Sorry your browser is not supported!

You are using an outdated browser that does not support modern web technologies, in order to use this site please update to a new browser.

Browsers supported include Chrome, FireFox, Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer 10+ or Microsoft Edge.

Geek Culture / Setting up a small server

Author
Message
code master
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 4th Dec 2003
Location: Illinois
Posted: 4th Apr 2006 15:41
Link
I'm trying to set up a small server, And I have no clue where to start.

Requerments:

2 IDE RAID 30GB or 100GB HD
Firewall so only specified users can acces it
up to 25 users at a time.

So, how would i go about setting this up? For the firewall, should I use a router with one built-in? or should i just install an app on my PC. Would i need server software? is it possible using win XP or 2K?

"I don't bite her, i just slobber on her"

Back to top
Profile PM Email
CattleRustler
Retired Moderator
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 8th Aug 2003
Location: case modding at overclock.net
Posted: 4th Apr 2006 16:13
Link
are you getting hosting? Your home connection, regardless of the downpipe, won't have enough upipe juice to host to many users. what are you planning to run? a website? a game server? there's a big difference in the upwidth that youll need.

Automatic file updates for your distributed Games
Back to top
Profile PM
code master
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 4th Dec 2003
Location: Illinois
Posted: 4th Apr 2006 22:09
Link
It's for a friend running a small buisness. The PC hosting the files will be there soley for that function. Employees will remotely log on and edit account info, which will then be exported to "Quickbooks". They may also store files on it.

"I don't bite her, i just slobber on her" "I remember things as well as a retarded goldfish, who just swam through the chicago river"

Back to top
Profile PM Email
NeX the Fairly Fast Ferret
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 10th Apr 2005
Location: The Fifth Plane of Oblivion
Posted: 4th Apr 2006 22:36
Link
Get a standard PC, lan it up and run a freeware FTP hosting program on it.


At least farting ferrets are better than stinky stoats.
Back to top
Profile PM Website
Nicholas Thompson
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 6th Sep 2004
Location: Bognor Regis, UK
Posted: 4th Apr 2006 23:17
Link
Cattlerustler made a good point. You PC wont make a blind bit of difference if its running on a 2Mbps ADSL or even SDSL line. Hell, RAID is overkill for 100Bit LAN most of the time (Unless you're using RAID for secure reasons like mirroring).

If you hade a fibre back bone going into it - you might need a better machine

May I also suggest Linux? A few reasons...
(1) Its free...
(2) It tends to be faster on servers
(3) You dont EVER need to restart Linux unless you are maintaining it (eg Kernal Update)
(4) You become a member of the l33t hehe...

Seriously though... I have an old 1Ghz machien with Fedora Core 4 on it. I use Webmin (google it) to maintain it. Its a headless machine. Litterally, there is a LAN cable - thats it (well.. power too). I didn't even need a DVDROM drive. I used an old 4x CDROM drive and setup an FTP server on my PC on the network using FileZilla Server and told Fedora to install over FTP. It was quicker than using the DVDROM!!

Thats my 2 cents. On here you will get different advice from everyone. Pick the one you feel most comfortable with.

You will probably get more accurate advice if you tell us EXACTLY what the server will be used for.


http://forum.antiblog.com, http://thingy-ma-jig.co.uk/new/
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Eoin
22
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 3rd Sep 2002
Location: France
Posted: 5th Apr 2006 00:09
Link
If your going for small buisness, go for a real server operating system, like centos, it's the free version of Red Hat Enterprise, and is very stable

you said "Firewall so only specified users can acces it"
You don't want a firewall for that, you want passwords or something, a firewall could be used for only limiting access to certain ips, but thats a bit insaine

I'll second webmin, it's a nice free webhosting management program, and should fit your needs perfectly

Raid is probably a bit overkill for your needs, you could try using a backup shell script or something to backup your accounts to the second drive

GeeHost.com for all your hosting needs
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Les Horribres
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 20th Nov 2005
Location: My Name is... Merry
Posted: 5th Apr 2006 00:15
Link
Fedora Core 4
How many gigs does that take up again? I looked at it and personally, I don't see the advantage. You have to wait quite a while to download it all, and it has a bit of demand on the system (Mind you, I wasn't thinking of buying a NEW system for a personal server... so it's demand might not be that bad for you.)

