Need some help with begginer networking

[#1]

Just want to hear out your tips on getting through this tasks done:

• Remove data from the onedrive cloud and put it on a local server based in the office.

• Secure the server

• Sync the server daily with the local laptops in order to minimise use of memory on the notebooks (so the server is the useful space for work).

• Server must not be connected to the WIFI we use for network

• Create a second back-up server for long term storage and extra security – this server cannot be in the same building as the first one

[#2]

Moderators Note
This topic has been moved from My Router to Tech Help.

[#3]

I'll give you my thoughts on this, I've done some but not all at home.

• Remove data from the onedrive cloud and put it on a local server based in the office.

Fairly simple, buy a Network Attached Storage drive (or drives) and map them to a computer.

Copy your OneDrive to the NAS and wait for the data to copy.

If the data is all synced to the machine this will be quick, if not it will be slow.

Once apparently done check the copy on your NAS.

Since you seem to regard your data as valuable a two disk NAS and some sort of mirrored storage seems wise.

• Secure the server

Most NAS systems allow accounts at share level, that provides some degree of security. If this isn't enough you may be in "proper IT professional" territory !

• Sync the server daily with the local laptops in order to minimise use of memory on the notebooks (so the server is the useful space for work).

You can use the server as the workspace but at that point it is no longer the backup.

I use SyncToy run once a week to keep multiple NAS drives synchronised but you may want something better. I use the setting that never deletes anything on the second drive (so accidental deletions don't matter)

If you had two NAS drives you may be able to run a sync process on the drives to do what you want better than SyncToy

• Server must not be connected to the WIFI we use for network

It could (and should) be connected via Ethernet. You could have multiple WFi networks (guest WiFi) to limit NAS access. You could force all connections to be via the Internet and use the NAS vendors remote access process.

With a suitable (business grade) router it is possible to control which devices have access to each other (VLANs) With care you could set your NAS to be accessible from a limited number of devices and have a backup NAS that (normally) only sees the main NAS.

I don't quite see what you are attempting to do here !

• Create a second back-up server for long term storage and extra security – this server cannot be in the same building as the first one

This might be a job for cloud storage.

Alternatively with suitable (business grade) routers at both ends you could have a secure tunnel to a second location with another NAS drive. Even more than some other stages, this may require assistance with the set up !

By now you will have spent some time and many hundreds of pounds !

For the NAS look at Synology or QNAP.

I would say this is beyond beginner networking, at least intermediate !

[#4]

I don't understand this bit:-

Sync the server daily with the local laptops in order to minimise use of memory on the notebooks...

a) How will this actually save memory on the laptops (disk or RAM)...

b) If several laptops change a file during the day (in different ways) but only get synced daily, how will you untangle any conflicting updates?

[#5]

Perhaps that bit could have been clearer (but you wrote "Sync the server daily with the local laptops in order to minimise use of memory on the notebooks..")

I suggest your laptops work off the server copy (no material is kept on the laptops).

The problem is then that "all your eggs are in one basket".

Hence (to protect against disk failure [only]), a RAID setup is best.

You also need some kind of daily / weekly / monthly backup regime to a physically separate device.