thinking of setting up a home server

just wondering if doing something like this is possible:

1. have it locally accessible so my PC don't need to access it through the internet to read and write files.
2. have multiply user accounts for different permissions (local and internet)
3. be able to access it (read and write would be cool) over the internet when I'm not home via FTP or similar.
4. be able to set it up to use no less then 2 HDs, one primary and a backup.
5. have the computer so it can go to sleep when not in use and automatically wake up when requested.

what's the best way to do this? I have access to Windows server pro/home (from school) as well as linux, regular versions of windows.

any ideas? thanks!

 

I already have 1 except I don't use DyDNS for fear of unauthorised entry.
I have a DIY Intel D510MO built for that.
It has Wireless Mini PCI Card (I installed manually) to set up a Home Direct LAN Connection using Virtual Router from CodePlex as well as Ethernet Cable.
And it run Windows Shares for Simple Cross Compatibile with Windows Client/Linux Machines as well as because the users want to use Windows on it.
You can enable MagicPacket for auto resume.

Total Cost is cheaper than completed builts because Intel Atom boards are cheap and energy saving.

 

You can access harddrives/folders locally on your network under "Network" in Windows 7. Just make sure you "enable sharing" for each harddrive/folder on the computer you are trying to access and you need to make sure that both of your computers are under the same domain (example: MSHOME). Then login with your username and password.

Through the internet, just use Remote Desktop Connection to control your computer at home. You have to "enable Remote Desktop" on the computer you are trying to access,. However, you will need to have Windows 7 Professional or higher installed on the computer you are trying to access. You can also use Remote Desktop Connection locally in your network.

Alternative Free Remote Desktop Software: https://secure.logmein.com/US/products/hamachi2/

These concepts also apply to Windows XP, etc.

 

sure cool! I have shares set up now but it means I have to have all the computers on, I'd like to have it so only one needs to be on, in one central location.

I though of remote desktop but I was hoping for something faster (and more elegent),

I have access to every version of windows thru. the uni so that's not an issue.

any ideas for the over the internet/FTP thing?

 

To access a hard drive and the contents in it, it will have to be turned on for you to access it (meaning that the hard drive has to have a power supply/power adapter supplying power to it from a computer, laptop, external harddrive closure, NAS, etc.). So, I am confused when you say you would like to have one computer turned on in one central location instead of having all the computers turned on.

You cannot access one of the other computers and its hard drive if it has no power going to it. Each computer has to be turned on for you to access the data on it.

Here is free FTP server you can setup. FileZilla - The free FTP solution

 

cool, How it is now: media is spread over a whole bunch of PCs so they all need to be on to get everything.

what I mean by go to sleep when not in use is just to save power.

 

well gave filezilla a try for a few mins... didn't work out well at all, it works on the PC the server is running on but not on any others, even the local ones in my house...

 

This is how I would do it.........

1. Central Server in your property - running Windows Server 2003/2008.
2. Set the role of the server as a file server.
3. Create a folder for each user on the server.
4. Share each of these folders - ending each share name with a $ - this keeps the shares hidden and you can only open them if you know the full name and path. Assign permissions to each folder so that only the intended user can access it.
5. On each computer, map a drive for each user to their own folder. Set it to reconnect at login.
6. On the server, create another folder for all shared files.
7. Map another drive to this on each computer.

This way, when a user is at their computer, they get their own personal folder on the server, which is secure, so only they can access it.
They then also get access to a shared folder on the server, where they can place files they want others to access - such as photos/video clips etc.

Personally I never like to open up access to anything from my internal network to anyone outside of the network, just as an extra security precaution. However, if I did want to do this I woule do one of the following:

1. Use some third party FTP software.
2. Use remote access software to access the server for anywhere in the world - such as 'GoToMyPC' or 'LetMeIn' (Google them for website addresses and further details / demo's). I believe GoToMyPC has a free 30 day trial for you to use, and it works pretty well.
3. The more complex way is to purchase a private IP address from your ISP, and set up a secure VPN by setting up RRAS on the internal server. Hence it will act as a file server as well as a RRAS/VPN server.

