Home Server Advice? FTP?

[JQLeitch]

Hi Guys. Before I go into the hardware I just want to say what I should use, I was always thinking of loading Windows 7 up and running Filezilla but what else should I use, I know Debian has a lot of server options but also what about this FreeNas stuff I always hear about. Pretty much I'm asking what your opinion is on the software side of this build. I will not be using Wired connections rather accessing the server wirelessly. Now if none of what I just said made no sense to you it's because I am a newbie to the idea of having a server, I'm clueless software wise and I honestly am confused, but that's why I'm here I guess lol.

(I AM NOT EDUCATED IN NETWORKING SO EXCUSE ME IF I SOUND IDIOTIC)

On to the hardware, like I said basic XBMC server stream, backing up stuff etc etc, I won't be sharing this server with anyone else unless my Mum and Sister get a sudden interest in running stuff off servers... yeah. So here's the hardware!:

CPU: A6 6400K FM2 http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...act_title_7?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE A Dual Core APU with onboard graphics, perfect for what I need and cuts down cost on a discrete GPU, it is an AMD APU though so the power consumption may be bad for a almost 24/7 server. and since I'm not doing much with this server, I'm assuming this should be fine.

MOBO: MSI FM2-A55M-E33 Basic chipset but like I said basic media streaming so Sata 2 ports and a basic chipset is all I need, and a HDMI port. It is also cheap. Although recommendations are welcomed as I am a newbie to this stuff http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

RAM: XMS3 4GB 1333mhz (Will come from my main PC, upgrading my main PC with Kingston 8GB 1600mhz)

PSU: Corsair CX600 80+ Bronze

HDD: 1x WD Caviar Blue (1TB)... for now. Gradually I hope to have around 7TB of storage but obviously that requires money I don't currently have.

CASE: My main PC's Elite 430 (My main PC will go in a Fractal Design Define R4) Bought it for £30 back in 2012 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooler-Mast...UTF8&qid=1397767485&sr=1-1&keywords=elite+430

WIFI CARD: More basic hardware yay! Just a random PCI-E wireless card. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...act_title_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
Thanks!

 

[azazel1024]

If you are basically just looking to run a server to stream to XBMC, just load up vanilla windows and map a network share and do the streaming over SMB. Works just fine and easy to setup.

Go wired where ever and whenever you can.

 

[JQLeitch]

Why's that, wireless is more accessible to me, I'll be using phones, laptops, rasp pi's etc.

 

[azazel1024]

Because the more you have on wireless, the more clogged it is. Anything you can offload to wired is one less thing taking up bandwidth that your wireless devices can use. Especially if you have a lot of competing wifi networks near you.

So things like offloading the rasp pi's on to wired can help.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Wired from server to switch, then wireless out to devices will work for most streaming needs. don't plan on getting 1080p to work though. I found even 720p can be problematic if either device is wireless.

For what you're doing, a basic Linux Samba share, or a Windows share will work fine. You're not saying you need transcoding, just file sharing.

When you plan on growing your storage and want some redundancy, either use software RAID in Linux or go to FreeNAS.