i intend to set up a file/media server that will serve up MP3's, ripped CD's, DivX/XviD movies & TV shows, Tivo-recorded material, ripped DVD's, etc. to several computers throughout the house, including my HTPC. these machines will be running several different OS's, including Ubuntu (and maybe other flavors of linux), as well as WinXP and WinVista.
the specs of the machine:
e8400 or q6600 CPU
4GB DDR2 (and maybe more added later)
2x 80GB OS drives in RAID1
3x 1TB drives in RAID5 (to start with, but will be expanded as needed, up to 12 drives)
Areca 1230 12-port SATA RAID card (PCIe interface)
GIGe network
i'm looking for an extremely stable (and preferably easy to setup/use) distro that has good driver support for this stuff, has very good and long-lasting community support, and won't require constant attention to keep it in tip-top shape. obviously, it will need to be 64-bit to support 4GB+ RAM.
i may also eventually set it up to be a DNS/Email server as well, but for the time being, it will mainly just be used to serve up files to the network.
i'm already somewhat familiar with Ubuntu, since that is currently running on my main system and my HTPC. would the 64-bit Ubuntu Server Edition be ideal for this scenario, or is there another option that may work better for me?
i'm not super-savvy in linux yet (maybe just a little above "linuxnoob" status), so installs like Gentoo & such are out of the question for me until i get a lot better at it. i kinda just want a "set it and forget it" setup, with the obvious exception of installing the odd system update & such.....preferably as lightweight as possible.
hook me up, guys....
the specs of the machine:
e8400 or q6600 CPU
4GB DDR2 (and maybe more added later)
2x 80GB OS drives in RAID1
3x 1TB drives in RAID5 (to start with, but will be expanded as needed, up to 12 drives)
Areca 1230 12-port SATA RAID card (PCIe interface)
GIGe network
i'm looking for an extremely stable (and preferably easy to setup/use) distro that has good driver support for this stuff, has very good and long-lasting community support, and won't require constant attention to keep it in tip-top shape. obviously, it will need to be 64-bit to support 4GB+ RAM.
i may also eventually set it up to be a DNS/Email server as well, but for the time being, it will mainly just be used to serve up files to the network.
i'm already somewhat familiar with Ubuntu, since that is currently running on my main system and my HTPC. would the 64-bit Ubuntu Server Edition be ideal for this scenario, or is there another option that may work better for me?
i'm not super-savvy in linux yet (maybe just a little above "linuxnoob" status), so installs like Gentoo & such are out of the question for me until i get a lot better at it. i kinda just want a "set it and forget it" setup, with the obvious exception of installing the odd system update & such.....preferably as lightweight as possible.
hook me up, guys....