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We have several old computers at home, and many IDE HDD drives. I would like to make a "storage server" from one. SO I want to use its storage as a shared folder. The other computers are Windows 7 / XP. Reqirements:

  • Best config: Pentium II, 256 / 384 MB RAM, 200GB+120GB+120GB, with LAN
  • no raid is needed
  • I would like to format the non-linux partitions as NTFS (so if linux dies, I put the hdd in win computer it can handle)
  • Read/write is needed
  • I would like to share the partitions root on SMB (so accessible by windows)
  • No gui for the "server" - only ssh is needed.

What do you propose for me, with distro / version is good? I am familiar with debian, ubuntu and centos.

Thank you in advance.

lajos.cseppento
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3 Answers3

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Lubuntu can be installed on a pentium II with 384 MB RAM. Ubuntu Server has a recommended minimum of a 300 Mhz processor and 128 MB RAM.

If I needed to build a fileSERVER I would go with the obvious and install the headless Ubuntu Server. And would keep it clean, without a Graphic User Interface. Both systems build from the same source.. The Server edition has no GUI so I believe it will always be lighter in use and can put more resources into the job at hand..

I think Lubuntu is not going to be all that smooth (Got it running on a HP9010 laptop, 1.2 P4 512MB RAM, works reasonably smooth, but it's a good practice in patience)..

Bart.a
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  • and what about debian server? which is the better regarding resource use? can it still handle ntfs? And how to format disks as ntfs without gui (i had a try in vmware, but needed gparted which needs gtk+) – lajos.cseppento May 30 '13 at 16:02
  • I don't know much about debian server but I think it's comparable to ubuntu server. NTFS should not be a problem for ubuntu server, the ntfs-3g driver is pre-installed in all current versions. I think you can format the disk to ntfs on install, but I'm not sure. Alternatively (and I would recommend it) you could use a small disk (ext4) to run your server and use one or more separate disks (formatted in NTFS) to store your data. All nice and clean, easy to maintain. – Bart.a May 30 '13 at 21:12
  • you can't use gparted on a gui free server. you will need to use something like fdisk. You can find a step by step guide here – Bart.a May 30 '13 at 21:56
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Your best bet with be to use Lubuntu. Lubuntu uses the Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment, as its default GUI. It has very lax system requirements. You can go here to get more information about Lubuntu, and to download it.

Mitch
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If you don't need a gui, just download the server iso, install it and apt-get the packages you need. Once you setup ssh you don't even need a monitor. You might want to look into setting up JBOD to join all the HD's into one logical volume. How to set up multiple hard drives as one volume?

Of course there is always FreeNAS, which is also really easy. Just be sure to install freeNAS to a bootable USB drive because whatever the boot drive size, FreeNAS claims it and you cannot use it for storage.

Community
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Scott Goodgame
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  • Make that the 12.04 LTS Server. The 13.04 version is 64-bit only: a P II is not up to spec for that. – douggro May 30 '13 at 06:58
  • is freenas much better than smb? can work with NTFS and windows homegroup (mshome, xp) lan? – lajos.cseppento May 30 '13 at 08:49
  • freenas is awesome!! I tried it, but problem: got one core and 256 MB ram, with two virtual disks (stripe). When I write or read, the vm uses the 60-80 (!) percent of one (i5-2500K, 3,3 ghz) core!!! (no cpu difference if non-vm). Is it vm or freenas problem? I can give up ntfs if freenas is ok for PII – lajos.cseppento May 30 '13 at 18:00
  • I've used freenas on an old p3 with, if i recall, 192 mb of ram and I had no problems... Granted I am not serving lots of people... Just me and whatever I was playing video/audio on... – Scott Goodgame May 30 '13 at 20:48