Help Building a Linux Home Server

[DocSwag]

The family desktop that we have at home has probably 3-4 random hard drives attached to it right now, and my Mom was complaining to me about this, so I suggested building a NAS or home server to have a good place to store all the pictures and files that we have. I'm currently leaning towards using a Linux OS rather than something like FreeNAS because my mom recently got a Sonos speaker for playing music but she realized she can't play music from YouTube. I found an app on the App Store that looks like YouTube and has all the YouTube videos in it but when you play videos from it the music goes to the Sonos speaker, but it's only on iOS and she has an android phone so we've been using it on the iPad. However, it'd be much easier to be able to play music from YouTube from her phone, which she uses more. I found this which works on a Linux Server and allows you to "chromecast" through the Server to the speaker, which is why I want to use Linux.

 

I'm not familiar with command prompts or raid (I'm thinking of using raid 1 in the server just in case, you know), so I don't know if I should use ubuntu server or some Linux OS with a GUI.

 

I'm not too familiar with NASes, servers, and networking in general, so I don't know what I should use in general. My main questions are: 

 

        What OS should I use?

 

        What parts should I use for the build (note we don't have spare parts around the house)?

 

        How do I wire up the server to the network? Do I only have to plug it into the router or modem and it's all good? Or is there more required?

 

I made a list of parts, but I don't know if I need 16gb ram or if some of my choices are too overkill. 

 

Thanks for the help!

 

[Guest]

well if the computer you already own works (as in the hardware works) I don't see why you'd build a new pc as the NAS. 

[Electronics Wizardy]

9 minutes ago, DocSwag said:

How do I wire up the server to the network? Do I only have to plug it into the router or modem and it's all good? Or is there more required?

Just plug it into the network with a cable. Id use wired networks for transferring files.

 

10 minutes ago, DocSwag said:

What OS should I use?

Id use debian or centos as there are stable, and have support for a long period of time(centos 7 is supported until 2024). THey also normally have the most and best tutorials for server uses.

[NoRomanBatmansAllowed]

10 minutes ago, DocSwag said:

The family desktop that we have at home has probably 3-4 random hard drives attached to it right now, and my Mom was complaining to me about this, so I suggested building a NAS or home server to have a good place to store all the pictures and files that we have. I'm currently leaning towards using a Linux OS rather than something like FreeNAS because my mom recently got a Sonos speaker for playing music but she realized she can't play music from YouTube. I found an app on the App Store that looks like YouTube and has all the YouTube videos in it but when you play videos from it the music goes to the Sonos speaker, but it's only on iOS and she has an android phone so we've been using it on the iPad. However, it'd be much easier to be able to play music from YouTube from her phone, which she uses more. I found this which works on a Linux Server and allows you to "chromecast" through the Server to the speaker, which is why I want to use Linux.

 

I'm not familiar with command prompts or raid (I'm thinking of using raid 1 in the server just in case, you know), so I don't know if I should use ubuntu server or some Linux OS with a GUI.

 

I'm not too familiar with NASes, servers, and networking in general, so I don't know what I should use in general. My main questions are: 

 

        What OS should I use?

 

        What parts should I use for the build (note we don't have spare parts around the house)?

 

        How do I wire up the server to the network? Do I only have to plug it into the router or modem and it's all good? Or is there more required?

 

I made a list of parts, but I don't know if I need 16gb ram or if some of my choices are too overkill. 

 

Thanks for the help!

 

Try going for used/old servers instead of new parts. Those things usually go for a lot cheaper, and will do the job even better.

 

To get the server to work all you have to do is plug it into the router.

 

For raid you could try RAID 10, as you will be able to get a bit more space out of your 3/4 hard drives.

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

And for the parts list, Id get a celeron or pentium, you don't need that much cpu power.

 

8GB of ram should be enough.

 

Id get a usb stick or two for the os install and boot(you can run then in raid 1) 4gb is fine.

 

You can get cheaper non red drives. If you want cheap drives, hunt ebay or other places for deals. You can sometimes frin 3tb's for about 60 bucks.

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, bob51zhang said:

For raid you could try RAID 10, as you will be able to get a bit more space out of your 3/4 hard drives.

