# Building Server For Small LAN (Just Want Info)



## Blue_3 (Jul 29, 2007)

I was just wondering what components of a server are different then your avg gaming pc and etc. I'm not going to be building one anytime soon and all I'm after right now is some extreme detailed facts.

Some time in the future I plan to build a Server for "Storage/Transfer" and a "Proxy" on my Home LAN. So I was wondering some of these questions:

A: What specs are you looking for in a Server Motherboard.
B: What is the advantage/Disadvantaged/Possibilities of Dual NIC.
C: What type of processor is needed for a Server.
D: What amount/speed of RAM is the perfect amount for a Server.
E: What ways should be needed for cooling of a Server.
F: What performance are you looking for in the Hard Drives.
G: What are some major advantages of having a Server.
H: What does it need to be completely remotely accessible from LAN and WAN (Internet).

I have many ideas of what some answers are to all of those questions but id like to really get to know a server in deep details. Basically all I'm looking for is just a Storage Server (Minimum of 1TB) and probably a Proxy to filter and block unwanted bandwidth sucking websites. Also it is a possibility that I would want it to act as a DHCP server as well.

Also I have looked at many many "Network Storage Drives" and such things as the "Drobo" and "Buffalo" etc. I would like to know if it is better/cheaper to build a server, or to simply get such a device as one of those.

So Please post all answers and please please most important explain why. Thanks In Advance.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

A. It really all depends on what your budget is. On the low end you can pick up a Socket 775 Conroe/Kentsfield Xeon and standard ATX LGA775 board, or on the high end you can get a dual LGA775 Extended ATX Xeon MP board. Higher end boards will have PCI-X for high end RAID cards.

B. A dual NIC can really never hurt, and you may also want to get a dedicated PCI or PCIe NIC card.

C. Again, it all depends on your budget. Right now I am recommending the single quad core Xeon Kentsfield processors for the low end or the dual quad core Xeon MP processors.

D. It depends on what OS you will be running, but I would definitely start out with 2GB and then go up to 4GB if you have the money.

E. It depends on what chassis it will be in. If it will be a rackmount, look at a couple 80mm front and rear fans (this will be noisy). If it is a mid or full tower, the standard cooling fans that come with high end towers will be fine.

F. Definitely get at least a RAID 1 array, but if you can look at a RAID 5 array with four or five disk drives which is good in servers. Also look at a dedicated PCI or if you have a good motherboard PCI-X RAID card.

G. What more specifically will you be doing with this? What other computers are on the network?

H. You need to have the proper software as in a good server OS and proper third party software. Depending on how you need to access it, you might also need other hardware on the network (this is true especially for VPN).

I. I know you didn't ask this, but I am going to add it in. As far as the video card goes, you really don't need to spend a lot of money on a high end card if its for a gaming server even, just enough on a good dedicated card that can run the game if necessary even if the graphics are turned down.

NAS drives are a good inexpensive option, although I have generally found the performance of those to be greatly inferior to that of even a low end dedicated file server on the LAN.


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## Blue_3 (Jul 29, 2007)

Alright all sounds sweet, basically had it all down except, not exactly sure about all the Pci-x slots and raid cards/NIC's.

My Home LAN is very simple, just always 2 pc's (my 2) and i have up to 6 more (friends pc's). We game and stuff like that. Transfer large files alot sometimes, it just sucks when im playing a pretty new game like crysis and some one starts taking files from me i get all chuggy, and hardrive light completly red. This being 1 of the main reasons for getting a server. Plus I just like to mess around with stuff, experiment just learn more.

Ok to get you more situated in what price range im looking for (what i want from my server), Heres all I want my server to do with extreme ease:

A: File sharing
B: Proxy
C: Dedicated Game Servers (for LAN, make it easier and faster on map loads etc.)
D: DHCP
OS: Don't know alot about difference in Server verions but I have (Windows Xp Pro, Windows Server 2003 Enterprise, and Vista Buisness). I am extremely familliar with Windows Xp Pro and not so much with the others so... yeah.

Money isn't a issue right now as obviously I'm only gathering facts and will only maybe build one in the future . So i can say right now, probaly not Dual Processor's but it is a possibility, more liekly be a Quad-core. Defiantly atleast 2 gigs. Probably a simple VC like a 7600. Now for hardrives I Guess i'll buy 2 500g Sata 2 for storage and probably 1 120 gb-250gb Sata 2 for the windows drive.

*Note*: My theory correct me if i'm wrong on this, With a Dual NIC you can run 2 cables from the pc and run it into your switch so you can basically double your network speed to that pc, like say 2 cat6 cables (2 Gig LAN)


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

If you have Windows Server 2k3 then I would throw that on there because that will allow you to use the server as a DHCP server and proxy server. The other operating systems will only allow basic file sharing and game server apps.

For the hard drives, throw in four or five 250GB drives in a RAID 5 array. This way you will have good fault tolerance in case of a disk failure (likely).

Right now you can actually pick up a standard ATX board and throw a Kentsfield Xeon on it as your processor, get a midrange video card, and 4GB of RAM. A good board will have dual NICs and a RAID controller that will support all your disk drives, so you won't need to mess around with high end (and expensive) NICs and RAID controllers.

I do not believe that you can run two Cat6 cables from the server to the switch and transfer data in parallel (although I could be wrong). My understanding is that Windows will see them as separate network interfaces and different apps can be configured to use one or the other, but not both. If you will be using this as your DHCP server, hook up one NIC to the switch and the other to your Modem/WAN connection.


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## Blue_3 (Jul 29, 2007)

Alright sweet thanks man for sharing your knowledge ; ). I'm in a PC class and im hooked up with this "MSDNAA" thing and i can basically get any OS Microsoft makes along with a legal key code, so if you know when the next server edition ) Windows Server 2005 i think or 2007 not sure..) comes out, I could have a high chance of getting that if its within 1 year time.


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## Blue_3 (Jul 29, 2007)

Actaully I just looked it up "Windows Server 2008" . Windows Server 2008 was released to manufacturing on February 4, 2008 with the official launch of planned for February 27, 2008. So Awesome hahaha.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Yeah, although TBH I would stick with Server 2003 because 2008 is based off Vista.


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## Blue_3 (Jul 29, 2007)

wisely said.


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