Personally I would go for the 3rd option since I can set up the security myself, and have piece of mind knowing my data is completely secure. However, the other options may be fine for you, and still contain certain degrees of security. Check out option 2 since they have a free trial you can try out, and it works pretty darn well.

Hope this helps.

 

Windows Home Server ? media server, backup and data recovery solution

Basically that needs a dedicated computer act as a server, it's not meant to be used as a desktop. Made for home use: simple to set up and even simpler to use. Of course, lacking advanced some features available in 2k3/2k8 servers. If that is included in the catalogue, it could be worth to try out.

I've tried the remote access that Home Server offers but I really like more having OpenVPN set in my router. Connect directly to router, it's like plugging in ethernet cable.

 

I am doing it using a Dell Studio 1737 running Windows 7 Professional

1. It has 2 HD slot so I can have reasonable size storage
2. the idle power usage is so low (10-15W) that I don't even need to have Wake-On-Lan though it can be done as well using the wired lan
3. I can RDP into it from 5000 Mile away by setting up simple port forwarding in the router and using DynaDNS.
4. locally, it can work as a server to other machines just like 2008 server
5. I can even connect it to my TV via HDMI so it becomes a media center
6. It has an eSATAp port so for the unlikely scenario that I need even more fast storage, I would have no problem attaching one
7. It is dead quiet
8. If you install Windows Live Essential 2011, you can use Live Sync to access the machine as well

 

First time I did this, I used an old P3 900.
Very low power and sufficiently fast, the problem was no SATA, and no gigabit ethernet. Add in cards work, but easily flooded the pci bus.

These days you can get small NAS boxed like the D-Link DNS-321(?). Some can even be setup as a full computer almost, The WD My World external networked drive can do it as well. The WD model runs around 9watts at idle so I have heard. The D-Link around 15. These can be setup with separate shares and accessed by external FTP. For most these are great little self contained systems that do everything and are easily configured through a browser. The downside of these is that the cheap ones have TERRIBLE throughput, usually 9-15Mbps. A higher end NAS or computer can do 80+.


Last year I found a SFF box on Ebay, $100, it had legit copy of Windows XP, gigabit ethernet, 2gigs ram, PCI-E and sata. The bad was that it had a 40gig HD. I swapped out that drive for a 1tb (it has 2 bays). Idle it sits around 25 watts, and my transfer rates are around 85Mbps. My total investment was under $200 and it can be done for around $150 these days (I had the drive already), about what an empty, low end NAS will run. If you have drives, you can do it for even less.


Remember, you don't need Windows for this, Ubuntu or other Linux distros will work well, and something like this makes for a great project to get started with Linux as it will be a little frustrating, but not enough to be a problem and has an attainable goal. Use whatever you have laying around or can get cheap. As around, odds are someone has an old computer sitting in a basement or closet.

 

wow! really helpful unfortunately I'm waiting on a case (sorry NBR I'm using a desktop for this... I don't know many laptops that can handle 4TB of disks). please don't close the thread I'm asking about the software!

I'd decently familiar with Linux, so it's not a big deal I'm going for easiest possible right now, and then mess around with it over Christmass. I'm a CS Major (but yet know little about networking lol), and I get MS server 2003/2008/2008R2 for free through the university.

hoping tomorrow I'll will get the case to get this machine humming along (PS I love Black friday).

 

so got all the parts, haven't assembled (completely) yet... still not sure what OS to put on it... it looks like windows may be the way to go, but I found a pretty extensive guide on how to use Ubuntu Server...

I though I read that someone mentioned the Windows server came with some tools to get this stuff accessible online (something about live??).

 

Not sure about Windows server but there are lots of ways to access your stuff through VPN, ranging from free and easy to expensive and difficult, depending on your needs.

A coupld suggestions.
Free and Easy method is Team Viewer, it works from anywhere on anything.
Another method is Hamachi or a dynamic DNS with VNC.
A bit more in depth is setting up an SSH share in combination of dynamic dns.
All of these are free and will run on Linux, Mac and Windows, but there are also pay methods, I'll let you look into those.

