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JamesDean · #16 03-26-2011, 03:53 AM

1) SATA Controller Card ($30)
Gigabit Ethernet Card ($15)
2) Decent Speed Internal Large Drives, 5900RPM stuff will net out around 60-70MBytes/avg ($89 for 2TB)
3) Windows 7 With appropriate file-server registry server entries enabled
4) FlexRaid. http://www.flexraid.com/
http://www.openegg.org/forums/posts/list/396.page

Matt L · #17 03-26-2011, 10:42 AM

I recommend Fedora if you want a clean installation. That is, no non-free software. It might be safer than Debian or Ubuntu, might not. But I use it.

All of the "free" (as in free beer) Linux distributions go out of support quickly. You need to replace the OS about once a year (or maybe slightly slower).

The "free" (as in free speech) distributions let you run much longer with support. Red Hat is probably the best known, and I would recommend it if you don't mind paying for your OS.

Red Hat is cheaper than Windows Server, but more expensive than the Windows Home Server product.

Windows Home Server may be just what you want.

kknudson · #18 03-26-2011, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesDean

1) SATA Controller Card ($30)
Gigabit Ethernet Card ($15)
2) Decent Speed Internal Large Drives, 5900RPM stuff will net out around 60-70MBytes/avg ($89 for 2TB)
3) Windows 7 With appropriate file-server registry server entries enabled
4) FlexRaid. http://www.flexraid.com/
http://www.openegg.org/forums/posts/list/396.page

Don't forget a gigabit switch.

I kind of did that in my recent upgrades.
All three computers that got upgraded, including the main server, have gigabit nics but I am still running 100mbps switches.
ok my laptop and one of the upgraded machines are wireless (still g too) and there is another 100 (might be 10) mbps laptop.

First didn't/doesn't seem terribly important, I didn't know if my cobbled cat5 would handle it, friend says no problem, with wireless and cable don't need it.

Oh well maybe the next time I make an order, probably add a N router in there too, but the good ones are just too pricey. I'm cheap.

elchivito · #19 03-26-2011, 11:26 AM

Not wanting to complicate matters with geeky stuff, I bought a 1 TB external drive with Firewire 800 connection on AMZN for a hundred bucks. Small, portable, whoever needs it in the house just grabs it and plugs it in. The firewire is plenty fast, but you'd need a port for it of course.

TheDon · #20 03-26-2011, 11:29 AM

I probably going to just get an external now. But get the other computer running and put ubuntu on it and learn Linux an php over the summer.

MTI · #21 03-26-2011, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elchivito

Not wanting to complicate matters with geeky stuff, I bought a 1 TB external drive with Firewire 800 connection on AMZN for a hundred bucks. Small, portable, whoever needs it in the house just grabs it and plugs it in. The firewire is plenty fast, but you'd need a port for it of course.

FW400/800 . . . being phased out by Thunderbolt on Apple products.

Matt L · #22 03-26-2011, 11:34 AM

If you want to learn about Linux, then go with it. I've never run Ubuntu, but plenty of my friends have, and recommend it.

But the yearly reinstall really is a pain. This is not because it is hard to install, but because upgrades are dangerous, so you could do a complete install and then apply local configurations.

It's these "local configurations" that get you every time. That is, every year. To make things easier on yourself, take notes of absolutely every setting that you change. Then, when it comes time to wipe and install, you can get rolling in hours instead of days.

300SD81 · #23 03-26-2011, 02:55 PM

I got a high power server with a bunch of virtual servers running on it that I also use for storage. The virtual machine managing storage never exceeds 10% usage of a single core on my Xeons, so an old PC should be fine. It has a range of different drives from a 5-drive 10K rpm SCSI array to 2 plain 5400 rpm 2TB drives. What you need really depends on the usage. Definitely put media on a faster drive if you plan on ever having more than 1 person stream from it at a time. My 5400 rpm drive can barely handle a 1080p movie and a mp3 streaming at the same time. Put backups and files that are rarely accessed on the slow drives. If you do go the server route, look into iSCSI as well, Windows has a built in client and it lets you share burners, tape drives, and other stuff that you normally can't.

elchivito · #24 03-27-2011, 12:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTI

FW400/800 . . . being phased out by Thunderbolt on Apple products.

I know. That's why I don't buy a new computer every 6 months. Our Apples are typically not replaced for at least 6 years. I'm currently typing on an original seventeen inch -03 Powerbook that is the most bombproof laptop I've ever owned.

Besides, Firewire was going to replace USB, and never did. If TBolt is successful, and it may well be, it appears superior in every way, it'll be a long time coming.