Are you still on a workgroup network?

A business computer network can be identified as either a workgroup or domain network. There are many benefits to moving into a domain network, and today we’ll cover some of the more important aspects of why you should consider making the move.

How do I know?

First off, there are a couple of methods to identify if you’re on a workgroup or domain network. To start with, if you can use the same username and password for your personal computer account across multiple computers in a network, it’s likely to be a domain network. Another more definite option to determine the workgroup or domain would be accessing the control panel, going into System and Security, and clicking on System in which the Domain will list the domain or workgroup name that you’re in.

Why should I switch?

Now that we know which type of network we’re on, let’s discuss the reasons why you should consider switching to a domain. The first primary reason is central management; in a domain, you can manage user permissions to file shares, servers, and even the ability to install/uninstall programs on a computer. This greatly increases security and accountability. This is typically done through the management of user groups, which allows for quick adjustment of which user should be allowed to have access to different parts of company information.

How does it scale?

Another reason to highly consider switching over to a domain network would be the scalability of the domain versus the workgroup. In a workgroup, you have to manually create users on each workstation. As your business starts to grow this becomes an issue when it comes to managing workstations and users. If you were to establish a Domain Controller you would be able to establish a new user on the domain that would be able to log into any of the computers attached to the domain. This allows for quick expansion and flexibility when it comes to users being able to access company information on certain computers. A particular use-case could be establishing a training computer, that hosts all necessary training programs, that each user could individually log into for better tracking.

If you have any questions, or if you’re interested in the possibility of expanding your company infrastructure over to a domain network to reap the benefits of central management, please reach out to us at 901-475-0275.