which version of MS Server?

[dbaplaya]

looking to get a server for the home. il buy something off the shelf like a HP model i have seen on Ebuyer.com. What Operating system would i need? Is there much difference between MS server 2003 and 2008. I'm only looking to use it to share music etc between family pc's.

is there anything else i need to consider apart from the server and operating system?


thanks

 

[opps]

If you are only sharing meda then an old pentium 4 running xp would suffice.

You might even get away with a p3 running ubuntu (or other flavours of linux).

You don't even need to have a monitor or keyboard plugged in all the time

Depending on the amount of silmutanoeus connections you might want to upgrade the lan card to 1000mb (about a tenner) and get a new router with 1gb ports.

All you need to do on the "server" pc is turn on file sharing in your media folders and then point the client pcs to those folders.

 

[Monkeh]

Why would you buy an expensive and crap new router instead of a simple switch?

 

[opps]

I have no idea what router the op has.

Are you disagreeing with my whole post or parts of it?

eg a Pentium 4 with xp or a gigabit lan card or just the router?

Personally I don't see the point of plugging a gigabit card into a a gigabit switch and then plugging that into a N router with 100mb ports.

 

[Monkeh]

I have no idea what router the op has.

Are you disagreeing with my whole post or parts of it?

eg a Pentium 4 with xp or a gigabit lan card or just the router?

Personally I don't see the point of plugging a gigabit card into a a gigabit switch and then plugging that into a N router with 100mb ports.

The router he currently has has no bearing on setting up a storage machine.

I'm just asking why you recommend an expensive router over a switch.

Just fyi, N routers realistically don't even exceed 100mbit wirelessly, so there's no point in gigabit with them anyway.

 

[opps]

Hi Monkeh

my W7 regularly reports 130mb or more when I connect to various N routers even with overheads that is more than double what I would get from a G standard. Granted it is much lower then the advertised 300mb , none-the-less it is faster than a 100mb switch.

Additionally when using my N client (Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200 AGN)
on my laptop I get a range that is approx 40% better when connecting to g routers.

Given that I have no prior knowledge of the OP's set up a switch may or may not be a better option.

 

[Monkeh]

Hi Monkeh

my W7 regularly reports 130mb or more when I connect to various N routers even with overheads that is more than double what I would get from a G standard. Granted it is much lower then the advertised 300mb , none-the-less it is faster than a 100mb switch.

And this is where the fundamental misunderstanding lies. That is your data rate. It is not the same as the throughput. You WILL NOT get 130Mbps. I rather doubt your actual throughput exceeds 40Mbps.

Here's a good example:

Notice how not one of those units manages to come close to, let alone exceed, 100Mbps in any position. Meanwhile, a 100Mbit ethernet link will sit at 100Mbps, duplex. 24/7/365.

Wireless is not fast. Manufacturers lie. There is not, never has been, and never will be a substitute for a physical connection, and no wireless standard will ever exceed the performance of a wired option, nor come close to the price.

 

[tapir]

You don't need a server to stream media, so you can save yourself some money

What devices are you planning to stream to? You can stream using Windows Media Player, or you may prefer a 3rd party app, such as Twonkey. I've found that a decent amount of RAM helps when streaming files around the house.