How fast of a computer will i need for an ftp server?

[Phokus]

Hey guys, i'm wondering... I'm on my college ethernet (which is connected to an OC-3) and i'm thinking of building another box to make an ftp that serves, uh, "movies transcribed into an mpeg4 derivative". I was wondering, if i were to make/buy a computer that would use Win2k, whats the slowest computer i could buy to make it work good (keep in mind, i have a VERY fast connection, and i expect a lot of people to soak up a lot of bandwidth). Also, how much RAM would i need? I'm on a VERY cheap budget btw (yes i am the stereotypical poor bastard college student, although i could probably afford something better, err wait, actually i'm a cheap b@stard).

Would a celeron 400 w/ 128 meg RAM work?

 

[Spook]

FTP doesn't take any power... a 200Mhz Pentium should cut it...

But yeah, if you have access to a 400Mhz Celeron, with 128Meg Ram... that should be more than enough...

 

[dcpsoguy]

<<Would a celeron 400 w/ 128 meg RAM work?>>

You sure are a cheap bastard

 

[Spook]

There is a difference between cheap, and a student...


Who gave these guys all this access to bandwidth... I need the bandwidth, and have a good computer....

 

[cherrytwist]

uh...I could tell you but you have to give me a login/password first

 

[bigbootydaddy]

If you are worried about performance, just get the fastest harddrive, if anything, that will be the factor.(doubt it if its a ftp, but just in case)

 

[MrBond]

We run ours at work on a dual 200mhz Dell system. More then enough power. We're using Win2k Advanced Server on it.

Just a word of warning, I don't know if your school does this, but mine monitors bandwidth usage. If I download something from Microsoft (where I usually max out at around 300k/sec, I get hit by a different computer then the one that does the daily scanning of the network. Not sure what exactly it does, but its there. The first week I was there, I grabbed a bunch of movies off of Scour, and within 3 days, it was blocked. I think they saw all the traffic going through one port and blocked it. If I were you, I'd limit the up/down speed on your ftp to about 100k, and run it on a port other then 21. Pick a webcam port, or something that can take that much usage. And make it account access only. An anonymous login, or a &quot;click here for password&quot; makes it too easy for the IS dept to snoop around

 

[MrBond]

<< Who gave these guys all this access to bandwidth... I need the bandwidth, and have a good computer.... >>



Most larger universities have great bandwidth available. If you avoid a technically oriented school, you can usually get most of it to yourself. I'm not kidding when I say I bet I've used at least 10% (maybe more if it's only a t3 like some people say) of the total pipe coming into UT.

 

[Phokus]

OK thanks for the tips. I just hope it runs well, it takes like a year to load win 95 and win NT on our lab computers (they're P2-450s or something)

 

[d0ofy]

I thought most universities block all servers. It's hard to find an open port.

 

[slipperyslope]

On a university campus you will get your ass nailed. I work for the IT department at my university and they run port scanners on ethernet ports that are sucking up a lot of bandwidth. If they see it is mostly incoming stuff then they don't usually do much but if the traffic is going out then they definately know you are running a server and will shut you down.

Just my advice is you would probably get away with running a server for internal people at the university(IE other students) but the moment you open it to the outside world you are going to get nailed.

Jim

p.s. I work for the university and they have questioned me on my FTP server that I use for my own use. I setup my work computer as a server so that I can download at work and then get the stuff on my home computer off my FTP site. They let it slide because they know it is me.

 

[tontod]

It depends on the school on how they monitor/view such activity. I went to Georgia Tech and many people ran ftp servers. Most of the network admins knew about it, but they usually didnt do anything unless it caused performance issues. And no ports were blocked to my knowledge.

 

[Emulex]

a good pci p-100 should be able to move data as fast as your hard spin will spin

 

[Phokus]

<< On a university campus you will get your ass nailed. I work for the IT department at my university and they run port scanners on ethernet ports that are sucking up a lot of bandwidth. If they see it is mostly incoming stuff then they don't usually do much but if the traffic is going out then they definately know you are running a server and will shut you down.

Just my advice is you would probably get away with running a server for internal people at the university(IE other students) but the moment you open it to the outside world you are going to get nailed.

Jim

p.s. I work for the university and they have questioned me on my FTP server that I use for my own use. I setup my work computer as a server so that I can download at work and then get the stuff on my home computer off my FTP site. They let it slide because they know it is me. >>



No, my university's policy is different. In fact, i work for my University's Computer Media Services, so i know a little about the policies... They only investigate if people in your dorm complain that their connections are slow. If they investigate and see you're taking up all the BW on the switch in the dorm, then you get your ass nailed. Lots of geeks here run ftp servers without a problem.

 

[spamboy]

dude, set us all up with an anandtech login/pass. set a ratio or something.