First Linux Home Server

[Bassmann]

Hi all,

I'm embarking on setting up my first Linux Server for home and thought I'd post my plans and hopefully get some input on other considerations I should make before I start installing.

There are several reasons why I want to setup a server for home as follows;
- I've thought about having a NAS for a while, but right now I've got a spare PC kicking about doing nothing. Its a Intel 4570 with 8GB and a 128GB SSD for the OS, so why go out and buy a NAS where I've got the hardware.

From a server point of view I want to do the following;

• Run MySQL for personal DB's (1 user only)
• Run a media server (DLNA)
• File Server to Windows clients (home network)
• Network Backups (of the windows machines)
• Downloading
• Maybe a VPN
• Other things but the above are my main priorities at present
• The box will sit in the corner and do its thing (low maintenance)

Linux distribution
I'm looking at installing Debian 8 with the MySQL Apt package. I don't have the experience to compare various distributions but from what I read Debian is considered a rock solid distribution. Interested to here if others have other thoughts on Debian or another distribution based on what I want to achieve.

Raid or not to Raid
I'm not sure how I should go with my disk setup in my server.

I see so many options and at the end of the day I will only be used at home.
My requirements are;
- I do not need striping speed benefits
- I do need some degree of redundancy however not all my data is precious, just a portion.
- I currently have 2 x 4TB drives for storage. They will not hold the OS.

A couple of ideas I've canvassed are;
- A raid-z setup which I believe I can do with an additional 4TB drive as minimum.
- Since I do not need to back up all my data I could buy say a 1TB HDD to mirror specific directories that I wish to backup.

Any thoughts on the HDD setup appreciated.

Also any further research I should do before embarking on my setup.

Cheers,

Bassmann

 

[rop]

Hi,
Debian will be good choice, I use it for years, but most of linux distro will meet Your expectations. You can compare various distributions on distrowatch com. Pay some attention to selecting type of desktop (I assume that You will use it).
About Raid:
You can mirror 2x4TB drives setting RAID 1 but You loose 50% of capacity (4TB remain) or buy additional 4TB and setup RAID 5 with 8TB usable space.

Cheers,
rop

 

[ryanvade]

Hi all,

I'm embarking on setting up my first Linux Server for home and thought I'd post my plans and hopefully get some input on other considerations I should make before I start installing.

There are several reasons why I want to setup a server for home as follows;
- I've thought about having a NAS for a while, but right now I've got a spare PC kicking about doing nothing. Its a Intel 4570 with 8GB and a 128GB SSD for the OS, so why go out and buy a NAS where I've got the hardware.

From a server point of view I want to do the following;

• Run MySQL for personal DB's (1 user only)
• Run a media server (DLNA)
• File Server to Windows clients (home network)
• Network Backups (of the windows machines)
• Downloading
• Maybe a VPN
• Other things but the above are my main priorities at present
• The box will sit in the corner and do its thing (low maintenance)

Linux distribution
I'm looking at installing Debian 8 with the MySQL Apt package. I don't have the experience to compare various distributions but from what I read Debian is considered a rock solid distribution. Interested to here if others have other thoughts on Debian or another distribution based on what I want to achieve.

Raid or not to Raid
I'm not sure how I should go with my disk setup in my server.

I see so many options and at the end of the day I will only be used at home.
My requirements are;
- I do not need striping speed benefits
- I do need some degree of redundancy however not all my data is precious, just a portion.
- I currently have 2 x 4TB drives for storage. They will not hold the OS.

A couple of ideas I've canvassed are;
- A raid-z setup which I believe I can do with an additional 4TB drive as minimum.
- Since I do not need to back up all my data I could buy say a 1TB HDD to mirror specific directories that I wish to backup.

Any thoughts on the HDD setup appreciated.

Also any further research I should do before embarking on my setup.

Cheers,

Bassmann

Welcome to the forums.

Yes Debian will be a great choice, its very stable. Another good choice would be Ubuntu Server or (if you like RedHat) CentOS.

