Setup up an intranet

Hello, all

I am a beginner of IT. I want to setup an intranet with the following features:-
#1. Running in either Win NT or Linux platform
#2. All of the functions inside the intranet are limited by the user rights.
#3. All of the folders are limited access by the user rights
#4. Folders would appear as the file explorer in window
#5. I would also build some functions like annual leave application for employee, borrow/return of reference books, chat room and forum.

Can anyone give me some suggestions how to develop an intranet like this ? If there is any package software for intranet, pls let me know.

A Windows 2000/2003 domain model with active directory and IIS sounds lik the ideal thing for you especially since you're new to this stuff.

Everything in the domain will be regulated by user credentials, including the folders (if you use NTFS).

For your leave application etc etc, you will have to design your own stuff, should be easy enough to create online app forms and put them on the intranet webserver running IIS, chat modules and forums do come ready made, you could consider using a content management system similar to PHP-Nuke which is what we use for this site.


Shouldn't be too hard for you to get this up and running.

Ezbuddie,

I'm with Sahir's suggestion - a windows 2000 Active Directory installation will surely help you keep most aspects of the network under control, while allowing you to apply the credentials you require on the file system level.

The setup isn't as difficult as it sounds, "Domain controller, Active directory, Access rights, users, groups ..... etc " so don't be frightened if this is the first time you will go through such a setup - it will definitely be a good stepping stone and learning experience.

The key to a successful deployment of an Intranet is planning. You should know what you want before you start implementing. This will help you overcome any obstacles you might encounter during the setup process.

Things you need to consider:

1) How many users will my intranet have?

2) Future growth - How many additional users can I expect in the
near future ?

3) What type of data will the users save/use in this network? Is the data Internet oriented or local client/file server type of data?

4) Security / Access rights - Do we have a "map" of our users/groups/departments ? Obviously, some of the users can be grouped up as they require the same access rights to their data. These type of users should be put into groups and then assign rights per group- rather than per-user because it can get very quickly out of hand!

5) Do we require any special services running in the network? DNS, DHCP, Email e.t.c We should note these down so we can find a solution for them once the basic part of the network is up and running. Services like DNS will be installed with Active Directory so you don't need to worry about it.

So, sit down, make your plan, if you can provide us with some of the above information, we can then help you the correct way in planning your first Intranet!

Good luck!

For the ones whom reply my mail,

Thank you very much for your help. The forum of this website is very useful. I'll do some trials and come back an update to you all.