Muse
Lifer
I desperately need a data server. Well, I've lived without one all my life (except for about a year), so not so desperate, however it could make life a lot easier for me. Here's my situation:
I have a fair amount of data (currently maybe 400 GB) I need to share among my PCs. If my network is reliable, I can keep my email client's data on the server. If it's not reliable, it could get corrupted and I have to restore data from backup. My database data basically needs to be seen from all machines (I'm using sneaker net now!). It would be very nice if I could access all my MP3s (a lot!), streaming, from all the machines. I want the whole thing to be very energy efficient. I was thinking of an Atom D510 system. Maybe the new D525's make sense now. Or older N330?
August 2009 (i.e. 16 months ago), I bought a 2nd laptop, an Acer Aspire and absent a data server, I had it acting as the server and downstairs PC. Normally, I'd put it to sleep and if I wanted another PC to see its data, I'd wake it up (couldn't do this remotely, though). It was connected wirelessly to the network. I have two midtower PCs upstairs, connected to my Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 wireless router by ethernet. I only use one of those PCs, the other is only rarely turned on, and generally to aid in troubleshooting or something. I have a laptop upstairs, wirelessly connected. Since the Acer laptop died about 3 months ago, I've acquired a couple more laptops, used. All 3 of these laptops are Lenovos, two are T60's, the other a T61. I want to have the T61 downstairs, one of the T60's in my bedroom and am contemplating having the other T60 act as the data server in lieu of getting or building a dedicated server. That T60 would have to use 2.5" HD, maybe a couple. I could put a 2nd 2.5" HD in it instead of its optical drive. All 3 of the Lenovo laptops have nice quick removal optical drives and I could get a HD caddy that fits in the slot to give me two HDs in the "server" laptop. That could be for extra storage or backup. I also have an external USB 500GB HD for backups.
So, I'm wondering if
1. 2.5" HDs are as reliable as full size 3.5" HDs, to begin with. My laptops have gotten kid glove treatment, I rarely take them anywhere and if I use a laptop as a server, it sill just sit there on a desk. However, I'm concerned that 2.5" HDs may be far more prone to failure than 3.5" HDs.
I realize that there's a considerable size limitation compared to 3.5" HDs, which are pretty cheap now in 1TB and 2TB sizes. One of my 2.5" HDs is 640GB (fairly recently purchased SAMSUNG Spinpoint MP4 HM640JJ 640GB 7200 RPM 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive), so I could use it in the server laptop. I could have that laptop connected by ethernet to the router. And, as I said, I could put a 2nd HD in that laptop.
2. Would connecting the laptop by ethernet rather than wirelessly speed up the network? Would it make the network more reliable?
Other considerations are whether or not I can either put the server or laptop to sleep when not in use. I want to be able to access the data on whichever machine at any time without trudging upstairs, however. Maybe I could suspend the machine or at least spin down the HD(s).
Or should I stick to the plan of having a D510 or D525 or N330 Atom based server, maybe with WHS? I could get WHS, I suppose, for the T60 as a server machine. Or I could run XP Pro on it, it has the CoA for XP Pro, and it's installed on it already. Thanks for whatever guidance!
Edit: The laptop in question is a Lenovo T60 with Intel T5500 Core 2 Duo 1.67GHz, 2GB DDR2, Intel integrated GMA950 graphics, XP Pro, 65watt AC adapter.
I have a fair amount of data (currently maybe 400 GB) I need to share among my PCs. If my network is reliable, I can keep my email client's data on the server. If it's not reliable, it could get corrupted and I have to restore data from backup. My database data basically needs to be seen from all machines (I'm using sneaker net now!). It would be very nice if I could access all my MP3s (a lot!), streaming, from all the machines. I want the whole thing to be very energy efficient. I was thinking of an Atom D510 system. Maybe the new D525's make sense now. Or older N330?
August 2009 (i.e. 16 months ago), I bought a 2nd laptop, an Acer Aspire and absent a data server, I had it acting as the server and downstairs PC. Normally, I'd put it to sleep and if I wanted another PC to see its data, I'd wake it up (couldn't do this remotely, though). It was connected wirelessly to the network. I have two midtower PCs upstairs, connected to my Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 wireless router by ethernet. I only use one of those PCs, the other is only rarely turned on, and generally to aid in troubleshooting or something. I have a laptop upstairs, wirelessly connected. Since the Acer laptop died about 3 months ago, I've acquired a couple more laptops, used. All 3 of these laptops are Lenovos, two are T60's, the other a T61. I want to have the T61 downstairs, one of the T60's in my bedroom and am contemplating having the other T60 act as the data server in lieu of getting or building a dedicated server. That T60 would have to use 2.5" HD, maybe a couple. I could put a 2nd 2.5" HD in it instead of its optical drive. All 3 of the Lenovo laptops have nice quick removal optical drives and I could get a HD caddy that fits in the slot to give me two HDs in the "server" laptop. That could be for extra storage or backup. I also have an external USB 500GB HD for backups.
So, I'm wondering if
1. 2.5" HDs are as reliable as full size 3.5" HDs, to begin with. My laptops have gotten kid glove treatment, I rarely take them anywhere and if I use a laptop as a server, it sill just sit there on a desk. However, I'm concerned that 2.5" HDs may be far more prone to failure than 3.5" HDs.
I realize that there's a considerable size limitation compared to 3.5" HDs, which are pretty cheap now in 1TB and 2TB sizes. One of my 2.5" HDs is 640GB (fairly recently purchased SAMSUNG Spinpoint MP4 HM640JJ 640GB 7200 RPM 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive), so I could use it in the server laptop. I could have that laptop connected by ethernet to the router. And, as I said, I could put a 2nd HD in that laptop.
2. Would connecting the laptop by ethernet rather than wirelessly speed up the network? Would it make the network more reliable?
Other considerations are whether or not I can either put the server or laptop to sleep when not in use. I want to be able to access the data on whichever machine at any time without trudging upstairs, however. Maybe I could suspend the machine or at least spin down the HD(s).
Or should I stick to the plan of having a D510 or D525 or N330 Atom based server, maybe with WHS? I could get WHS, I suppose, for the T60 as a server machine. Or I could run XP Pro on it, it has the CoA for XP Pro, and it's installed on it already. Thanks for whatever guidance!
Edit: The laptop in question is a Lenovo T60 with Intel T5500 Core 2 Duo 1.67GHz, 2GB DDR2, Intel integrated GMA950 graphics, XP Pro, 65watt AC adapter.
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