File Server Os

I want to put a little file server on my home network. It is a rather old computer, and I was going to throw it out, until my friend suggested making it into a file server. I have every other part of it figured out, but I have to get rid of the Windows ME before I can do anything. Is there any suggestions on what OS would be the best for the job?

i would sugget you to use linux. linux is more stable, low resource consumption and absolutely free. then you must uderstand also that file sharing system that we usually use on the internet is not the same as windows file sharing.from internet, we use FTP system/server.to set up an FTP server, you'll probably need a static ip that can be mapped into domain names such as those dot.coms. but, if you are having dynamic ip, then you'll have to use those dynamic DNS services such as http://www.noip.com/.

I kind of figured I needed Linux. Is there a guide or anything that states what exactly how the OS should be set up to act as a network drive? Also, are there any hardware requirements I should be aware of?

hardware requirements are somewhat light. Basically, old hardware is rather well known, so drivers exist. A 386 would do just fine, and that's not just old, thats ancient. As you a guide, I am not much of a linux person, I don't know. However, seeing as how linux is an OS designed for networking, I doubt it will be difficult to find. One thing I might suggest is something like mandrake(easy to use). Not sure how fast mandrake is though. You probably want something like debian or slackware.

Ok guys are we trying to kill a cockroach with a sledge hammer?If you just want to save data you don’t need to make it complicated like you are setting up a fortune 500 company. And judging from what you say “home network” you are not sharing the data with the world. Just create a folder where you want to keep the data and share it across the network. You can protect the folder if you want to but I doubt you would. Use the resources you got (win xp, nt4 or what ever you have already) and save the time trying to get something else, then you never do it.

Well, I just dont want to save data to it, I want it to act as some kind of network drive. I want to be able to run apps off of it. I do admit, I dont know a whole lot about networking, but I know that my windows ME isn't going to do the job. And what is wrong with killing a cockroach with a sledge hammer anyway?

hey kevlar, i want to advise you to post the pc's specs here, so that somebody could give opinions about it.

also, just to be clear, are you sharing to your home network only or to the whole world also?

Well, I just dont want to save data to it, I want it to act as some kind of network drive. I want to be able to run apps off of it.

what apps? more than FTP/file sharing?

And what is wrong with killing a cockroach with a sledge hammer anyway?

hahahahahahahaha

Ok, first of all, I want this only to be shared over my home network, but it is a network of about 7 computers. Right now, the computer is a P4 1.4 ghz with a 80 gig hard drive. It has Win ME, and 256 megs of RDRAM. right now, it does not have a network card, but i am planning on getting one that is capable of handling gigabit speeds. I am going to get a 200 gig hard drive, and hopefully an new mobo compatable with my current processor, and DDR memory, because RD is so friggin expensive($175 for a 128 stick) I am also upgrading the OS, but what kind of linux should I get? I'm not planning on running games or large apps off of it, I just want to run small apps like HTML editors, etc... Of course if it is possible I would like to run larger apps off of it if it is economical.

try win2k server run and install as file server, if other network OS is in windows too.

For an old computer one of the BDS OS' would be best probably however they can be difficult to set up if you have never used a *nix terminal before however they are secure and allow quite alot of freedom with little use of system recources.another option would be a linux box of pretty much any distrobution as all the big ones contain the ability to run a decent fileserver.If you want to be really lazy you could do it with windows, if you do want to do that i would use windows 2000 this would achieve it reasonably but if you don't have a copy it is expensive and its not very secure, especially since its age.

The *Correct* choise of OS is FreeBSD / Linux.especially is the system is old, Linux doesnt force users to upgrade hardware the way Windows OS do, so Linux would still run fine, whereas windows 2K / XP might be very slugish.for somthing as simple as a file server, i would recomend looking into specialist Linux distro's that run off a floppy disk drive, there's no point getting a multi-media gaming graphical distro when a floppy distro, maybe even somthing like Devil Linux would run as a fine file server.however, are you willing to loearn Linux ? Windows Follows NONE of the computer standards, so you would find yourself in a very alien environment having never used Unix / Linux / BSD or any other proper Operating system.

would a linux set-up allow me to run applications off of the file server, or would it just allow me to access files? Also, what kind of application would i run on the other computers on my network to retrive the files, and or run the applications if possible?

A Linux machine can use both systems...1)NFS (network file system). which is the standard for accessing disk drives across a network asif they were actually in the machine you want to access them from.2) Samba, the one windows Uses.Why windows doesnt just support NFS is beyond me... however, linux supports them both.Windows computers on the networkwill use Samba, all others NFS.an NSF server or Samba server will allow other machines to use the drive asif it was a normal internal drive.you can listen to mp3's directly, run software directly, whatever.

Okay, I think by what I've read, you want a linux box here. You will be able to access files with an SFTP client such as WinSCP or something. You should probably run an SFTP server rather than a FTP server, because the connection is encrypted that way and thus much more secure. You would be able to login with a ssh client such as putty and run applications. That would only get you a terminal but you could setup vnc, which is very easy to do, and get a graphical interface that acts similarly to remote desktop. And since linux is a multi-user OS, multiple people could do this at once, which cannot be achieved with a non-server edition of windows. As for distributions, I would recomment Gentoo Linux but it can be overwhelming if you're not familiar with linux already. Although they're working on getting a graphical installation together, and if they don't have that available the documentation for it is very good. They also have some forums on their site with a solution to just about every problem you'll encounter. That's what I would do, but if you're not comfortable with linux you might not want gentoo. Gentoo is nice, package management is retarded easy with it and it's very up-to-date but you have to know what you're doing. It's also very good for a low-end system or if you want the OS to be very light. Slackware can also be a lightweight distro if you set it up right, this is what I've heard, I've never really liked slack so I wouldn't knowYou could also setup a Samba server like the guy before me said, make it a little easier on the client side to browse files.

First i heard;

It is a rather old computer, and I was going to throw it out

Then you said;

the computer is a P4 1.4 ghz with a 80 gig hard drive.

huh?

anyway, the choice of os is up to you. the question is do you want to make it 24hrs?

if no, then maybe you can stick to the windows family, especially my recomendation is Win2k.

if yes, then you might consider using linux boxes. it's more stable and FREE!. there, you can use samba file sharing, just like windows file sharing system.

some more considerations;
getting your self a 200gb drive? make sure you are choosing the correct hd type. most of old mboard has only ata support, meanwhile im guessing most nowadays big @ss hd uses sata connection.

same goes to ram. if your mb uses RDRAM, most probably it dont have DDRAM support, ok.