Home Server Help

[Tekster]

I have this spare box, about 2 years old that needs a new hard drive, and I was thinking about setting up a home server on it. Now I don't know much about this, but I am thinking about geting a big hard drive, install linux and see if it works.

My question is, can I set it up so I can access it from a Mac and a Windows machine? I have a PowerMac and a Windows laptop, and I use AirPort for my wireless connection.

Are there any advantages, disadvantages on having a server setup? Also what linux distribution is better for this?

I need all the help I can get, and I need specific answers since I have a general idea of how I would like it to work. Does any of this make any sense? Any ideas, suggestions and opinions are welcome.

Thanks in advance to all the tech gurus.

[Tekster]

Anyone? Nobody has set up a home server?

Well, I got the Linux Mint 4 installed and running, just have to figure out how to set up the server and network now.

Any experts out there that can give me some basics on network setup, so I can access it from my mac and my PC?

[ArtWilliams]

My question is, can I set it up so I can access it from a Mac and a Windows machine?

Yes, you can. I have my home networked with Linux and M$ machines. One advantage is that you can have large files stored on one machine including backups and multi-media (i.e. movies). My favourite is being able to share a good printer.

Are there any advantages, disadvantages on having a server setup?

None, other than taking the effort to put it all in place.

Also what linux distribution is better for this?

I use Ubuntu for my desktop but I would recommend Fedora for a server. I would guess that more servers have Fedora on them then any other distro.

I need all the help I can get, and I need specific answers since I have a general idea of how I would like it to work. Does any of this make any sense? Any ideas, suggestions and opinions are welcome.

I hate to say this but if you're technically challenged and you just want simple file sharing and maybe want to share a printer then install Windows on the machine and turn on Printer/File Sharing after running the Home Network wizard.

[Jim]

I would have answered you TekAngel since I do have a home server. But the thing came plug n play. I don't even know what operating system it has.

[tickler]

I recycle my old boxes by popping in a couple of big drives, and using NasLite.

Just a basic file server system that you can read about here.
http://serverelements.com/naslite.php

[Tekster]

Originally Posted by tickler

I recycle my old boxes by popping in a couple of big drives, and using NasLite.

Just a basic file server system that you can read about here.
http://serverelements.com/naslite.php

Thanks, that looks really promising.

Quick question, what format should the networked drives be so I can use them with macs and windows? fat32, hfs etc.

[Cleo]

If you are reading the drives across the network then the Mac doesn't really care. If the drive is connected directly to the Mac then it needs to be HFS or Fat32 for read and write.

[tickler]

It formats drives when you first add them, so I'm not really sure, as I only access them through the network.

The software is only a lean booter/file server function, so you never use the machines for anything else.