Making my own server?

[Deagle]

Hi, I saw a number of people make their own servers and I kinda want to have one too;) First though is there any advantages to having your very own server?
Thanx:cool:

[PrntRhd]

It depends, what do you want to do with the new server?
Some here use Linux servers for a gateway device/firewall.

Hey Deagle, how come you are still showing as a new member with all those posts?

:D

[Deagle]

I don't even know the benefits of having one's own server let alone what to do with it. It just sounds cool to say "I have my own server":D
Oh and about being a new member...idk might be a glitch in da system:rolleyes:

[Budfred]

You mean you aren't really a new member??? I am shocked, shocked I tell you....:D :p

If you route the other computer in your home network through your computer, I think you can legitmately call that a server and save the expense of buying more equipment.....

[pave_spectre]

I run a transparent proxy server/gateway to share internet access between several computers and it also caches pages which speeds access slightly to frequently visited pages.

So a proxy server certainly has some advantages. (and hell its even a linux kernel:D)

You can also set up web servers or whatever to learn how to configure them and make the most of their capabilities.

[Deagle]

Ok thanx, what components do I need to get to make a server? I certainly hope it's not too expensive. (budget alert):rolleyes:

[pave_spectre]

For my proxy server which I have mentioned in other posts relating to sharing internet, its just running on a P100 with 32 meg RAM and a 1 gig hard drive(cost me $AU70 for two of them). Since its SmoothWall (http://www.smoothwall.org) there isnt a whole lot that needs to be learnt to configure it, since its done during installation or via the web interface after installation.

In the case of setting up a web server the same sort of hardware could be used but dont be expecting sterling performance.

Certainly with Linux or BSD it can be done on a budget and with older hardware, but with old hardware you would probably be looking at running almost exclusively in a command line environment.

[Rick]

In Addition to using it to share the web.
They make it easy to move tasks off your system allowing you to work on your system without waiting for tasks like printer, plotter

It’s also great as a file server on a small network to have one place where all data files are stored
Sharing them between 2 or more systems / users

On a windows workgroup or P2P network sharing across the network can be a bit of a head ache to setup the first time with linux ..
But once you get it setup it’s great

[pave_spectre]

Originally posted by Rick
On a windows workgroup or P2P network sharing across the network can be a bit of a head ache to setup the first time with linux ..
But once you get it setup it’s great

Ill agree with that in general, however I found Webmin (http://www.webmin.com/) to be handy in simplifying many tasks, though it can take some getting used to, including configuring SAMBA for sharing with windows machines, and since its web based allowing remote usage thats one more server that doesnt require a monitor taking up less room.

Of course if you dont want webmin theres always SSH for command line remote control, either way you dont need monitors or KVM switches except for the initial installation phase so theres a slight saving there.

[Jhorner1]

Deagle - Cost depends on what you want to do with it. I have one that I use for serving music and to write backup files to that I built out of old spare parts. 1ghz Duron, 384meg PC133, 2 Harddrives, and a burner and Win2k. All recycled from upgrades to my or my wifes systems except for 1 stick of RAM, and the Motherboard. Total cost less than $200. Runs for weeks at a time without any problems.

[Deagle]

Pave and Rick, I think I kind of getting what you guys are saying. One way is to use it as a hardware firewall? The other is to make it store backup files or chores like printing? That's what I was thinking of doing with this old Compaq once I got the new one.
:cool:

[Rick]

If setup correctly as a print server .
You can have the print server spool all the print jobs and release your work station of one less task. This is especially useful if you have parallel port printers ..

WinXP doesn’t support interrupts for Parallel ports and with a slow printer it can drag down even many of the fastest systems.

I don’t use it as a backup for files on my network.
I use it as the main file storage for all shared files ..
This allows anyone on the network to access all the files regardless or the system they are using


Yes it can be setup as a proxy server with firewall .
This allows you to maintain One firewall for all systems on the network and Not have to burden each unit with it’s own firewall

[pave_spectre]

This allows you to maintain One firewall for all systems on the network and Not have to burden each unit with it’s own firewall

I have to say I still run sygate on the windows computers to keep an eye what programs or services are trying to connect unneccesarily to the net, but if I could be bothered the proxy would allow me to deny access to specific ports, meaning I could block everything except http and maybe ftp and not worry about what windows is trying to do beghind my back. That is if it werent for the fact that a lot of what windows does seems to want to use the http port :rolleyes: .
Of course thats because MicroShaft expect people to trust them, and why wouldnt they, they've never done anything untoward.:p

[Rick]

Good Point..