Is this worth it?

[NightrainSrt4]

I've been thinking about throwing together a small server just for around the house so everyone here can access music/etc.

I happened upon this on my internet adventures.
P3 1U Servers $25 (http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/sys/930681453.html)

Has everything but hard drives, which I have a couple older IDE to get me started. Is 800Mhz P3's enough for a basic file server on a home network? Servers and networking aren't really my strong point.

Edit: I live right in Framingham, so its in town as well.

[progbuddy]

I think it would. PIII's were great for servers. I would ask him if they were all in working condition at the time of purchase though. It seems worded funny to me.

[NightrainSrt4]

I sent an email showing interest, and asked if they were in working condition and included power supplies and cables if not a regular cable. Awaiting an answer now.

Seems like it would save me some space/hassle than trying to get one of my other computers built into a small case and set up.

[SgtM]

Totally worth it for what you want to do, and yes.. regular power cables will work.

[NightrainSrt4]

Right now I'm just debating on whether cost wise it is efficient, granted its only $25. I have plenty of other computers that are up to the same task, and possibly be more quiet, but I don't have cases, which is why the small 1u is attractive.

1.4Ghz Athlon------256Mb Ram---Doing nothing, crappy large case
3Ghz Celeron-------1Gb Ram------Doing nothing, needs case
2.9Ghz Celeron-----512Mb Ram---Doing nothing, needs case
2.6Ghz P4---------- 512Mb Ram---Currently LCD Tv duty for Hulu/Fancast/etc
1.8Ghz C2D---------2Gb Ram------Borrowed for the time being

And the project I've been working on 1.8Ghz Pentium M 512Mb ram laptop->slim desktop conversion that is almost complete. But it only has 40Gb hard drive, and no real way to expand on that, other than buy new IDE laptop drive. Was going to replace Hulu/Fancase PC most likely.

I would really like to get/build a server rack and some 4U cases but thats probably out of reach atm. I would love to consolidate some of this stuff. I can't seem to let it go, and have already donated to the point I don't really know of anyone that needs anything as it is.

And that isn't including 3 other relatively newish laptops and a 2000ish imac

[NightrainSrt4]

I just got the email back, and talked to him over the phone, as he lives right down the road. After thinking about it, I think I might get a couple of them, because I was worried if something happened down the road, I really don't have access to parts for them, short of ebay. So have one as a backup or something.

He seemed nice. He said he had some hard drives he might be able to throw in too, which would be nice, as I only have a couple old 40Gb IDE's that aren't in use right now. Though I could rearrange my the hard drive set up on some of the other systems to get a bit more space into the server, but not much.

I just realized my Corsair rebate from a while ago came in, so it ends up I'm not spending much, and I could work to finding someone else nearby to donate some of these older ones to if I have to many lying around that space becomes an issue.

I will reply when I get back and update progress on them. In the mean time, what would be a good OS for them. I can get WinServer 2k3 for being a student through microsofts thingy. I have win2k as well from a while ago. Those suffice? Or look for a linux option? The network is all XP computers.

[NightrainSrt4]

I picked up 2 of them. I figured the second would be for parts incase something goes wrong with the main one. I will probably combine/swap ram/cpu to make the best 1 server and keep the extra for just in case.

1x P3 850Mhz, 4x128Mb ECC, PSU, Slim CD drive, floppy
1x P3 800Mhz, 2x256Mb ECC, PSU, Slim CD drive, floppy

So I will probably make it so the server will be:
P3 850Mhz, 768Mb Ram, etc

And keep the other server as a backup for parts as P3 800Mhz 256Mb Ram.

I have a good long time ahead of me washing them all down though. They are visually damn clean, but he smoked, so you can smell it on it. Ughhhh. :smoker::down:

[NightrainSrt4]

Got them cleaned and found a decent little spot for them for now. Installing Windows 2000 Server atm, but I do have a question.

On an older server like this, would a pci sata card work without issues?

