Ronn Hanley - For the Tech Hobbyist: Everything you need to know about home based servers

For the Tech Hobbyist:

Everything you need to know about Home Based Servers

Foreword

Even if you are new to building computers and networks the chances are very good that youve heard the term server at work or in the news. A web server is an example of a server that you use every day without being fully aware of whats happening in the background. When you go onto the internet and type an address into your browser (say www.bn.com), whats really happening is that your computer is making a request to the server that the address represents. The server responds by sending you the files that make of the web page you asked for. Even though the response happens very fast and is full of things like graphics and text and video, its still just a file that has been transferred from one machine to another.

Maybe you've experimented with building your own PC's so you have some experience and although you havent touched a server before you're curious what all the hullabaloo is about. Either way this book series is intended to help clear up any mysteries and help you to see why building a home server isn't only a 'good' idea, its essential to the growth and health of your home network.

Look at it this way I bet you already have several dozen devices running in your home that are networked together. Its no longer only about home computers. Just about every home appliance or device for controlling comfort has a stake in how well your network runs. There are refrigerators, ovens, microwaves, heating and cooling equipment, pool equipment, home security systems, TVs, counter top appliances, radios and dozens of other devices that have the ability to be tied to a network in some way. It just makes good sense to build an infrastructure that allows you to monitor and control what happens in your house.

This is what servers were meant to do. In large enterprises they maintain databases and file stores (large groupings of individual files like documents, spreadsheets, images and what have you). They regulate security and access to the rest of the network and they give feedback on how things are going. Your home, with all of its devices really isnt any different; its just a matter of scale.

If youve never worked with servers before some of the terms I use in this book might not make sense at first. Dont worry, thats the best and most exciting part of learning something new. If you run up against something in this book that doesnt make sense and it isnt explained clearly enough remember Google is your friend. Even at their best, any book that you read is only the start of educating yourself about how to find resources to accomplish tasks.

The goal of this book is to help you consider the infrastructure for your personal home network as a homogenous whole. As I said earlier, its no longer about just having a computer or two in the family room. How well you are able to stay connected and productive will depend on how closely you match the technology in your house with a system to monitor and secure it.

Plus, who knows, doing something as creative as building your own home server could lead to a great career in technology, or at the very least create that WOW factor at your next family get together!

About For the Tech Hobbyist

This series of books has grown out of my passion to learn new technologies and then finding ways to make that education work for me at home or in my businesses. Ive been involved in IT professionally and as an adherent for over 20 years and though I dont know probably half as much as I should, its the love of the process (building, learning reading, talking to other technologists, coming up with new ideas and being excited when things work) that keeps me coming back for more. There is nothing like building a machine with your hands and your brain, turning it on and watching it do something amazing.

Its my greatest hope that you will glean some useful information from this book series and that my love of technology and the process sings to you on some level to ignite that creative spark.

What you will learn in this book?

• What is the difference between a server and a desktop PC?
• Why should you build a home server?
• What can a server do for you and why should you spend the time/money on one?
• Give you an insight into the 'secrets' of servers and show that they're not that big a deal.

HINT - Theres really no secret, servers are just computers that provide services to other computers on a network. At the end of the day they crunch numbers like any other computer; they just usually do it a lot faster and with specific purposes in mind.

With that in mind, lets get started!

Table of Contents

Part 1 Why have a home server?

Part 2 What can a home server do for you?

Part 3 What Operating System should you use?

Part 4 What hardware works best?

Part 5 Putting it all together

Part 1 Why have a home server?

First things first, what is a server?

At the core a server is just a computer on your network that provides services to other computers on the network.

The concept can be a little confusing because the word server encompasses both software AND hardware. Its very important to realize that each part is integral to how well the machine will work in your network. Lots of server software requires very specific hardware to run properly (or at all).

When were talking about the server hardware think of it this way the physical machine acting as a server is usually the central, sometimes largest and frequently the most powerful computer in a network. It doesnt have to be all of the above, but in general it is a very robust machine.

The hardware has the following characteristics

• It plays host to the server software
• Stores and manages common data and databases
• Acts to supply that data to individual workstations (also known as clients)
• Provides shared network services like
• Access to the internet or other networks
• Access to printers
• Access to security software or hardware

When were talking about the server software think of it this way the software acting as the server generally has specific functions and ONLY does those functions. Although most software can be configured in various ways, once the system is set up it will only do what its configured to do unless you change it.

The software has the following characteristics

• It normally resides on the central, largest, and most powerful computer in a network.
• It does nothing until a request or command is received from a client or peripheral device with a specific function that requires interaction (i.e.: a camera in a security system sees something which triggers a response from the software to send you an email or set off an alarm, this is just one example, there are hundreds of ways that the software interacts with hardware to produce specific results).
• It is always up and running, ready to respond to commands from the clients.
• It rarely interacts with the desktop user except through client programs.
• It responds at once to multiple commands from the clients.

Servers are generally described or named by the function they perform - file servers, web servers, mail servers, database servers, streaming media servers, etc.

So whats the big deal? A computer is a computer, right?

Well, only in the sense that theyre both machines that have the single basic purpose of crunching numbers VERY quickly. If you do an honest side by side comparison between a desktop computer and a server the differences become apparent very fast.

Heres a quick look

• A regular desktop is (I say regular for a reason, Ill explain later)
• Designed to run user-friendly operating system and interactive software applications. Something you can simply pop on, log into, and get right to work.