I have a second desktop I am wanting to turn into a personal server. It is an i7 930, with 8GB RAM and a GTX 460. The primary usage would be running PLEX server so I can stream my movie and music, which I already have saved to a storage drive currently formatted as ExFAT. I currently have all of this set up and running in Windows 10, but want to try out Linux.
Must haves:
1) Ability to relatively easily get PLEX up and running, using the second (and potentially third) hard drive as the source for the content. Content is a mix of MP4 and MKV for the movies, with MP3 and FLAC for the music files.
2) Ability to share the drives/folders with Windows PCs and control which machines on the network can view the file and which cannot. Something easier than having to set up user accounts for the different machines to use would be preferable, but after Homegroups were removed from Windows I had to do that anyhow, so I am ok if there is no other option. Homegroups was nice because I could authorize at the machine level, removing need for separate local accounts and logging in (I suck at password management because i frequently forget what I used). I currently have Foobar2k on all of the machines, using a playlist that points at the files on the one machine. Not as concerned about DLNA for these, just seamlessly accessible via the network from the windows based media players.
3) (Free)Driver support for the onboard LAN, Nvidia card, sata ssd main drive. When looking at Debain, i saw multiple mentions of non-free drivers.
4) At least relatively stable and secure. Built in (idiot proof) security to keep me safe while I learn things. Think Windows 10 out of box. As for stability, I currently have Windows automated to reboot daily @ 2AM, because i found leaving it running for days at a time I would end up with file shares losing connectivity/visibility. Even with that, it is still pretty much set and forget. It logs itself in and gets PLEX back up and running without any intervention required. In other words, i do not mind it not being 100% stable, as long as i can get things set up so that it is still "set and forget".
5) Ability to easily remote in from other PCs (and if possible, on-network mobile devices). Will eventually stick this in a closet and run it headless.
Nice to haves:
1) Gaming - Ability to get Steam up and running for the occasional game. In addition to this, it would be really nice if it supported the "Steam Link", so i could connect my tablet via Steam Link app, and play on it from my bed. WINE and any other recommended tools to play Windows based (non-Steam) games would be great as well.
2) Additional Security options - I saw some Distros mention they route traffic through Tor. I saw others mention "additional security layers". While i expect the OS to be secure, anything additional that doesn't impact system, network, or internet performance would be nice.
3) I would like to try out something based on Debian, to play with some of the security and network testing focused tools. I have used Mint and other Ubuntu forks in the past, looking to try something a little different. I am open to other variants of Linux, but have heard a lot about Debian here at work.
Also, Does anyone have a good USB boot disc creator they would recommend? I remember I had something a while back, where i could just download the distro, open it in the tool, and it would then create the bootable install to the USB Thumb drive (which also gave the option to install everything to the internal drive if I wanted). I have since lost it and cannot remember what it was I used. I will likely create a few USB drives for any of the suggestions, so I can test them out.
Must haves:
1) Ability to relatively easily get PLEX up and running, using the second (and potentially third) hard drive as the source for the content. Content is a mix of MP4 and MKV for the movies, with MP3 and FLAC for the music files.
2) Ability to share the drives/folders with Windows PCs and control which machines on the network can view the file and which cannot. Something easier than having to set up user accounts for the different machines to use would be preferable, but after Homegroups were removed from Windows I had to do that anyhow, so I am ok if there is no other option. Homegroups was nice because I could authorize at the machine level, removing need for separate local accounts and logging in (I suck at password management because i frequently forget what I used). I currently have Foobar2k on all of the machines, using a playlist that points at the files on the one machine. Not as concerned about DLNA for these, just seamlessly accessible via the network from the windows based media players.
3) (Free)Driver support for the onboard LAN, Nvidia card, sata ssd main drive. When looking at Debain, i saw multiple mentions of non-free drivers.
4) At least relatively stable and secure. Built in (idiot proof) security to keep me safe while I learn things. Think Windows 10 out of box. As for stability, I currently have Windows automated to reboot daily @ 2AM, because i found leaving it running for days at a time I would end up with file shares losing connectivity/visibility. Even with that, it is still pretty much set and forget. It logs itself in and gets PLEX back up and running without any intervention required. In other words, i do not mind it not being 100% stable, as long as i can get things set up so that it is still "set and forget".
5) Ability to easily remote in from other PCs (and if possible, on-network mobile devices). Will eventually stick this in a closet and run it headless.
Nice to haves:
1) Gaming - Ability to get Steam up and running for the occasional game. In addition to this, it would be really nice if it supported the "Steam Link", so i could connect my tablet via Steam Link app, and play on it from my bed. WINE and any other recommended tools to play Windows based (non-Steam) games would be great as well.
2) Additional Security options - I saw some Distros mention they route traffic through Tor. I saw others mention "additional security layers". While i expect the OS to be secure, anything additional that doesn't impact system, network, or internet performance would be nice.
3) I would like to try out something based on Debian, to play with some of the security and network testing focused tools. I have used Mint and other Ubuntu forks in the past, looking to try something a little different. I am open to other variants of Linux, but have heard a lot about Debian here at work.
Also, Does anyone have a good USB boot disc creator they would recommend? I remember I had something a while back, where i could just download the distro, open it in the tool, and it would then create the bootable install to the USB Thumb drive (which also gave the option to install everything to the internal drive if I wanted). I have since lost it and cannot remember what it was I used. I will likely create a few USB drives for any of the suggestions, so I can test them out.