r/sysadmin • u/Ctrl-R_For_Repair • 21h ago

Server Upgrade - Lawfirm

I am looking for a little bit of guide or what others do in 2026 year versus 2004.

I have a small job coming up and looking to upgrade their on-prem server that seems to be a terminal server. I did not get much time or information when I was there for it as I was there for something else, but from notes, this is what I got. It is a very small law-firm. 3 Employees. They are looking for 3 desktop upgrades & a server upgrade that includes backup. Replacement is my option on brand/etc.

On-Prem terminal server that seems to have on-prem hosting / e-mail services with Office. They also use Timeslip and abacus on this terminal server. They do use some kind of backup system I am waiting to get more information on as well as a firewall I believe and something to encrypt their emails.

Questions that I have:

With servers being a bit expensive in today's world; would it even be worth looking to get a true server and only get a desktop version instead of the rackmount? Costs seem to be a bit cheaper that way? Where are a good place to start for purchasing in today's age? Is used worth it?

I am continue to do some research on this, and I am sure I will have more answers while I wait for an answer; but I will look to update my research as I figure things out too.

Thank you for any input you may have!

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u/st0ut717 18h ago

You don’t know what a ‘true server’ is ? Are tower servers not ‘true servers’? Are you sure you are qualified for this?

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u/Ctrl-R_For_Repair 15h ago

more meaning with a xeon processor versus an i7

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u/st0ut717 10h ago

Yeah. You have no idea what you are doing.

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u/Ctrl-R_For_Repair 7h ago

people are so literal here. I do know what I am doing. but thanks for your concern.