[Herefordshire] Newbie Question: File Server

[David Shorthouse]

Hi Ben,

A fileserver is what it says it is. A server that serves files whether
backup files or important documents. What happens you get your users to save
all important information on the fileserver So when you do a backup all
important information is saved. You do this by creating a file share(if this
is the correct term in Linux I don't know) not sure how on Linux still
learning.

A file server can also hold information like user emails rather than having
the information on each individual client machine it can be held on the
server.
Normally Its a good idea to have a good spec machine but if its just for
home use I don't really think it will matter?

I hope this helps at least a bit :)

Dave
-----Original Message-----
From: Ben Stephens [mailto:foolfodder at gmail.com]
Sent: 03 May 2005 2:00 PM
To: Herefordshire Linux Users Group.
Subject: [Herefordshire] Newbie Question: File Server


I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice about setting up a
fairly basic fileserver for a network with about 2 windows pcs on it.
What hardware/software.

Would backing up to a USB hard disk be a good idea?

I was thinking about maybe a dell value server (they've got a discount
on at the mo) or building something myself but i'm not really sure
what I need / what works best with linux.

Or possibly something a little more exotic like a mac mini or a
mini-itx system but it would probably be best to steer clear of
something like that if it's likely to get complicated.

I'm not really sure what a file server is supposed to do either,
except keep a backup, which we could maybe do with a usb hard disk
anyway.

Thanks, Ben