I want to put some bigger hard drives in here other than the crappy 2x 40Gb IDE drives I have lying around, but I really don't want to invest in any more IDE hard drives. The server does have a spare full size pci slot available. I just don't know if I would have issues with the old server recognizing the drives, as I haven't had the need to use one.

[SgtM]

Very cool. A PCI SATA controller would work fine. While I'm partial to linux on servers, Server 2k will work fine in your setup. Hell, XP would even work if you have an extra license.

[NightrainSrt4]

Cool. Once my brother snags up my 17" laptop I'll be getting a couple pci sata cards then. I won't be running RAID, so I don't need to worry about that. Everything I have is currently archived on DVD's, and everything new I get will have a DVD backup made as well. But having a server or two will be nice for family needing things or when I'm away and want to get at stuff.

Now the question is on to hard drives. I figure I can do ~200$ on drives. Do I go with 4x500GB drives and have both servers up and running? Or 2x1TB drives and just have one server running and the other just sitting in case something breaks? If I ever need to upgrade I can put the 500GB's to use in another PC so that isn't really an issue, but each server only holds 2 drives.

Also, when I get new drives, should I just partition one of the drives and have that be the boot partition on the storage drive, or should I utilize one of the IDE's and get an IDE->CF adapter and have the OS on CF? There's plenty of space to tuck one of those, but not sure on reliability.

[NightrainSrt4]

Currently one server is up with 2x40Gb IDE drives.

I just accessed it from my Macbook, manipulated files easily. Woot! Added all the correct registry keys so that way I could turn on the server without needing a monitor for admin login whatnots.

I will try and get some pictures up tomorrow of the hardware itself.


Edit: Lol. My Macbook accessed it all flawlessly in seconds. I just spent 20 minutes trying to get the girlfriends XP laptop to see it, and then I smacked myself in the face when I realized that it was her firewall and forgot she turned off trusted zone alerts. I feel like a dumbarse.

But man do I really like this thing. I am very excited. Once my laptop->sff desktop conversion is done I'll be able to grab movies off the server and watch them, stream music, etc. I am very excited, and glad I picked these up. They are noisy but no noisier than my gaming rig windtunnel. =)

[NightrainSrt4]

These look like an okay deal? WD 1Tb Green OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136151)

2 of those, and 2 of the 36" SATA cables deal thing comes to $195.98

I don't need RAID or anything so I was going to go with Rosewill PCI Sata card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816132001). Its only 1.5Gb/s opposed to the 3, but I am running a 100mb lan so not sure the bump would be worth the extra costs.

Edit: Went with 1x1Tb drive for now. I can use my 160Gb Sata that's in Project: Nightrain acting as storage until after Christmas when I can pick up a second. I went with the Green drive because of the low power draw, and cool temps, and I don't need the extra speed of a faster drive.

[NightrainSrt4]

Woot! Instead of making another thread I figured I would post here.

Tomorrow I get to pick up 3 3u Compaq Proliant P3 Servers with 9Gb hotswap drives and probably some rack rails. These are full servers that have been in storage for a bit I guess.

This is great as I've been looking for some cases as I have a 3 computers without cases. This will free up a case so I can give one to my cousin as a Christmas present.

Now I need to either build a rack or get one. There was a 36u one free on Craigslist but I had no truck to get it, nor know anyone nearby. Eventually I will luck out, or find a way to build one.

Just posting as I am excited. I've been searching for cases of some sort everywhere and boom rack cases just like I wanted, with hardware to boot!

Edit: I realized the other day the 1Tb drive didn't have a molex power connector like every other sata drive I've owned, so I am waiting on the converter to come in then I will post about the file servers progress. =)

[SgtM]

Good progress.
:pics:

[NightrainSrt4]

Ugghhh, I know I know. I haven't had a camera to borrow in a while. Can't wait to get the dslr after Christmas. Really I am just waiting out of formality as I know I am getting newegg.com gift cards, so might as well lessen the out of pocket expenses. Hopefully they will still have the free 8Gb SD and Free carry case combo with the EOS XS.

