[TriLUG] Your input on new build: Home File Server

[Don Jerman]

On 9/13/07, Carl Crider <c.crider at gmail.com> wrote:
>  Hey guys & gals. I am building a new file/media server at home over the
> next week or so. [...]

I built mine out of an old P4 gaming system - ripped out the expansion
cards (except video) and put in a SATA adapter and a bunch of drives,
and pushed up to a 500W power supply to handle the extra drives

>  Questions are:
>
> >What distro would YOU use?
> [[yeah, I know, standard lame question, but I kind of want to hack something
> new right now]]

I used Gentoo but just because I'm already maintaining a laptop and
desktop running it.  I'm considering Ubuntu because Gentoo gets a
little brittle if you let it go several months without an update, but
it runs fairly well, and so long as I sync and update every month or
so I generally have no trouble.  I'm not so sure that other distros
wouldn't have the same problem, but binary distros do scratch installs
faster.

> >I do use DynDNS for another box, software & hardware firewall, but would
> you feel safe with
> your personal file server on the web?

Depends - is it your "hardest" box?  Can you harden it without
compromising the core mission (serving media)?  Then why not?  If
you're letting folks onto your net and they get through your best
hardening job, they'll get the rest of your network if they want to.
But chances are all those streaming services are going to make this a
softer target than your desktop, for instance, needs to be.

> >Best thing to use to catalog my files, database-wise? [500GB]

I just use JFS :)  At the moment I'm using Galleon with our Tivos, so
it keeps a searchable custom db.  Setting up MythTV this weekend so
I'll be watching this space.

> >Anything else that you would add to your media server project?

I'll probably pop a tuner card in for a MythTV slave backend since the
system is mostly idle (or maybe I'll put the primary there after I
know what I'm doing).  I run Galleon, you might want to if you have
tivo.  Samba and ssh of course.

>
> Thanks,
>
> Carl
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