Setting up a network file server

[ChiknNutz]

So I've got a pretty nice custom server that I've had for a few months now, but w/o going into gritty detail, suffice it to say that the OS I'm using has some serious bugs (Windows Home Server, you can look it up at your leisure). Anyway, this OS was really simple to setup and administer, but I'm afraid of it and am considering going to a more traditional server OS. One cool thing about this OS is that you can add/delete hard drives essentially at will and they don't have to be the same at all...IDE, SATA, ext. USB, whatever. Not sure if other OS's offer anything like this or not.

I'm not much of a network person, but I can find my way around stuff given enough time and guidance. That being said, if I were to switch this thing over, what OS should I be looking at...Linux SAMBA, Windows small business server, or another? Specs on my server are as follows:

• Antec TITAN650 Black 1.0mm SECC Server Case 650W​
• ASUS P5M2-E T (LGA 775) Intel 3000 ATX Server Motherboard​
• Intel Xeon 3040 Conroe 1.86GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor​
• 2X Seagate ST3500631NS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive​
• Kingston 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM ECC Unbuffered DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Server Memory​
• LITE-ON Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DH-16D2P-04​

I also have a Maxtor 250GB external USB drive connected as well.​

 

[ProWraps™]

they also have network hard drives that are stand alone file servers. much cheaper. just plug into your router and your good to go.

 

[iSign]

my server runs Windows Server 2003.
I run nightly backups & things have been running pretty smooth for about 3 years so far. I archive to network attached drives.

 

[John M]

You may want to check out FreeNAS. It provides the stability of Linux/Samba with a GUI management interface.

Configuring Samba from scratch at the command line can be a much more "involved" experience unless you already have Linux experience.

Finally, if you just need a simple shared file area, plain ol' XP can do that for you easily.

 

[Techman]

XP is fine.. in my humble experience.

 

[choucove]

Depending upon your sharing permissions and other tools you wish to use (such as creating up your own email server) XP Pro can be fine for just sharing information really. However, to get more features like your own email server you can either do Windows Server Standard Edition or Linux. Windows Server Standard Edition is really aimed more for larger size businesses with a hundred or more users, but Linux can be used with high scalability from just a couple users to several hundred or thousand users.

I am actually am in this same process of installing a network file server for our shop's two locations and originally we looked at doing Windows Server Standard Edition. However, for about $800 per sever just for the OS, I turned it down and instead went the free way with Linux. I'm not a Linux professional yet by any means, but I have worked with Fedora for a while now so I've been practicing and working around first with file sharing through Samba. Eventually I will get things connected to to our own email service and a secure SSH connection between the two servers at our two locations for sending artwork and files back and forth fast and easy.

 

[SignBurst PCs]

I agree, for a small shop with limited needs, XP is fine. XPs built in backup is decent and simple as well.

If you wanted user access control, advanced email, simplified remote access to your work computers (Remote Web Workplace), your own personal webmail (Outlook Web Access), Sync email, contacts, and appointments with a SmartPhone, and other extras like that, you might consider Small Business Server 2003. The OS is still around $500 for 5 users, but it is more in depth as far as setup goes (you might want some help to get it right). Once setup, it can do some cool stuff and there really isn't all that much administration.

That being said, if all you need is file sharing, XP would be an easy way to go.