OS X Server - is my hardware good enough?

[Jeffncou]

I've read the apple specs but would appreciate real world advice on how my hardware will actually perform

My current home office setup is as follows:

2 employees using

2010 macpro. 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon. 16gb ram. Hdd Raid backup + usb drive for time machine - used mainly for Adobe products. Large photoshop files.

2009 Mac mini. 2GHZ Intel 2 Core Duo - 4gb ram. Ssd - used mainly for word processing (pages). iCloud backup

Ipad 3 - used mainly for entertainment but occassionally working from home for word processing (pages) iCloud backup

My internet connection is slow and cannot be improved. Approx 1.5mb upload speed, 3mb download

My objective is:

Create one central point for files that is accessible by two employees onsite but also by remote-working freelancers (freelancers using Mac and windows)
Back up files to a removable storage to take offsite - for security
Speed

I was thinking of replacing the iPad with a laptop for home working, installing OS X server onto the mini, connecting a removable usb drive to the mini for time machine backup.

My concerns are how fast this setup would be. Currently I am working on the macpro which has a higher spec than the mini so presumably this would be a drop in performance? Am I correct in saying the network is only as fast as its weakest link?

 

[Altemose]

My concerns are how fast this setup would be. Currently I am working on the macpro which has a higher spec than the mini so presumably this would be a drop in performance? Am I correct in saying the network is only as fast as its weakest link?

So you want to make the Mini your office server, use your Mac Pro for all work, and replace your iPad with a laptop. In thought, the Mini will make a fine server but may have issues if you are constantly loading every file over the network. You need a strong Gigabit Ethernet backbone for this type of setup.