I need some help with a server i have lying around.

trainergames

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Ok i have a dell power edge 1600sc server tower that my sister gave to me a while back,and i want to get it ready for what i want to use it for when i get myself an apartment.

I'll start with the specs: Dual 2Ghz Xeon single core with HT,3GB of ECC ram,i have 4 73.3GB 10K RPM SCSI HDD(2 seagate 2 fujitsu)it is not in the original case,and the case it is in is falling apart lol,but it does have the stock 450w PSU.

I am planing at some point after the upgrade the case and get a SATA card so i can run more hard drives(any suggestions on either?),and i may upgrade the PSU if you guys think i would need it after i get the sata card+ some drives lol.

Ok what i want to do with it is,install ubuntu(cause i think have a sound card that worked in ubuntu but not windows lol),then i want to set it up for 2 things,1st i am going to set up with my tv(my tv does have a VGA port) as a media pc,2nd while it is hooked up to the tv i also want it hooked to the internet,and i want to set up something that my brother in law did before,but i have no idea how to do it,what i want to do is,say i am out of town,and i have my laptop with me,and i want to watch a movie,but i forgot to put it on my laptop before i left,i would like to be able to type in my IP,and mabye a spefic port if i need to,then it asks me for a user name and password, and it will let me access the file in my server.

Now keep in mind i am a total noob at linux,i have used ubuntu once to try to set up a game server on it and i failed lol.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
This server has a very poor videocard (ATI Rage XL), and its video performance will be poor, to say the least. This is of no problem for a server-type computer, but I doubt you will be able to see any smooth video on your TV.

Disk drives upgrade is going to be costly. This server is designed with SCSI interface, and these drives tend to be expensive, couple of times more expensive than their SATA equivalents.

As for your Linux skills - download an Ubuntu DVD, and give it a try. You will either succeed with the installation to some kind of graphical desktop, or you will fail due to drivers issue.
 

trainergames

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Well i tested it over a year ago with Ubuntu,and it installed,i was using a 1280x1024 screen with it,and if i remember correctly i was able to watch you tube fine,and videos played smoothly,but i will test agian as soon as i can.

About the disk drives,i have 4 scsi drives already,which is the max the cable i have with the server can connect to at once,and that was why i am planing to at some point pick up one or 2 compatible sata cards so i can install some sata drives as data drives.
 
well it depends on how you want to be able to access your files ftp, website, vpn, terminal..?
FTp would be easy but still pulling a movie 700meg to 2 gig is quite a feat on most peoples upstream internet might take a few hours. If you have at least 5mb upstream you might not be to bad off. This just takes a simple firewall rule for ftp and a simple ftp setup on your linux box.
 

trainergames

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Ok right now i am living with family while i save up for an apartment,and they have 5 down .50 up,but depending on what i end up paying for rent,and where i get an apartment,my upload speed will be either a 1.5mb,2mb,or if i am lucky a 5mb.

Idk how i want to set it up lol,you said ftp is easy,which is the best one,and how much harder would it be to do lol?
 

trainergames

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Yeah i could,but it would be cheaper to install a sata card(if i can)and then get some some sata drives lol.

And i do not know what "termination" if you are talking about linux,cause like i said in my first post i am a total noob at linux lol.
 



Hi :)

I was talking about termination as in the scsi drives.....basically it means the end drive has to be "terminated" (with a jumper) or NONE will work....

But scsi is a LOT more complicated than that, so my advice would be to leave the scsi drives alone....

All the best Brett :)
 

trainergames

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Well the drives must of already been jumpered right cause i have been able to boot up an old install of ubuntu i did a while back,and i was able to update it,i have also gotten one of my extra pci sound cards to work,the only problem i have had after the update,is i can watch youtube just fine,but when i try to watch a video(i have only been ableo to try 1 yet an MKV video)in every player i try(even vlc)i get audio but no video,but i may just do a reinstall and see if that fixes it.

But yeah the scsi drives are ready,i just need to know how to set up the stuff to access my data while i am not home,and i also would love any suggestions you might have on a sata card that will work in my server,and mabye a cheap case that can fit the server mobo and have plenty of drive bays.
 



Hi :)

I realise the scsi drives work ok....my warning was about NOT altering them, if you dont understand them....

A picture of the mobo would help regarding a sata card...

Umm a server case might be a problem ...they are not standard cases...(pic would help again), and generally speaking a case for a server board with lots of bays is going to be VERY expensive...

All the best Brett :)
 

trainergames

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Ok here are some pics i took:
http://imageshack.us/f/708/dsc00010bg.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/f/444/dsc00011tw.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/f/267/dsc00012mi.jpg/

Also here is a pic i found online that is of the mobo with nothing on it.
http://www.esaitech.com/cgi-bin/showimg.pl?url=/objects/catalog/product/image/img140860.jpg
Keep in mind i don't have the tray as seen in this pic.

All i want in a case is for the mobo to fit,i only need 1 5.25 drive bay, and would like more than 4 drives lol,also the power button is a little weird it is using a 9 pin IDE style connector that connects to a small curcit board that is screwed to the front of the case,i think it was jury rigged there.

But cheap is the main thing,cause i don't make much lol.
 
It really depends on how you want to access it VPN is most seamless but quite a bit harder to setup. Also pulling a movie over .5 mb would take days so not a good plan. VPN would be ideal if you had 5 mb as you could actually run the movie from your house. Just open up your server from your house as it would lok like you were on your local home network and just run the movie like you would locally.

Thent
 

trainergames

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I am planing on getting a better internet when i get my own place,but i think VPN is the way want to go,now how do i go about doing that?
Also how hard would it be for a linux noob like me?

EDIT:if this helps on finding a cheap case i think the mobo is an e-atx mobo.