Help building a basic Linux Server

sitheris

sitheris

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jul 30, 2004
Messages
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I am looking to build a cheap Ubuntu server for the following purposes:

Fileserver (Samba)
Webserver
Webdav
FTP/SCP/SSH
Virtual Machines

Here's the hardware I've chosen so far:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ Brisbane 2.1GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADO4000DDBOX - Retail $66.99
GIGABYTE GA-M61P-S3 AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $74.99
G.SKILL 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model F2-6400PHU1-1GBNR - Retail (2) $79.98
HDD (OS) ??
HDD (Storage) - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3750640AS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $209.99
PSU - ??


I have a case and DVD drive already, and the motherboard has onboard video/sound. My main concern is with the Disk setup. Should I use RAID or not? I would like to be able to back up my files somehow, so should I just add another 750gb drive and setup a cron job to do the backup? (Since I know RAID is not a backup solution).

Also, should I get a separate small drive for the OS or just make a partition off of the 750gb?

Finally, what kind of PSU do I need to run this, since I don't have a sound card or video card? I've heard it's better to have more watts than you need because it doesn't make the PSU work as hard, which in turn lowers heat dissipation. Also any recommendations on a quality yet affordable PSU would be great.

Budget is about 500-550 before tax and shipping and I'll probably add more storage later as I need it.
 
sitheris said:
Also, should I get a separate small drive for the OS or just make a partition off of the 750gb?
.
Click to expand...

I say just get a small separate drive for the OS. That way, if you screw up the OS, at least your data will be safe-ish.
 
If you're going to be running VM's, you will definitely want more RAM. 1 gig will not be enough and you will be hitting the swap partition all the time. You will need a minimum of 2 gig.

 
SmokeRngs said:
If you're going to be running VM's, you will definitely want more RAM. 1 gig will not be enough and you will be hitting the swap partition all the time. You will need a minimum of 2 gig.
Click to expand...

I have 2 1gb modules listed there, so 2gb initially, I can add another 2gb if I need to later.

enginurd said:
What kind of load do you expect for this server? Is it a public server or private? If private, how many users?

PSU Suggestions:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1460
Click to expand...


Private server used only by myself on one or more of my 3 laptops at any given time.
 
sitheris said:
I have 2 1gb modules listed there, so 2gb initially, I can add another 2gb if I need to later.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I'm used to looking at dual channel memory kits and didn't notice you had a (2) at the end and the description only mentioned one stick.

 
If you have that much to spend why not just get in on one of those dell vostro dells or something and add a hard drive for data storage? Would be quite and fit the bill. If you catch it with the lcd like slickdeals has posted you can always just sell the monitor or use it for whatever.

Anyway personal prefrence is a raid with a backup. Even for home servers when possible.
 
swatbat said:
If you have that much to spend why not just get in on one of those dell vostro dells or something and add a hard drive for data storage? Would be quite and fit the bill. If you catch it with the lcd like slickdeals has posted you can always just sell the monitor or use it for whatever.

Anyway personal prefrence is a raid with a backup. Even for home servers when possible.
Click to expand...

I'm not really looking for a laptop. Looking for something that can be expanded more in the future...
 
swatbat said:
I was talking about the vostro desktops.
Click to expand...

Sorry I didn't see that there was also a desktop deal. I saw the laptop deal and figured that was it, i don't know anything about Dell's product line.

It does look like a good deal. Will consider it...thanks
 
sitheris said:
Sorry I didn't see that there was also a desktop deal. I saw the laptop deal and figured that was it, i don't know anything about Dell's product line.

It does look like a good deal. Will consider it...thanks
Click to expand...

Hard drive expansion is low on those as the case doesn't have a lot of room but 2 drives would work fine in it. You could also always throw some drives in the 5.25 inch bays and whatnot. Great deal for the price if you are not going to be running a bunch of drives.
 
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