Dedicated Severs for Large Sites

While the onePOS Point-of-Sale for Restaurants system normally does not need a dedicated file server or manager PC, very large sites (10+ terminals) do benefit from having such. A few of the benefits would include:

Speed - a dedicated machine will have much more predictable and stable throughput than a machine shared for other tasks

Stability - as a server type machine, it can be kept in a secure location with limited access - especially to the power button

Remote Support - since no one is using the server during normal operations, it becomes un-obtrusive for a technician to connect, even during business hours.

We have a customer that is using two mac minis, one as the primary file server, and the other as a backup, to power their 28 terminals and handhelds. Through the use of VMWare or Parallels, Windows 7 is launched as a dedicated file server on those devices. Remote technicians now have 2 ways to connect to each server remotely, once on the OS X side and once on the Windows side - so if the Windows side becomes unresponsive or a prompt for Windows Security pops up the technician is not locked out. It also allows the server to be shutdown and the VM's image to be copied and backed up - even offsite.