I leave in an hour to go pick up the 3 new servers. I promise I will do my best go get some pics up soon afterward.

I believe they are 3 Compaq Proliant 1850R Servers, so hopefully this pic will tide everyone over until then.

Proliant 1850R (http://www.recycledgoods.com/item/8975.aspx)

Edit: Crap. Thats the first time I Clicked on the zoom link that brings up other pictures. I guess the backpanel wasn't what I expected. Hmmm. Oh well. If they are the same It looks like I will have some packpanel modding adventures ahead of me, as I was under the assumption that 3u's could take standard hardware configurations.

[SXRguyinMA]

do you know if he's still got any available? I tried emailing him but it was undeliverable :think: I'd like to snag one for my home network as well :up:

[NightrainSrt4]

Dude, you can totally have one for free. He gave me what he had, and a box of rackrails. If you've got a rack you can have the entire box of rails if you want too, as I don't have a rack yet, and don't forsee one too soon.

You can have what looks to be the quickest one in the lot, as I already snagged up two 1u 800Mhz P3 servers a couple weeks ago as per this original thread.

Two of them are single P3 500Mhz with 128Mb Ram. I'll combine those to make what I can out of it, and try to convert the other case down the line I suppose.

You can have the dual P3 600Mhz with 256Mb Ram. Its got a power supply, slim CD drive, and 4 4.3Gb drives. Floppy. He said that they are downclocked to 450Mhz, but that's probably nothing a bit of tinkering couldn't set straight.

So ya, I'm sure we can set something up, as I live in Framingham. Just PM me a couple days in advance or something of when you want to pick them up and we can set something up. Don't worry if its not for a while, I'm in no rush anywho.

Edit: I'll go through after dinner and boot them to make sure its all working.
Edit2: Just realized your message said he said undeliverable. I'm sure some time along I can work something out and drop it off to you. Im heading to the Cape sometime next weekend so I'm sure I can make a short detour =)

[NightrainSrt4]

Here's some pics as promised:
Once again, don't mind the horrible pics. I'm always afraid to touch her camera for more than a couple seconds, so worrying about lighting,positioning, stability, blur, etc is out of the picture. ;)

Fronts
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/4084/dsc04346hz2.jpg

Backs
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/7338/dsc04352zm2.jpg

Inside of single P3
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/8730/dsc04360jo6.jpg

Looks to be a raid card
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/8330/dsc04361um0.jpg

P3
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/6289/dsc04363yq5.jpg

[NightrainSrt4]

Ohh and here are some preliminary pics of the 1u's I picked up not too long ago. Once I get the sata to molex adapters next weekend I will go through and get some inside shots and some better outside ones.

Covers closed:
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/9048/dsc04353og1.jpg

Open:
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/548/dsc04354se8.jpg

And here's a pic of the free trinitron I got from the girlfriends brother just the other day, and the laptop I picked up at the same time from my brother that had its screen crushed that I removed the lid/screen and hooked it up to the new monitor:
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/931/dsc04356bo0.jpg

So ya, lots of new toys. :D

Edit: All 3U's boot up. They are a bit noisy though, well one more than the others, but seemingly noisier than the 1U's. The single fan on the back of the cases REALLY moves some air.

[nevermind1534]

Let me know if you want any P3s. I have socket 370-slot 1 adapters, many socket 370 CPUs, and a spare slot 1 processor. I am willing to send you the stuff for $1+ the cost of shipping. We can work something out on ebay, maybe, if you want.

[SXRguyinMA]

pm sent :D

[NightrainSrt4]

Replied to you Will. Glad some one will put the other server to good use. As I wasn't sure what I was going to do with all of them once I realized they weren't going to be able to hold standard atx parts.

nevermind, Thank you for the offer but I think I am good for parts. My 1u's are maxed out, and I've condensed 2 of the 3u's, leaving me with a mobo as a backup. Even if I did take you up on the offer I wouldn't have anyway to actually put it to use, and it would sit there. Thank you very much though, I am much obliged.

