Confused & In need of help...

[LiLhEiR]

Hey People -

My name's brandon, and yeah, I'm new. Anyway... I was recently appointed chairperson of my church's computer/technology comittee (sp?). Anyway, I have been asked to create a proposal to update the church's current technology. The church is pretty small. There are 8 computers (all windows 2000) , and each of them have 128mb of memory or less. Needless to say their technology is far past outdated.

All the computers are currently connected together through a switch. But here's where Im confused. I dont know what to call it, but they have like an integrated ethernet network system. I just guessed. Anyway, they have an ethernet outlet by each computer built into the building. So there are eight of them.

They currently have realllyyyyyyyy slow Earthlink Dial-Up. And none of them can be online stimutaneously.

Before I go on, I'm actually looking for suggestions as to how I can update the church's technology.

All the computers are connected to a switch, the switch is connected to a computer that runs Windows 2000 server or something like that. And the switch runs into the building. An old HP laser printer is connected to the server computer. They recently ordered a new copier that has network capabilities (with the ethernet port in the back) and is a printer. And that should be here late April - Early may.

The church's technology budget is almost ridiculously low. So, I figured that I can do the proposal in phases. And the first phase would be to update their internet service and networking equipment. The reason I was thinking about doing that is because they use the internet a lot, and the fastest they connect at, that ive seen , is 27.0kbps...So I was also looking for any suggestions as to do that.

The second phase I was going to suggest is to update their current computers to XP Pro, and put in like a 512 mb stick. I on the other hand wouldve just gotten 8 new, or fairly new computers, but thier budget is really low.

They share files pretty frequently, and they use the printer... a LOT.

So if anybody has any suggestions as to update my church's technology... please feel free to suggest them... haha. I didn't think it would be this difficult.

Oh, and they are updating the church's youth room... and they are creating a "homework center" that would add 3 computers. But there are no network/ethernet ports in the youth room. So I figured I could probably get an 8 or 9 port (is that possible?) WIRELESS router, and just put wireless adaptors on the 3 computers.

Any ideas, suggestions, questions, or any input would most likely be helpful.

Thanks so much. And I apologize if this post is a little jumbled, or confusing to read.

Edit: I forgot to add that they have a phone line and an ethernet cable connected to their computers. Phone line for internet and ethernet just for file & printer sharing.

 

[Anti-Trend]

Hey Brandon, welcome to hardwareforums. I'm going to try and help you out here, so here's a few points to think about:

1. Define and prioritize your goals before you start spending money. Ask yourself what you're trying to accomplish and define the most reasonable path to make it a reality.
2. If at all possible, get a broadband connection. Dialup is inefficient, cumbersome and not cost-effective.
3. Make sure you have a high-grade firewalled router between your network and the Internet. If you can't afford one, build one.
4. If you already own 2000 licenses, don't waste money on XP unless you have a very compelling reason to do so. There's nothing wrong with Windows 2000, and it will run faster on older hardware than XP.
5. You can save a tremendous amount of money by using as much open-source software as possible. For instance, instead of spending hundreds on MS Office licenses, try OpenOffice.org. Instead of FrontPage, try Nvu. Rather than Photoshop, try GIMP.
6. If you have the ability to do so, run Linux wherever possible, especially on servers. Windows costs a lot to deploy and maintain, and the per-seat licensing is a killer. Linux is much cheaper to own and operate. For instance, SME Server is totally free, license-free, and can handle a heavier workload than a Windows-based server on the same hardware. Plus, it's immune to virii, so that's one less piece of software you need to pay for.
7. Avoid temporary solutions, think long-term. With IT infrastructure, things often get thrown together loosely by necessity and become critical parts of your organization as time goes on. Do it once, do it right the first time, or live to regret it.