Network in a store

[zyzopath]

Hey

I'm new and I kind of joined out of desperation.
I apologize in advance if my English is too bad for this type of subject and/or if I'm posting something that isn't allowed here.

Right now, I'm in the middle of a school project where we are to describe a complete network including:
- Cash register
- Office PC
- 3 x Home PC
- And of course stuff like server, router, and so on.
Cash register and computers all need access to the same updated data in an accounting software that I guess will be installed on the server. The software is supposed to update storage and register sales from the cash register. Then it should be managed on the computers.

ANY advice, references, help, tips would be helpful.

Have a great day!

*Louise

[jbennet]

Well in my old work we had a server in the office. That was a DHCP and Database server. The point-of-sale and warehouse terminals netbooted a flavour of linux using PXE and the transactions were saved to the databse. Every night the data was synchronised with head office over a WAN.

[zyzopath]

Thank you very much :-)
Especially for mentioning database since otherwise we may never have included that in this part of the project.

But I would still like to know if home computers can be wired up to receive and handle the same data so we don't have to do the accounting at work?
And what elements should be included in our network diagram?

Take care,
*Louise

[jbennet]

But I would still like to know if home computers can be wired up to receive and handle the same data so we don't have to do the accounting at work?

Yeah. just setup a VPN.

E.g say there is a store. The store has a network with a server in the backoffice with the database, and then some terminals in the warehouse/shop floor.

If you VPN in, you can use that database server etc... just as if you were physically in that LAN e.g no differently to one of the shop floor systems.

I can do this so i can print from home to the printers at work, even if im not physically there, in the same way as if i was at one of the PCs on-site.

Your solution would probably ideally be a LAN for the store, with VPN access, connected to a larger corpotate WAN, so that individual stores could use resources at, say headoffice (e.g single sign on for staff across all stores, website etc...)