On another note, out of the two servers left after putting SXR's to the side, I picked the better condition case as my base. Turns out it was the dustiest out of the bunch. Dust caked everywhere. I ripped everything out of it and washed everything non-electrical in the big sink. After 3 hours of washing, drying, cleaning, etc, I finally had everything back together and working quite nicely.

[NightrainSrt4]

I have another question:

I am thinking about grabbing another 1Tb drive around Christmas as originally planned. What should I set up as a boot drive? There is only room for 2 3.5" drives mind you, but I can find a spot to tuck a 2.5" or smaller.

1. ss/partition one of the 1Tb's and have the OS there.

2. try and get a 2.5" IDE laptop drive for the OS and keep the 1Tb's for data only.

3. go for a CF card and IDE adapter and hope I can get it to act as a hard drive, as some have troubles as many are internally labeled as removable media.

Thanks.

[NightrainSrt4]

Ugghhhh. Just when things are going well I get hit with an issue. Server is all up and running. Can access fine from every computer in the house, but my main desktop running xp pro.

I can remote desktop into the server fine. I can go to run then \\ip in fine. But My network places is completely screwed. Everytime I try to view workgroup computers the whole thing freaks and explorer crashes. None of my system restores do anything to help. All the ips/subnet/gateway information is correct. Netbios on TCP/IP is enabled. Everything seems fine, except that it freaks out when I go through view workgroup computers. It always fails and crashes, yet I can access it manually in numerous other ways. ... Can't figure this out for the life of me.

[NightrainSrt4]

Well out of frustration, and the seemingly greener grass of Vista Ultimate, I went through the college's website and realized I can get a copy of it for 20$+shipping.

I don't know why I can't access the server through explorer, but I am tired of Xp running phenomenally for months then starting to flake out over time. Time to go learn a new OS for me I think.

The schools site didn't specify whether it was 64bit, but I hope so.
School's link to Vista (http://e5.onthehub.com/WebStore/OfferingDetails.aspx?ws=2a4aa7c8-db07-dd11-89b0-0030485a6b08&o=ad705af3-f7b6-dd11-b00d-0030485a6b08). They only have upgrades too, which sucks, as I'd pay more to not have to deal with installing xp then vista on a new drive, but whatever.

EDIT: HMMMMM...After having the PC on for a couple hours it magically can use explorer and go to view workgroup computers. I've done NOTHING but leave it on, as all the settings were correct, and NOW it starts working. WTF? Could it have had some unresolved networking crap to deal with? Either way, I've got a copy of Vista Ultimate on its way anywho.

[SXRguyinMA]

$20 for VU? holy crap! wanna score me a copy? :devious:

[NightrainSrt4]

I'd grab more than one just for myself for my other pc's if I could but they only let you order 1 copy unfortunately. :(

But Im glad I looked at the school's website, as 20$ <<<< 150$+

[SXRguyinMA]

that figues :( thats still a sweet price :bowdown: let me know how it is, I've been thinking of upgrading :up:

[nevermind1534]

I'd grab more than one just for myself for my other pc's if I could but they only let you order 1 copy unfortunately. :(

But Im glad I looked at the school's website, as 20$ <<<< 150$+

My dad bought a copy of windows xp pro, office xp pro with frontpage, and windows 98 from U of M. xp and office didn't even need to be activated. They're good for unlimited installs. I don't know if your school's copies will be the same, but it's a really good deal either way.

[NightrainSrt4]

I don't know until I get it and try it. But it said if any software keys were needed it would be on a webpage it gave the link to me for, and there was zero keys there, so I am assuming it doesn't need a key to go through authentication or its included with it.

On the plus side, I thought the license was just while in school, but it seems it never expires. All that is necessary is to be enrolled while purchasing it. Hmmm, might have to pick up office 07 and a few others now that I know that.