Home Server Recommendations

[Zetta_x]

I want to set up a server at home where I can share media/documents/other stuff between everyone on the network. Does anyone have any recommendations on a server preferably comes with Windows Home Server operating system? I used to have old XP machines that I was going to salvage for a server but I don't have them anymore so I'm looking for a new product.

Thanks in advance

 

[Foxi4]

If you just want to share media and documents, set up a homegroup and share documents/printers/media.

 

[Pyrmon]

You could buy any cheap tower and set it up with Amahi. It's very easy and it works well. Plus, it's very cheap to make.

 

[Rydian]

If it's only for home use, why bother with a server-style at all? You can just run some sort of file sharing, either with the windows built-in methods as Foxi4 said (a shared network drive can be fun), or by running something like an FTP server, or even just a web server if you don't explicitly need to add files from a remote machine. If it's just a web server than any OS will be able to grab the files.

There's no need to get any sort of server machine for simple file sharing, since you're not actually running server-side scripts or databases or anything like that. A lot of people I know just use an old machine with a large harddrive and updated network card in it.

 

[Zetta_x]

Thanks for the response everyone, I think I'm going to go with Pyrmon's suggestion. One of the main reasons why I am doing this is not to keep everything at a central location but to learn more about how servers operate and what it takes to keep one running. I knew I shouldn't have given away that old XP machine =P For now I'll look into shared network drives and stuff for personal use but I'll eventually move deeper into the subject.

 

[Pyrmon]

If you go with Amahi, you need to be sure to get the full install DVD for Fedora 14. The ISO is larger than 3gb in size instead of 700mb. It's a nice way to learn a bit about Linux, too.

 

[Foxi4]

Thanks for the response everyone, I think I'm going to go with Pyrmon's suggestion. One of the main reasons why I am doing this is not to keep everything at a central location but to learn more about how servers operate and what it takes to keep one running. I knew I shouldn't have given away that old XP machine =P For now I'll look into shared network drives and stuff for personal use but I'll eventually move deeper into the subject.

If that's the case, any mega-cheap PC will do. For home use, at least. If you want to be trendy, you could get one of those mini-pc's with Systems-on-a-Chip.

It should be strong enough to pull off a home network and it has all the guts you'll ever need.

You'll save on electricity too. Your server will have to be online 24/7, and a big, chunky 300W-500W PC is not necessarily something you'd want to keep plugged in all the time.

 

[Zetta_x]

Sweet, jotting all of this down. Is that a thin client? My school uses three types of thin clients all running 3 different types of operating systems to connect to the server that was built in the summer. I haven't heard of them until I got this job and now I'm pretty much knowing all of the ones we have inside and out.

 

[Magsor]

Consider this also if youre gonna buy anything at all. It really makes me happy. It does FTP, UPNP and SMB all in the same time and its browser based setup.