I'm going to be purchasing, setting up, and maintaining a small office network in about a month. I have most of the software side figured out, but I'm still a bit fuzzy on the hardware details.
First off, a bit of information about the network:
- 5 users initially, 15 users at the MOST after more employees are hired
- All users will probably be using Skype for voice services
- Online/offsite backup performed every night, probably 25GB or so of data that needs to be uploaded and mirrored to a backup service
My biggest unknown factor here is the internet connection. Most of my networking knowledge comes from classes/books, and I have limited experience in this kind of thing so I'm a little lost here.
The most cost effective connection in our price range is a 6mbit business DSL connection. During business hours, Skype and basic internet research/browsing will account for the vast majority of internet traffic (our website is hosted offsite). After hours, the connection will be consumed by scheduled backups and such. I assume 6mbit is enough to cover this with 5 users. If I'm incorrect in this assumption than I would appreciate someone pointing that out.
What I'm confused about now is how the internet will be set up physically. I believe I want to use a Squid proxy server to provide fine-tuned control over user's access and caching services (I anticipate most users will be using the same 5 websites primarily, so caching could cut down on bandwidth usage).
How will this all be set up though? Obviously the DSL will come in via a phone line. I assume from there it goes into a DSL modem. From there, would it go directly to the squid server or would it go into the main switch/router, then circling back through the squid server then out to workstations?