We all have our inner noob.
Join the NJL: We have MORE fun!
When in doubt, blame a mod!
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
ionstream
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 4th Jul 2004
Location: Overweb
Posted: 5th Apr 2006 00:50
Link
Gentoo, babycakes! Or FreeBSD, they're both great

Back to top
Profile PM Website
Eoin
22
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 3rd Sep 2002
Location: France
Posted: 5th Apr 2006 01:06
Link
But for mission critial situations especially webhositng, DO NOT GO FOR : GENTOO, DEBIAN, FREEBSD, they are NOT made for server use, i cannot stress this enough, I'm a webhost; I know my tricks, go with a server designed operating system

GeeHost.com for all your hosting needs
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
_Nemesis_
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 9th Nov 2003
Location: Liverpool, UK
Posted: 5th Apr 2006 01:31
Link
Quote: "
So, how would i go about setting this up? For the firewall, should I use a router with one built-in? or should i just install an app on my PC. Would i need server software? is it possible using win XP or 2K?"


Quote: "But for mission critial situations especially webhositng, DO NOT GO FOR : GENTOO, DEBIAN, FREEBSD, they are NOT made for server use, i cannot stress this enough, I'm a webhost; I know my tricks, go with a server designed operating system
"

"mission critical" webhosting on a home connection? I doubt it'd make a blind bit of difference if it was running apache on a 500mhz Win ME system.

If you're only looking for something small, try IIS on XP Professional. All integrated into the operating system, managed via MMC, easy to setup and no need to install extras (unless you wanted php or perl etc). Comes with FTP, SMTP, NNTP, ASP, ASP.NET, frontpage extensions. Though, I do think it's limited to 40-odd connections, but for 25 users, I don't think that'll bother you too much.

[url="http://www.devhat.net"]www.devhat.net[/url] :: Devhat IRC Network.
Current Project: ASP Content Management System
Back to top
Profile PM Email
ionstream
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 4th Jul 2004
Location: Overweb
Posted: 5th Apr 2006 02:34
Link
FreeBSD was, is, and always will be made for server use. Infact, there are only a few desktop versions.

Back to top
Profile PM Website
CattleRustler
Retired Moderator
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 8th Aug 2003
Location: case modding at overclock.net
Posted: 5th Apr 2006 03:36
Link
also, I hope your IP is static. Unless youre using something like LogMeIn which has a client app talking to the server repository, then dhcp ip changes dont matter.

Automatic file updates for your distributed Games
Back to top
Profile PM
Les Horribres
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 20th Nov 2005
Location: My Name is... Merry
Posted: 5th Apr 2006 04:43
Link
or you can search for this thread and see that another mod recommended similar stuff.

We all have our inner noob.
Join the NJL: We have MORE fun!
When in doubt, blame a mod!
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
indi
22
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 26th Aug 2002
Location: Earth, Brisbane, Australia
Posted: 5th Apr 2006 04:47
Link
my friend in west end is the first person int he world to compile free bsd for a mac se 30.

If your business friend wants a cheap setup go linux, but you may pay more being held at ransom for linux techies.

however a windows box running a VPN would suffice for what you want.


you could make it a mac server for the security etc.. but there are issues with mounting and keeping mounted partitions from your lan active ont he mac,

If no-one gives your an answer to a question you have asked, consider:- Is your question clear.- Did you ask nicely.- Are you showing any effort to solve the problem yourself 
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Back to top

Login to post a reply

Server time is: 2024-11-16 20:55:22
Your offset time is: 2024-11-16 20:55:22