Breaking Windows

The file/print/backup server had 128 MB of RAM. Thats not enough for Retrospect to run well. They are running ASIP (AppleShare IP) on OS 9 so 128 MB is not horrible, but for a file/print/backup server it is not enough. I added 1 GB of RAM today and it took little time to see improvements across the board. They have a DDS-4 tape backup that is all messed up. I keep getting error 206 in Retrospect, dirty heads. After talking to Lacie tech support they suggest an company that does out of warranty repairs. It would cost a lot though, half the cost of the drive bought new. Their advertising department use a Zip drive to do daily and weekly backups. As much as I do not like Iomega (because of the "click of death") we are going to do the same for editorial. Getting a Zip drive and a pack of Zip disks is a lot less then getting the tape backup drive repaired. Also TCP's requirements do not require backing up gigs of data. They do not even back up 1 GB of data. So a Zip 750 will be enough for them now, and allow them a lot of room to grow. The next task is to get a workable font solution. Right now there is no way to mirror all needed fonts on all workstations. There is Extensis Suitcase Server, but that costs $1000. They already own Extensis Suitcase Desktop Edition for all workstations though. After some thought, it will be cheaper to use Retrospect to mirror a master font folder to all the clients. Also having Retrospect on all clients will allow for backing up workstation files, something they are not doing. I found Retrospect Workgroup (good for 20 clients and 1 server) for a great price at MacMall (much better then buying from Dantz). And since we are buying everything else from MacMall, its easier then finding the absolute lowest price from a no name store. I am now going to use Retrospect at Student Publications to blast out a master font folder for Unigraphics, Production, and all the other publications. We already use Retrospect Workgroup at Student Publications, I just never thought of using it this way. I must say this was not something I thought of, but something that came out of brainstorming at the TCP office. It was a happy little revelation.