Part time network

[LiamC]

Hi all, some advice if you wouldn't mind. A non-profit org has asked for my input on a scheme they have for their employees to work from home.

What they want to do is to be able to share files with one another, but there will be no offoce, so no server to connect to.

Broadband isn't available to all, so an "always on" connection isn't possible.

My initial thoughts was that one machine would need a static IP and broadband so at least others could connect to it to download/upload files.

IS a VPN a viable solution?

Notes? - my experience with it is that it handles the replication automatically, so there are bonus' there.

Cost is always an issue.

Linux server on broadband connection?

Any other solutions?

 

[blakerwry]

why not use FTP on a dedicated central server?

 

[LiamC]

Cost.

 

[blakerwry]

i don't know what you mean? cost? send me $25 and I'll send you a 486 with 32Mb of ram that you can use to run your server, sound good?

I'll even setup linux on it.. all you need to do is provide the internet connection and the HDD to put the FTP server on.

 

[blakerwry]

assuming you need more than a 100MB of FTP space or something

 

[blakerwry]

or go with www.xcensus.com and get a 100MB hosting package for only a few dollars a month (beats paying for additional internet charges where you're at).

 

[Mercutio]

In a similar situation I set up a group of three people up with a $50 100MB Yahoo mailbox. Only one of them had broadband, but all of them could understand making folders and attaching things and so on, so there wasn't much in the way of training costs.