setting up a file server

[pcrouch13]

we've got several computers that we use...and i'd like to set up a file server so that each computer can access files stored there. i have a couple of old cpu's laying around.

what would i need to set up a file server and how would i set it up?

[Elledan]

What you need completely depends on what you want.

Do you need redundancy, i.e. RAID?
Which services will be running on the fileserver (SMB, NFS, FTP, etc.)?
How many users will access the server at any given time?
How many HDDs are you planning to use?
...
etc.

[pcrouch13]

i dont' know the answers to those first two questions.

as far as users...probably just as many as 4.

i was thinking one big HDD for the server

[Snugglebear]

i dont' know the answers to those first two questions.
Do you need redundancy, i.e. RAID?
Which services will be running on the fileserver (SMB, NFS, FTP, etc.)?

Lets try this from a different angle.

Do you or your users plan on storing anything important on this server?
Would the be upset or lose time/money if this content was lost in a hardware failure?
What if it was accidentally deleted, corrupted by a virus, or otherwise trashed?

How are the users going to access the data?
Are they on a remote site and have access only to FTP clients?
Will they map drives in Windows?
Will they want to mount a share in UNIX?
Are you concerned at all about security?
Are these movies or music they'll want to stream?
Are these files that require lots of sharing and updates?
Are these files going to be downloaded all at once and then used?