Windows is probably easiest because you are most familiar with it. However the difference between Ubuntu as a file server as opposed to Windows is actually quite minimal and makes for a good Linux project with an easy learning curve. Since you get Windows for free though, that makes it a bit more difficult of a decision. My advice, try both, experiment, see what you like better. My guess is that Windows will be more power efficient and maybe a bit easier, but Linux will be faster.

 

lol, Faster trumps all , I'm decent familiar with linux, and spend about 10hours a day on SSH so I'm fairly comfortable with that. I think the hardest part will be getting around the Dynamic IP thing (I need to register at a DyDNS or something like that?). well tomorrow the machine get assembled and assuming everything goes will it shouldn't take to long.

 

so I tried to install Win server 2008 R2... and well I don't have a clue what to do now... ??? any tips, I can't find much for guides anywhere.

 

Windows Server 2008R2 isn't for a newbie. I think you need Windows Home Server. However, why you need to complicated your setup? Actually, you can do everything you need on Windows 7.

I don't mean to be rude, but I think you make simple problem unnecessary complicated.

 

oh, I realize that... I excel at such things... I'm putting win 7 on now.

 

If all you want to do is to make a home file servers Windows 2008 sever is actually not too complicated for a non-techie. I was able to do it myself. Mostly all you need to do is got to the administration control panel
- install the most basic version of the OS
- add shares ie file folders to be available for users to see
- then enable the file server role with NFS and SMB services on those shares
- in the properties of those shares either make it available to all users or specify which users

And that's mostly it. Its too some reading "for dummies" guides and that was more or less all that I needed.

 

Whatever you do, do NOT install something like "internet security suite" until you have it all up, running with shares.

These programs contain a firewall in them and some of these programs, like certain versions of Norton and Mcafee make sharing extremely difficult. If you put these in and then try to create shares, you will just cause a headache for yourself. Get it up and running then put those in and deal with the aftermath.

Keep in mind that Windows firewall is perfectly fine if you are behind a router or modem with a built in firewall, which almost every modem and router has one these days. Internal firewalls are kind of a joke in terms of security anyhow, particularly regarding a virus.

 

anyone seen this error before?
... logon failure user has not been granted the requested logon type at this computer

I get the error on 1 of my win 7 machines... when trying to connect to the server any ideas?

 

Not sure how you are trying to access the computer in question and what OS is being used etc. But here is an explanation from Microsoft as to the issue. Click link below.

Error Message:

Other searches have mentioned checking the 'Local Security Policy', found under Start --> All Programs --> Administrative tools. And look under Local Policy > User Rights Assignment. 'Access this computer from the network'. The user/group you're trying to use to access the computer has to be in that list.

 

I can't find anything by the name of 'local policy' under admin tools in my server machine'

I'm trying to connect my win 7 desktop to my win 7 server. all I do is double click the server under 'network' and I get this error.

I can connect to this machine from my macbook (OS X), and my brothers desktop (Win 7)...

 

See the first print screen attached. 'Administrative tools' can also be found under Control Panel on the Start menu. Then Local Policy.

But honestly, you shouldn't have to mess with those settings as the 'Everyone' group is in there. That should as its name suggest allow everyone to access the computer.

So i'm thinking now the issue may be that 'File and printer sharing' is turned off on your Win. 7 Desktop. Verify that is enabled under Control Panel --> 'Network and Sharing Center' --> Advanced sharing settings'. See print screen.

Also, press the Windows logo key (between Ctrl and Alt) and press R at the same time. Type ncpa.cpl in the prompt box and hit enter. Right click on the network device that you use for network access and choose 'Properties'. Make sure the 'File and Printer sharing' box is checked. See print screen.

 

file and printer sharing is on

the 'Everybody' is in the list on the server

I did find a fix... I had to make a user account on the server that was the same as the one on my desktop (which is weird as my mac still worked despite a different name).

 

^^^ Yea that fix you found is an old trick (I learnt about that from on here; I think 'gerryf19' was the one who told me about that).

But yea, as you said that is wierd as it seemed like an isolated issue pertaining to the Desktop PC, since the others worked fine.

Glad you found a fix though!