File Server

[LA_MERC_eX1|eS' ch1|d]

Anyone have a file server setup? I'm thinking of setting up a file server/print server for my house. The print server is strictly for practice for my class but the file server would be useful.

I have some old computer stuff I need to check out but it will give me the basic mobo/cpu/ram all I'd need after that would be the drives. Looking at SATA II drives that are reasonabley priced about 200Gb each setup Raid-1. I don't really have that much stuff to put on it. But I'd rather do overkill now instead of needing to buy new drives a couple months down the road.

What are the potential bottlenecks for speed that I should look out for on this thing? Or since it's on a lan it will be crazy fast no matter what?

[LA_MERC_YellowDog]

maybe you should run an FTP server on it also,,, For the privileged few.. :)

Have any good files??

[LA_MERC_DocSparky]

I've been running a Win2k server at my house for a couple years. I use it for file/print serving as well as running UT2k4/BF2 dedicated servers for me & my sons and a web server for development. For home use, the machine doesn't have to be that hefty. I was running on a 1700+ AMD, 768MB machine, but I recently stepped up to a P4 3.2 GHz. I haven't performed any scientific tests, but I've found that fast hard drives and network adapters make the biggest difference. When I got into storing a lot of video (edited shows for the kids... not the stuff you are after YellowDog :stick), a gigabit lan was a huge upgrade for me (in terms of speed).

I've been involved in the Windows Home Server beta recently and it's been pretty impressive. Of course, it sounds like you want the experience that comes from tinkering around with the file server.

[LA_MERC_Wetzny]

Roger..What he said... "I was told there would be no math.."

[LA_MERC_eX1|eS' ch1|d]

What brand of hard drive do you guys like for this application? I like Seagate for their 5 year warranty. Not to mention good prices, 250Gb for $80 and free shipping at Newegg.

What is Native Command Queuing?

[LA_MERC_YellowDog]

When I got into storing a lot of video (edited shows for the kids... not the stuff you are after YellowDog :stick).

What you talking about Willis???

Im speaking of Good Music... Movies, and maybe a few free apps.. :)


:)Thats all:)

Some people and their insinuations, man I tell ya,,, I dont know why I even hang around here :stick

[LA_MERC_DocSparky]

Im speaking of Good Music... Movies, and maybe a few free apps.. :)


:)Thats all:)


Yea, that's what I was referring to. Hey.... wait a minute... you thought I was talking about something where the name of the sheep is withheld to protect the innocent! Some people :stick.

BTW, my apologies to eX1|eS' ch1|d for putting a detour in your thread :). I tend to prefer Seagate as well. They may not always have the performance crown, but they tend to be quiet and perform pretty well. I would go with as large a drive as you can (or 2 of them in a mirror config). I've got 500 gb drives. When you start really using the file server it is nice to not have to worry about capacity. As for as NCQ, I think Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_command_queuing) does a better job explaining it.

[LA_MERC_DocSparky]

Not necessarily a speed demon, but the price is right on this 500 gb drive (http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4795159) (if you are looking for one). It even has free shipping.

[LA_MERC_FragFood]

Not necessarily a speed demon, but the price is right on this 500 gb drive (http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4795159) (if you are looking for one). It even has free shipping.

Well, he did mention he wanted SATA, and this is a PATA drive. If he's OK with that, the 7200 RPM will cut down on latency, and it'll still be faster than his NIC can cough up data, unless he runs Gig-E to the workstations. ANY drive is going to thrash itself, though, especially if he's streaming video to multiple clients.

My .02

[LA_MERC_T4rg3T]

What brand of hard drive do you guys like for this application? I like Seagate for their 5 year warranty. Not to mention good prices, 250Gb for $80 and free shipping at Newegg.

What is Native Command Queuing?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148166


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Command_Queuing

[LA_MERC_eX1|eS' ch1|d]

Good god I could have a terabyte server for $200? That's just sick right there.

I really wanted to go Sata so in the future when I upgraded the guts the hard drives didn't have to be upgraded as well. Although it would probably be a couple years before an upgrade and terabyte drives would be cheap by then anyway.

[LA_MERC_T4rg3T]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148245

[LA_MERC_T4rg3T]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148245

[LA_MERC_eX1|eS' ch1|d]

I had looked at those drives already, good price with tons of storage.

Bored today Toby? Or just padding the post count? ;)

Thanks for the info.

[LA_MERC_YellowDog]

Hes padding the post count.. he wants to be the first one to 20,000. :)

[Ab1dab1]

Ex,

Are you strictly looking at a server to play with the software? There are some cheap network appliance devices you can buy (like under $100) that you can connect USB hard drives to. They generate less heat than running a server.

Before Katrina wiped out my lab at home, I was running 8 servers, 3 desktops, and 2 laptops. As a rule of thumb, unless you are planning to run a major load gaming server, you can use just about anything as a server. I had a couple of old desktops that I rebuilt that had 500mhz and 700mhz CPU's, pumped them up with 512mb and 1gb of RAM respectively and they ran Win2k and Win2k3 like a champ. Took them longer than a desktop to load up but once running no problems.

FYI: Tip for handling your wife. Whenever it is time to upgrade your gaming rig, tell her the existing machine is going to be used as a server. That's where I ended up with so many machines as I'd rebuild my rig every other year.

Abi ;)

[LA_MERC_eX1|eS' ch1|d]

LMAO! I upgrade every 2 or 3 years and give her my old rig. Ofcourse I scavenge cd drives and hard drives to keep costs lower. I think I have a P3 celeron 1Gh with 512 RAM in my attic. About all I need is hard drives and I'm up and running. I have my first Microsoft test tomorrow morning but I'm hoping to get this going in the near future.