Building a Server - Home use

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I want to build a server for our network that handles EVERYTHING. It needs to be able to serve HD Video files across the network to my TV, host games (meaning that i can install programs to the server and then have the computers on the network access them from this server, including mp3's etc.

i've built numerous pc machiens before but never with the intent to be a server. What are some of the essentials i need? How much ram, cpu speed, etc are required for the server to behave properly.

probably 3 to 4 computers on the network.

i also want this a network that requires the computers on the system to log in to the server first. ( i remember seeing windows nt computers set up like this)

I want to be able to set privileges and access rights to installing files, adding/removing files, etc.

thanks guys
 
sounds like you need a do-it-all domain controller, you could use linux to do this, but getting it ALL to work on the one box may give you a rough ride, your best bet would be server 2003, but that is $$$, learn linux to save alot of money, but you will pay for it with frustration, good luck


try www.clarkconnect.com, the have a free home edition that can do most of what you want, domain controller, file server, etc.. but theres a 5 client limit in the free version

and

www.howtoforge.com has alot of great how-to's
 
Youll need server 2000 or server 2003 to setup a domain if you want the logons and security stuff.

for 3 or 4 computers, you could get by on an older p3/p4 or any newer hardware, I dont think installing games on the server needs a very good vid card since its just hosting the game.
large, fast hard drives (7200rpm ones) would be ideal, dont forget to have them in raid1 so that if you lose a disk, you dont lose all your info (or raid5 if you have the $) and dont forget backups of the important stuff.
 
Well.. off the top of my head I would look at doing the following.

Gigabit network - this is for sure as HD video is very very large. I would say, off hand, that working with this type of content over the network is not recommended. I would look at it more as a storage only point.

Accessing programs over the network - well.. this is kinda convuloted. You can't really do this with most programs. You could do some applications like Firefox portable, Thunderbird portable, etc. Most will not work because of dependencies off the program. DLL files, and the like need to be put into proper locations on the client PC. Also if you install it to the server, you may only be able to launch the program on one machine at a time. Alternativly you could install Citrix and install all applications on the server, and use the Citrix client to launch the program on the client machines. All this does is create a terminal server session. Much like remote desktop. This is, however, a very expensive program, and does take a good machine to run. yet again, another option, would be just to install some of these apps on the server and then remote desktop to the server to run these applications.

Network authentication - you definetly sound like a Windows 2003 setup would be good for you. Installing Active Directory will allow you to have a central repository for network accounts, login scripts, mapped drives, shared printers, easy sharing of files, controlled access, etc. It is very easy to set one up... however, the first time will take some major time to fully understand and get it properly setup. I would suggest setting it up at least 2 -3 times so you learn more and more of the quirks. Then finally have a "live" version to deploy and use. I myself have a nice AD setup at home, and love it. You'll also want ot take a look at windows scripting and group policies.


back to hardware. processor wise... really anything relativly new will work just fine. My server is a P4 1.6a@2.4 along with a Asus P4P800 Deluxe board with dual 300gb Seagates mirrored. It is pretty damn fast, and works well with all the stuff I have on it.

For you I would recommened at getting a board that supports PCI express and use a gigabit network card in there, or the on board controller (won't be as good though). I myself, am a Intel person. I would look for a latest and greatest Asus board and wait another month and pick up a new Conroe chip that is debuting soon. This is one fast chip and will serve your needs well. If your buying a nice machine... might as well get the latest and greatest. If you don't want ot wait, or don't care. Any of the current P4 processors are pretty damn fast. Get at least 2800mhz IMHO, on the intel side. AMD has some nice offerings as well, and others can chime in on that.

memory wise... 2gb would be a good point to be at IMHO. Should be just fine.

HD wise... well.. the skys the limit. Figure out how much space you want, do you want it mirrored, budget, etc.
If you want a real reliable setup, you may want to look at a "high end" raid controller and slap on 128-256mb of memory on it. Put it in raid 5, and put in many ~500gb drives. Or if you don't need that much space... just using a pair of mirroed 500gb drives may work just fine for you. Using an onboard controller or even software raid through 2003.

Case wise... whatever you like and is a good size for you.

Power supply... well depending on the drives you have. a 400watt + should be just fine. I myself like Antec as a good reliable PS, but does not break the bank. PC Power and Cooling is often refered too as the best though.


:edit
currently reading through and fixing grammer :D
:edit2
fixt :)

:edit3
wait....
is this for your house or a business?
is going to get hit hard?? just a couple poeple on it at once?

:edit4
dur... it's in the thread title... home use
 
You can pick up 2000 server pretty cheap on Ebay. No need for 2003, you can do all you need on 2000 and it will be very usable and stable.

Don't build a hotrod machine to be a server. It's going to be running 24/7 (I assume). You want low heat and high reliability. Plenty of RAM and fast drives are nice though.

A mid-range P4 (or Athlon) with a gig of RAM and a RAID-1 mirror would be great.

Don't forget a backup method for the server.

.
 
Another vote for 2000, my movies/game server runs on AXP1700+ with 1GB of ram and 2x250GB on raid, serves great for what i need

oldmx
 
Spartacus said:
You can pick up 2000 server pretty cheap on Ebay. No need for 2003, you can do all you need on 2000 and it will be very usable and stable.

Don't build a hotrod machine to be a server. It's going to be running 24/7 (I assume). You want low heat and high reliability. Plenty of RAM and fast drives are nice though.

A mid-range P4 (or Athlon) with a gig of RAM and a RAID-1 mirror would be great.

Don't forget a backup method for the server.

.
Click to expand...
good advice... agreed... going to elaborate a bit
if possible though. I would do 2003 because it has a longer lifespan at this point, will get better updates, support the latest hardware, more secure (mostly just more secure out of the box), and like its improved features a bit more. However, 2000 is pretty close and will work just as good.

Very true. If I gave off the impression it has to be high end, it doesn't. Just a good strong basic machine will do. Obviously if you're buying all new hardware, it doesn't cost much more to get better equipment. Main thing here is you want tried and true components. Not offbrand stuff and crappy chipsets. Reliability is key here... not $$ saving. Mainly you'll just be looking at support for the drives you want to run, and a fast throughput on the network card if you're going to be transfering a lot of HD video.

agree.. 1gb would work fine.. but cost is negligable for a 2gb kit from XXXXX.

backup... very important if you have critical data. yes, you have 2 drives mirrored. But taht is not an end all. Just an improvement. For me I don't have that much stuff. So I just do a network backup a couple times a week. It copies my "critical/important" data and puts it into a backup file. It then saves the backup file onto the server & copies it to my main desktop and also keeps the previous backup as an archive. Occasionaly I burn these backups to DVD and store them. Only thing is.. if my drives die, I will loose a lot of program installations, small movies, and the like. However, it would not be the end all as my nonreplaceable data is still backed up. In the future I would like to do a tape solution.. but it gets so expensive for a large drive and tapes. I am looking forward to high capacity DVD drives... but that is still a couple years out (to get affordable). 50gb on a disc would be most excellent for backups :)
 
A domain controller sounds too much for this task. Installation rights can fairly effectly be completed with the policy editor, file permissions are easy enough via each share.

Can't see any reason for a domain controller in ones personal home.
 
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