server 2008 Enterprise version to server remote users with our Windows based Accounting Software through terminal services. I would also like to set up a file server, so the hardware should be able to handle that. I am looking at buying the entry level Dell PowerEdge server with the following specifications: PowerEdge T110 Tower Chassis for Up to 4x 3.5" Cabled HDDs Intel Xeon X3430, 4C, 2.40GHz, 8MB Cache, 95W TDP, Turbo, DDR3-1333MHz 4GB Memory, DDR3, 1333MHz (1x4GB Dual Ranked UDIMM) 1Yr Basic Warranty - NBD Included - No Upgrade Selected No Operating System T110 EMEA1 Ship Docs No Power Cord (English/French/German/Spanish/Russian/Hebrew) C1 - No RAID with On-board SATA Controller, Requires 1-4 SATA HDDs No Primary RAID Controller Card 250GB, SATA, 3.5-in, 7.2K RPM Hard Drive (Cabled) UK 250V 2M Power Cord 10A Server Management Card: iDRAC6 Embedded BMC Intel PRO/1000PT GbE Single Port Server Adapter, Cu, PCIe-1 16X DVD+/-RW ROM Drive SATA with SATA Cable No Factory Installed Mouse Display Not Included PE T110 Electronic System Documentation and OpenManage DVD 1Yr Basic Warranty - Next Business Day - Minimum Warranty You have chosen not to take the Dell PowerEdge installation service Is there any other hardware that I would need to get to get the installation up and running and does the above look like an adequate specification of what I would like to do. Out of experience I don't feel like I can trust the Windows listed minimum requirements. Also, if there are any other tips and things that I should look out for when starting the installation, any contribution would be much appreciated... This is very much a learning experience for me. Many thanks, Jacques

Hi, I am new to this forum and a complete noob when it comes to Windows Server. I do however have a lot of other systems experience and is technically orientated, so am hopeful to pick up on this fairly quickly. I am part of a small'ish organisation that want to start making use of a server environment. However, we are a dispersed organisation with a small office and most of our employees either working from home, or at clients. The office does not have any IT infrastructure other than a couple of well spec'ed PC's connected to a wireless router and an internet connection which can be upgraded to a fairly good standard. We could also put in a dedicated internet connection for the server if need be. We are registered as Microsoft Partners and therefore have licensing keys for: Windows Home Server 2008 for Partners Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise - Virtual Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation for Partners Windows Small Business Server Standard 2008 for Partners Windows Small Business Server Standard 2008 for Partners -Virtual Windows Web Server 2008 R2 Windows Web Server 2008 R2 - Virtual There are 3 things I would preferably want to deliver with this server: 1) I would like to host our accounting package so that all users can remotely access the accounting software. The software is not web based but would need to be delivered through terminal services (I believe) 2) I would like to host a web server which will host our CRM system (I'm fine with setting up web servers on a local machine, but are a bit confused on what the easiest way would be to give access to remote users with our setup) 3) I would like to host Sharepoint Services / or a normal Fileserver for the company for document sharing We have looked at a hosted Windows server solution, but this seems to be very expensive (around 350 per month) for the basic functionality we want and would not want to commit to a contract until we know how well this solution will work for our company. My main questions, I guess, are: Which Windows Server 2008 do I pick? Would it be possible, with our configuration, to give our employees remote access to the system? What security risks would we be facing when doing this? Any help with this would be much appreciated. I am sure if I can get some guidelines I will be able to take this further a lot easier and quicker. Many thanks, Jacques