Well, raid 10 needs 4 drives, so that looks like a no

 

Id probably use something like snap raid+union fs, so you can use any size drives that you want.

[fjdhdhcyfhf]

12 minutes ago, DocSwag said:

The family desktop that we have at home has probably 3-4 random hard drives attached to it right now, and my Mom was complaining to me about this, so I suggested building a NAS or home server to have a good place to store all the pictures and files that we have.

I dont know what benefit you would get with a NAS over just using windows file sharing for one family PC. It would be more cost effective to buy one large hard drive to consolidate your data.

 

14 minutes ago, DocSwag said:

        What parts should I use for the build (note we don't have spare parts around the house)?

I use a cheap AMD A4, its 45W and does the job with 4GB RAM. You can get 25W intel processors but they cost more than the power savings and can be hard to find.

[fjdhdhcyfhf]

16 minutes ago, DocSwag said:

I'm thinking of using raid 1 in the server just in case, you know

RAID is not a substitute for backup. it is for 24/7 uninterrupted service. You will not need this in a home server. Use your second drive in a USB enclosure and keep it somewhere safe.

[NoRomanBatmansAllowed]

5 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Well, raid 10 needs 4 drives, so that looks like a no

 

Id probably use something like snap raid+union fs, so you can use any size drives that you want.

Well, OP said that he had "3-4 random hard drives".

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just now, bob51zhang said:

Well, OP said that he had "3-4 random hard drives".

But they all have to be the same size.

 

snapraid+unionfs is a bit better for this here.

[DocSwag]

9 minutes ago, fpo said:

well if the computer you already own works (as in the hardware works) I don't see why you'd build a new pc as the NAS. 

There are two desktops in our house; the family desktop and my desktop I use for gaming. Both are running Windows and are gonna stay that way and I already stated I'd prefer to use Linux so that's not really an option  

 

7 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Just plug it into the network with a cable. Id use wired networks for transferring files.

 

Id use debian or centos as there are stable, and have support for a long period of time(centos 7 is supported until 2024). THey also normally have the most and best tutorials for server uses.

Ok. Will it work with the casting to Sonos thing fine? The readme on the github link says to use ubuntu server, though I'd imagine it should work with other Linux OSes, right?

 

7 minutes ago, bob51zhang said:

Try going for used/old servers instead of new parts. Those things usually go for a lot cheaper, and will do the job even better.

 

To get the server to work all you have to do is plug it into the router.

 

For raid you could try RAID 10, as you will be able to get a bit more space out of your 3/4 hard drives.

 

My parents are wary about using reused parts no matter what  they won't buy anything if it's refurbished. Also raid 10 would require more drives which is gonna cost quite a bit more. On a side note, will raid 1 work fine?

 

8 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

And for the parts list, Id get a celeron or pentium, you don't need that much cpu power.

 

8GB of ram should be enough.

 

Id get a usb stick or two for the os install and boot(you can run then in raid 1) 4gb is fine.

 

You can get cheaper non red drives. If you want cheap drives, hunt ebay or other places for deals. You can sometimes frin 3tb's for about 60 bucks.

Ok. I'll change the list to accommodate that.

 

I used red drives since they're supposed to be for NASes. Does it matter that much? I think that other drives cost less for the same capacity.

 

Also as said above, my parents are wary about used stuff so...  

5 minutes ago, SCHISCHKA said:

I dont know what benefit you would get with a NAS over just using windows file sharing for one family PC. It would be more cost effective to buy one large hard drive to consolidate your data.

 

I use a cheap AMD A4, its 45W and does the job with 4GB RAM. You can get 25W intel processors but they cost more than the power savings and can be hard to find.

It's just nicer to have all the files in one place plus I want a Linux server anyways so might as well make it the place for all the files .

 

I think I'll go for a pentium or celeron. I'll see if I can cut the power more. Side note: are there any lower power PSUs you or someone else might recommend? 520 watts is definitely way overkill.

6 minutes ago, SCHISCHKA said:

RAID is not a substitute for backup. it is for 24/7 uninterrupted service. You will not need this in a home server. Use your second drive in a USB enclosure and keep it somewhere safe.

