Starting new..

[corrupted223]

Hi guys! First off let me say that I am a newcomer to the boards, but I have learned alot just from the few short weeks I have lurked here.
I just have a few questions, hopefully someone can help me out with. First off, I am in school going through the Cisco networking classes and hoping to move on in the field. I have been looking to build/buy a cheap home server and start playing around with setting up MS Home Server and a Linux OS to learn some stuff on my own. What would you recommend for someone who has some (not alot) of experience setting up a home network and putting up a first server? I would like to be able to store music and documents that I have collected. If possible I would like to keep the cost down as much as I can. Anyways sorry if this is the wrong place to post it but thank you for your time! Jacob

 

[novadude]

Start with something like a basic ubuntu server if you want to learn anything from this; if you just want to plug something in and have it work go with WHS.

 

[corrupted223]

thanks guys, thats kind of what I was planning. I have a copy of Unbuntu loaded on an old laptop and have been playing around with it. Pretty interesting for me, since I never played with anything other than Windows. What kind of hardware should I look for? Any ideas where to find something cheap? thanks again, Jacob

 

[Dangman]

What kind of hardware should I look for? Any ideas where to find something cheap? thanks again, Jacob

What's your budget?
How much storage are you looking for?
Besides file serving, what else will this server be doing?
Is your school part of the MSDNAA?

For a file server, using WHS or Linux, you really don't need much. I've run a file server using Ubuntu Server and WHS on Pentium III 866Mhz boxes.

 

[corrupted223]

My budget is around $500 to $1k..looking for something that I can back up my main rig and store music and documents on. If its cheaper I could probably even build something, not sure where to start for something like this though. Is it better to have more ram or a faster CPU? Fairly adept at building regular desktops but tis is my first foray into the storage side. And yes the school is part of the MSDNAA. Again thanks. Jacob

 

[Dangman]

Cheap server:
$56 - AMD Athlon X2 4850E 45W CPU
$75 - GA-MA770-UD3 AMD 770 Motherboard
$19 - Kingston KVR800D2N6/2G 2 x 1GB DDR2 800 RAM
$70 - Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$25 - Samsung SH-222F 22X DVD±R SATA DVD Burner
$55 - Antec Earthwatts 430W PSU
$50 - Cooler Master Elite 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP ATX Case
------
Total: $350 plus tax and shipping

Additional 1TB drive for storage:
$100 - Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

 

[corrupted223]

wow awesome =) thanks alot sir. Thats just what I was looking for!

 

[xxx_Loki_xxx]

Cheap server:
$56 - AMD Athlon X2 4850E 45W CPU
$75 - GA-MA770-UD3 AMD 770 Motherboard
$19 - Kingston KVR800D2N6/2G 2 x 1GB DDR2 800 RAM
$70 - Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$25 - Samsung SH-222F 22X DVD±R SATA DVD Burner
$55 - Antec Earthwatts 430W PSU
$50 - Cooler Master Elite 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP ATX Case
------
Total: $350 plus tax and shipping

Might be hard to to setup that rig without a videocard... i just ordered this motherboad for my WHS. Similar motherboard to what Danny Bui quoted but with built in video.

 

[Dangman]

Might be hard to to setup that rig without a videocard... i just ordered this motherboad for my WHS. Similar motherboard to what Danny Bui quoted but with built in video.

Oops! My mistake, totally forgot about the lack of onboard video.

I recommend swapping out the Gigabyte mobo for these:
$65 - Asus M3A76-CM AMD 760G mATX AMD Motherboard
$90 - eVGA 113-M2-E113 Nvidia GeForce 8200ATX AMD Motherboard