Question About Internet Cafes

[club_pranay]

my friend owns a cyber cafe with 18 machines + 1 server
now he has some questions regarding it..

Note: all pc's are P4 1.8GHz, 128mb DDR, intel 845GVSR, 20gb hdd etc..
the server is some intel915 + 512 mb DDR + 160gb maxtor hdd + etc.
all pc's have XP pro.

Q1. there r many ppl who comes to this cafe almost daily, is there any way they can have their secured space like 100 mb?and use it from any machine? i was thinking of something like a login screen, when a username and password is entered they will be taken to their own personal desktop, favourates, documents etc, that too from any machine.

Q2. as there r 19 machines tn a single room, the AC becomes ineffective, is there any better cooling solutions? like sucktion ducts behind the computer to collect hot air.

Q3. can the client computer us theDVD RW, installed on the server directly? without sharing the folder on the client machines?

Q4. as all the computers have 100% same hardware, i have created a .img file of freshly installed XP and all other essential softwares. do u think it'll work?

Q5. i want to track the websites/ urls/ ip visited by the users.

Q6. i used to have the pc's on open tables, but i found that some ppl stare at other's work. pls recommend something about the layout. i dont want to have closed cabins.

thanx in advance..
Peace

 

[shwetanshu]

as for the last question, u can use cabinets like the ones used in Satyam Iways. Since u r also in delhi, u can find many iways.

 

[lywyre]

Q1. Yes, u can securely share folders / drives by right clicking on the folder/drive and choosing Sharing/Security. (Don't use simple file sharing)

I am using simple file sharing, cause i dont store sensitive stuff on my discs.

Q2. It should be pretty big room as there are 19 computers. That means a single AC is never enough. U will have to invest in atleast 2 or more ACs (>= 1.5 tonnes).
If your shop is wide enough you can even split it in to two rooms, and use one and fill the other one when the first room is full.

I am using a 1.5tonne Split AC, for 144sq.ft (8 x 18ft) and it is still not enough during summer.

Q4. Yes u can, provided u use same slot for ur ethernet card. even if you change the slot, it is no problem, but xp will have install the hardware again.

And after u have copied the image file to the primary partition and after booting, xp will report IP conflict. U will have to manually change the IP address of all computers.

I am have six pcs, 4 of which are similar and i use Ghost too.

Q5. There are lots of them, but not all of them have different features, mostly useless or resource draining.

I would like to have some kinda software that lets
me to restrict the bandwidth of a client pc.

Q6. I suggest you leave it as such. Higher cabins will lead to lesser air flow and more head. I did the same mistake and am now regretting it.


I would like to have some kinda software that lets me to restrict the bandwidth of a client pc.

 

[enoonmai]

A1. If you want users to have their own space and settings, then you need a Domain model in the cafe, running Windows NT/2000/2003 Server and then setup usernames/passwords/policies on the server, which will allow them to configure their own settings, as well as allowing you central administration as well as strictly enforcing space restrictions.

A3. While it's possible with some backup software to access DVD-RW/CD-RW drives remotely from a client machine, its recommended that you do not allow this in a cybercafe environment. The shared folder model is the best for a cybercafe environment.

 

[club_pranay]

thanx enoonmai & lywyre!!
the problem #1,2,3,4 solved
we'll stick to "folder sharing" only
he is going for semi-closed cabins(prob6)

suggest something for probs 5
thanx once again..