Depending on exactly what your data dependencies are, RAID may not be the only option. BTRFS Copy on Write is a good choice as well.
https://btrfs.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/SysadminGuide

If you have any particular questions please let us know.

 

[Bassmann]

Thanks Rop & Ryanvade.

I do need to think a bit more about my Raid requirements which i'll do. In the meantime I've given Debian a go which worked well. Having learnt a few things I'm running a 2nd time to customise my learnings so far. Now I have my OS installed I'm looking into setting up my file sharing & backups to start with.

File Sharing
My research says I need Samba for file sharing which I'll have a look at today.

File System
In terms of disks, I have a SSD for my Debian install and NTFS formatted drives for data which I'll move from my Windows machine into the Debian machine. I understnad a NTFS client exists for Linux, but is this a good option or should I be looking at converting my drives to a Linux file system. If so, what would be best for the needs outlined in my original post. I've had a look around but there seems to be many options and I'm not sure where to start.

Backups
I've narrowed this down to fwbackups and bacula. I think fwbackups suits my needs. e.g. System Image, scheduled differential backups etc to removable devices. Bacula seems to have more features but I probably don't need them. Am I right that fwbackups will probably suit my needs?

Thanks,

Bassmann

 

[blackneos940]

Thanks Rop & Ryanvade.

I do need to think a bit more about my Raid requirements which i'll do. In the meantime I've given Debian a go which worked well. Having learnt a few things I'm running a 2nd time to customise my learnings so far. Now I have my OS installed I'm looking into setting up my file sharing & backups to start with.

File Sharing
My research says I need Samba for file sharing which I'll have a look at today.

File System
In terms of disks, I have a SSD for my Debian install and NTFS formatted drives for data which I'll move from my Windows machine into the Debian machine. I understnad a NTFS client exists for Linux, but is this a good option or should I be looking at converting my drives to a Linux file system. If so, what would be best for the needs outlined in my original post. I've had a look around but there seems to be many options and I'm not sure where to start.

Backups
I've narrowed this down to fwbackups and bacula. I think fwbackups suits my needs. e.g. System Image, scheduled differential backups etc to removable devices. Bacula seems to have more features but I probably don't need them. Am I right that fwbackups will probably suit my needs?

Thanks,

Bassmann

I don't know jack about Headphone Jacks, OR Networks (or guys named "Jack", for that matter..... ) Regardless, I wish you luck, and if it's not too late, since you're running a Server with a good amount of RAM, might I suggest DOS.....? ... ... ... Just kidding..... No, go for the LXDE or XFCE Desktop Environment..... I like them quite a bit, PLUS they're lightweight!..... How could you go wrong.....? :3

 

[debian_guy]

Debian is one of the best Linux you can use, but not the stable one. It runs faster than Ubuntu, but couple of months later when you update or install packages don't get shocked with dependency problems. I suggest you to use Ubuntu Long Term Support version.

 

[jerz4lunch]

Thanks Rop & Ryanvade.

I do need to think a bit more about my Raid requirements which i'll do. In the meantime I've given Debian a go which worked well. Having learnt a few things I'm running a 2nd time to customise my learnings so far. Now I have my OS installed I'm looking into setting up my file sharing & backups to start with.

File Sharing
My research says I need Samba for file sharing which I'll have a look at today.

File System
In terms of disks, I have a SSD for my Debian install and NTFS formatted drives for data which I'll move from my Windows machine into the Debian machine. I understnad a NTFS client exists for Linux, but is this a good option or should I be looking at converting my drives to a Linux file system. If so, what would be best for the needs outlined in my original post. I've had a look around but there seems to be many options and I'm not sure where to start.

Backups
I've narrowed this down to fwbackups and bacula. I think fwbackups suits my needs. e.g. System Image, scheduled differential backups etc to removable devices. Bacula seems to have more features but I probably don't need them. Am I right that fwbackups will probably suit my needs?

Thanks,

Bassmann

As far as NTFS goes, most Linux distros have NTFS filesystem support built in. If for some reason it isn't, you could then look into installing something called ntfs-3g. It is a piece of software that enables reliable read/write access to NTFS formatted partitions.