Advice please

themacdaddy

Hi All,

I am a complete novice when it comes to servers and systems. I can build PC's but I know very little about servers.

I want to get/build a system where I can access central file storeage from multiple machines from one location. I also want to ensure I can use raid in case one of the hard drives fail. So from my PC or Laptop I want to be able to access files from the server and lets say watch movie or view photos etc.

I was looking at this machine and was going to put 2 x 4GB hard drives for it.

Could someone advise if this would be appropriate?

What else would I have to consider? Could I connect my devices wirelessly to the server or would it have to be wired?

What software would you recommend? Windows Home Server?

I realise some of these questions may seem stupid so please bare with me.

Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

seamus

I assume you meant 2 x 4TB hard drives

Modern NAS machines basically operate as home servers these days, and usually come with all sorts of media features built-in and available to download.

Synology Diskstations I highly recommend, you basically plug it into the network and it becomes a home server with minimal setup. Features a custom-rolled linux operating system. You can operate it via a slick web interface, or if you really want to do proper server admin stuff, you can SSH onto the underlying linux OS and do what you want. But for 99% of stuff, the web interface is perfectly good.

The server itself usually has to be wired - some will come with wireless NICs, but for reasons of speed it would always be recommended that you connect a NAS or home server directly to your router. Wireless clients like phones will still be able to use the server over the home network.

themacdaddy

Thanks Seamus. Really appreciate the detailed response. Will do some research on them now.

Stuxnet

Drobo might suit you