But wouldn't it make it so if one drive fails I can still have the data? I know it's not a substitute for backups but it should be enough to keep all dem files safe, right? Or am I missing something?

 

5 minutes ago, bob51zhang said:

Well, OP said that he had "3-4 random hard drives".

We have one that used to be in a computer that literally started smoking one day when I was little and has some files on it, another that's just an external drive we bought, one that's really old and from an emachine (it's probably close to dying, too), and a 4tb seagate drive we recently got. Which reminds me, should I perhaps just get another 4tb drive, pull the hdd out of the seagate drive (if i can), and save some money?

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, DocSwag said:

The readme on the github link says to use ubuntu server, though I'd imagine it should work with other Linux OSes, right?

If it works on ubuntu it will almost certanly work on debian. It should work on centos aswell.

 

1 minute ago, DocSwag said:

520 watts is definitely way overkill.

Seasonic has a nic 360w 80+ gold. I have one and its greate 

[DocSwag]

7 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

If it works on ubuntu it will almost certanly work on debian. It should work on centos aswell.

 

Seasonic has a nic 360w 80+ gold. I have one and its greate 

Ok here the revised list

 

http://www.pcpartpicker.com/list/7Nv9tJ

 

P.S. Do you think I should take the hard drive out of the 4tb external hdd we have (I searched around and I think it's a barracuda, not sure about the rpm tho) and get another one of the same drive or get two new drives? I'm thinking just reusing that drive will be better.

[fjdhdhcyfhf]

12 minutes ago, DocSwag said:

But wouldn't it make it so if one drive fails I can still have the data? I know it's not a substitute for backups but it should be enough to keep all dem files safe, right? Or am I missing something?

will not protect you from accidentally deleting data, fire, theft, lightning, software errors, and malware.

 

I forgot to mention you can get 6W celeron m-ITX motherboards but i do not know if they can handle multimedia. I have a quad core celeron in a laptop and it does not do videos well

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just now, DocSwag said:

Ok here the revised list

 

http://www.pcpartpicker.com/list/7Nv9tJ

 

P.S. Do you think I should take the hard drive out of the 4tb external hdd we have (I searched around and I think it's a barracuda, not sure about the rpm tho) and get another one of the same drive or get two new drives? I'm thinking just reusing that drive will be better.

Build looks good.

 

You can take the hdd out just fine. Raid is there so drive failures doesn't make you lose data.

[Electronics Wizardy]

4 minutes ago, SCHISCHKA said:

will not protect you from accidentally deleting data, fire, theft, lightning, software errors, and malware.

 

I forgot to mention you can get 6W celeron m-ITX motherboards but i do not know if they can handle multimedia. I have a quad core celeron in a laptop and it does not do videos well

Like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157494

[fjdhdhcyfhf]

2 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157494

yep that ones good coz it has 4X SATA, most only have 2 which makes them crap for NAS. Theres also a board available with 2X NICs but i cant remember its make/model

[DocSwag]

7 minutes ago, SCHISCHKA said:

will not protect you from accidentally deleting data, fire, theft, lightning, software errors, and malware.

 

I forgot to mention you can get 6W celeron m-ITX motherboards but i do not know if they can handle multimedia. I have a quad core celeron in a laptop and it does not do videos well

Oh, if you mean like that I think raid's fine. We haven't had malware in ages and my parents aren't stupid people clicking on random ads, and I can perhaps get a surge protector in case of lightning (though that's pretty rare in our area). Same with fires and whatnot. Our stuff isn't important enough to require more than raid.

 

I didn't think of that option but I think I'd rather keep it the way it is right now. That sorta combo might work now but I'd like to have the extra horsepower than if it's ever needed; it's only $50 extra.

9 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Build looks good.

 

You can take the hdd out just fine. Raid is there so drive failures doesn't make you lose data.

Ok, I'll probably do that instead. That'll save $150 or so .

 

 

 

Thanks everyone for the help! I have a (mostly) final list now. I'll probably take part that seagate drive soon to check out what hdd is in there, and just get another one of whatever drive it is. I also know what OS I'll (probably) use. Thanks again!