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Building a home server. Please help, DC!

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f0dder:
i don't really care about power consumption.
-superboyac (November 30, 2009, 01:26 PM)
--- End quote ---
Bad boy! BAD, bad boy!

If you don't need the flexibility a server gives you, building a full server is wasteful in money, and while you might not care about your power bill, that kind of mentality doesn't exactly our environment.

And as innuendo mentions, there's a lot that you can do with some of the nicer NAS units.

JavaJones:
Yes, I guess I failed to mention the level of customizability some offer. I believe it's ReadyNAS (or a similar one) that has a whole modding/plugin community around it, with lots of cool tweaks, mods, plugins, etc. to enhance functionality and get it doing exactly what you want. There are even dedicated bittorrent and other clients available for them.

- Oshyan

40hz:
I think your best bet might be Windows Home Server for what you're describing. To give credit where due, Microsoft did a very nice job with their latest iteration of this product. The way it handles data storage and harddrives is particularly well done. Add in the network backup capabilities, system health monitoring, and remote access features and you have a very good solution for a small home or SOHO server. WHS is also (IMHO) one of the easiest to administer servers available. Worth a look.

Info here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/windowshomeserver/features.mspx

You can download a 120-day evaluation copy which should give you plenty of time to see if it meets your needs.

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=e3694b69-93f6-4267-b881-55ce0648c784

If you decide to go ahead with WHS, an OEM copy will set you back about $100 street.

If you're feeling more adventurous, take a look at the Amahi Home Server. It's a Fedora/FOSS-based alternative that provides similar functionality. Free to install, but registration is required.

Info here: www.amahi.org

 :Thmbsup:

superboyac:
Thanks, 40!  yes, I've heard a lot of great things about Windows Home Server.  I should also mention that years ago, I got a free copy of Windows Server 2003 that I never used.  At the time, i was blown away by how fast it was relative to Windows XP, but I had no need for a server at the time.  Whatever, it's there.

i do want to build my own box.  I will try not to be wasteful with the energy consumption.  But it's going to have 3-5 drives in it.  That's fo sho.

skwire:
I know I recommended it in your other thread but I'll recommend Windows Home Server once again.  I've used it since being part of the beta test and love it.

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