Diana Porter Contemporary Jewellery

Below is a full case study performed for one of our business customers.

Customer problems:

Stock control system is slow, unreliable and Microsoft Access displays ‘Not Responding’ message regularly
Graphic designer’s workstation is slow, particularly running Adobe Photoshop + Indesign, and this is impacting on productivity
Online backup system is not automatically backing up
Windows 7 would be preferred

Assessment + Plan:

Observations

Each workstation has the capacity for more RAM to improve performance
There are several routers/switches and each router/switch node could be improved by switching to Gigabit speed, but they do not have the capability for that speed
There may be a conflict between firewall software installed on the server and the online backup system
Each machine is running Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 2 x86 (32-bit) and could be upgraded to Windows 7 with care. The performance PC which hosts their database + other critical business data should be handled carefully
The graphic designer’s PC is using onboard graphics and may be better off with 64-bit operating system if adding an external graphics card does not bring significant results.

Plan

Provide changes in hardware:

2GB RAM upgrade for each machine to 4GB
PCI Gigabit card per client PC
Gigabit switches for each node
Gigabit Wireless ‘N’ Router
Graphics card for designer’s machine to integrate into Photoshop for increased processing power

Provide changes in software:

Upgrade to Windows 7 on all machines, out of hours, with particular care and attention taken with the server or performance machine which runs bespoke and tailored software
Review the performance increase of the installation of the graphics card on the designer’s PC, and if the performance has not been greatly increased, consider the x64 option for Windows 7 and upgrade to 4GB RAM to increase the performance of processing
Provide changes in networking:
Configure and install gigabit switching, router and adapters on each machine/node
Configure secure wireless N

Deliverance

Pick and order all necessary parts for next day delivery direct to client’s offices. Client only had to call the supplier phone number and quote a reference number which contained all product choices and contained delivery and payment details. Ordered in the afternoon, arrived the next morning.

Session 1: Install all hardware (3 x 5-port Gigabit Switches, 1 x Cisco Linksys Gigabit Router, 3 x 2GB DDR2 RAM, graphics card on designer’s machine+ cabling) – assess effect and/or speed increases at this point
Session 2: Perform remote installations of Windows 7 over a weekend of the 2 client machines – success
Invite client feedback on performance and deal with any outstanding issues which have arisen from Windows 7 upgrade
Session 3: Upgrade to Windows 7 on the server / performance workstation with out of hours monitoring, testing and reporting on any issues arising. Test all bespoke systems to ensure continuity. Correct firewall configuration issue which was blocking particular UDP ports necessary for successful use of online backup system.

Results

Performance for the networked stock system is greatly improved, less downtime and more efficient working
Performance for the designer and Photoshop has been greatly improved – greater speed in creating graphic designs
‘Not Responding’ error corrected on Microsoft Access
Online backup system now correctly posting data

Testimonial

"The stock system is definitely quicker and Harriet has noticed a difference with the creative suite.

We have found Nick at Computer Geeks really quick and efficient to deal with. We had been having ongoing problems with the speed of our stock system for years. I presented Nick with the issues, he came back immediately with options and an action plan and the work was all completed within the week. It’s great that he works around you, often out of normal working hours so not to disrupt your working day. The upgrades he did on our system has greatly improved the speed of both our stock system and creative suite."

Claire Wilson, Manager, Diana Porter Contemporary Jewellery