networking a home for media streaming.

[cuafpr]

I’m about to wire a new house with full CAT6, and then I’ll be looking into switches and a server that will host a media server on it with the goal of setting it up so that I can use it as storage for recorded shows from my HTCP and RIP my DVD’s / Blue rays to it. I also hope to be able to stream anything stored on it to other PC’s tablets, cell phones etc… Now to the question, this is a huge step up to me in terms of networking I’ve done so I’m looking for a good starter place. Currently use WMC on my HTPC but open to other options there and I’ve looked into plex media server a bit to handle the back side of things, and streaming to other devices. Also would it be better to build a server myself or get a used server blade via Ebay, I know they are ungodly loud so that could be an issue but I thought about replacing some fans if I went that way. Thanks!

 

[piasabird]

It would be nice just to build a separate PC/Server to store the files on or use server OS for a file server or whatever and connect that to your wireless router. You don't need any special networking if you have a wireless router.

 

[Cerb]

Streaming will not require much CPU power, nor network bandwidth, and you need no true server-grade parts. Get something that supports Intel's RAID, a full retail (FPP) Windows 8.1, and you will be able to play around to your heart's content.

For keeping things like network copying of files speedy, I'd get a dedicated GbE switch, as routers tend to be inconsistent or plain slow with fast data transfers going through their switch sections.

Storage: Intel RAID allows RAID 1, 10, and 5 (OK, 0, too). Windows 8 allows Storage Spaces. For Windows to Windows, this gives you the most options without paying too much, if you want to add some redundancy (RAID is not a backup, and Storage Spaces redundancy options are just newer fancier RAID).

Windows: should you find that an appliance OS (Linux Distro) works better, you can then use that Windows license for another computer, and retail 8.1 doesn't cost much more than OEM.

Another option, however, would be a prebuilt NAS. You don't save much, often no, money, but setup is easy.

 

[mfenn]

The physical and network layer parts of this are pretty easy. Run all your Cat6 to a common patch panel, and get a Gigabit switch with the appropriate number of ports to hook up to all your outlets, plus a couple extra for the router (lan port on router to switch) and your server. Something like this 16-port Netgear would work fine for a moderate number of ports, but let us know how many ports you expect to need.

For the server, I would not get a rackmount unless you plan to put the patch panel somewhere out of the way like a (finished) basement and want to learn about enterprise hardware. Otherwise it's much easier to build a machine in a normal tower (or mini-ITX cube) form factor. Of course, getting a purpose-built NAS is also an option if you don't want to screw around with software setup too much.