Really need some newbie server building help!

[blazefyre01]

Hi all-

A little background information - I am a mainframe programmer, and know my way around a computer from basic hardware understanding gained from a rebuild, and drive/fan/card replacements over the years, but i am limited to that.

That being said - here is what i would like to do.

I have an old desktop tower that is currently running with the following features:

Windows XP Home edition.
Intel Celeron Processor - 1.80 GHz
512 MB of RAM
2 - 60 gig harddrives (both maxtor) but plan to replace them.

I have lucked into 3 - 500gb Seagate Barracuda 7200 rpm drives that I want to use.


Here is what I would like to do:


Build a server using the old desktop tower, with the following abilities

1. Use the 3-500gb drives so that they act as redundant backups to eachother.

2. Be able to set the server up in such a way that it would be able to be accessed via the internet and my home network, but only by those people I give access to.

3. I want to be able to set it up so they have their own storgage area that is secure to them only, as well as a general area for music sharing/document sharing etc. (I am talking about 5-10 different friends, myself included).

4. I would like it to be fast enough that anyone using a cable modem can get what they need relatively fast.

5. Eventually, I was thinking of doing some web-design on the side, and would like to be able to use the server for that as well - small single page websites for friends' businesses, etc.

I dont have much money to pour into this, and I really need something that is user-friendly and easy to navigate.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

Thank you

Brian - Central Jersey
(blazefyre01)
bcalston@hotmail.com

 

[p55ibexpeak]

The biggest problem I see in your plan is that your broadband connection will be slowed to a crawl and the biggest bottleneck. You could spend thousands of dollars on top-of-the-line equipment, but the bottleneck would still be your Internet connection.

Assuming you got FiOS, you're still capped bandwidth-wise. Your ISP would be sending you letters once you go over your cap. They would auto assume you're a pirate even tho you are not. Luckily, you're not in EU or you'd be cut off after a 3-strike rule.

I'm not saying it can't be done. It can. The best course would be to rent out a server and that's it. Why? Cuz let THEM deal with bandwidth issue.

Still I can't fathom why someone would pay for their friends' downloads. Also, you CAN'T limit the users cuz this friend will tell that friend who will tell the other friend the login & password. It'd end up like 100 users.

You'd also need QoS to throttle each user's connection. This should be on the router. I use a 3rd-party firmware that has QoS, but still it's not very robust.