client/server

im not really experienced in finding information, although i tried as much as possible to get all the information I needed, is not really informative. i googled my question is what sort of networking devices do i need to build client/server network. i want to build a network for 13 computers , well i dont think peer to peer network is good for this.

i know i need router, server and printer and some sotfware, application and storage devices.

but what kind of router model and brand and other devices that can make a good solution of client/server network
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I hope I understand you well here.

To create a LAN, the basic minimum you need is a switch and UTP cables connecting the switch to the clients/PCs. You need a router/ADSL/modem if you want to the connect the internet.

However, This does not hardly relate to a client/server model. A client/server scheme is a broad term. You need to pin point what your looking for. For example, clients running a web browser and a server running webserver is a form of a client/server network. Or Clients configured as Active Directory clients for a server running as a domain controller is another form of a client/server network. Both schemes can work on just a simple LAN with a switch, or they can work on a large network with many routers and switches.

What will be your purpose of networking the thirteen computers? The answer to this question will basically determine what kind of software each computer will need to fulfill its role as either a server or a client. The answer to this question will also give us an idea of what you're trying to achieve so we can make appropriate suggestions. It'll also tell us how complex/sophisticated you want to make the network.

Part of what determines whether a computer is a client or a server is whether it is servicing other computers (in this case, it would be a server) or whether it is receiving services from other computers (in this case, it would be a client).

So assuming that you just want to make a network of thirteen computers so the client computers can share resources such as printers, files, storage space, etc, you'll need:

1. A computer that runs server software -- An example of server software would be Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008. Open source alternatives also exist. You would then configure the server with "services" that the clients will use. So if you want to share a printer out to the client computers, you'd install a printer on the server and then share out the printer. If you want to allow clients to save files to the server, you'd share out a folder and the clients would be able to access the server to save files to it.

2. A computer that is setup to "use" the services offered by the server -- An example would be Windows XP or Windows Vista. Open source alternatives to clients also exist. You would then browse to the server and install the shared printer or navigate to the server and save files to the shared folder.

3. A switch -- So you can connect all the computers (and the server) together.

4. Cables -- So you can actually connect all the computers to the switch

5. A router -- In case you want the clients (and the server) to access the Internet or in case you want to router to handle DHCP

The kind of software that the clients will need is based on what exactly you want them to do. If you just want the people that will use the client computers to write documents and such, then Microsoft Office will suffice.

Your purpose for networking together will determine what the server will be setup to do and whether you need additional server software or network hardware to fulfill that purpose.