In need of home-server advice

General Discussions
#1

Hello :smiley:

I finally got my roommates talked into having a home-server machine running 24/7.
The only problem is the power supply - I dont want to waste a lot if it can be avoided.

So, what machine do I use? Can I use my old HP Pavillion M8000 Media Center Desktop, or do I need to invest in a specific machine
made for the purpose?

How big is the difference?
Iā€™m planning to take everything out of the desktop so the only hardware it will have is the processor (quad core 2Ghz), and the RAM (2 GB DDR2) - and ofcourse the BIOS and motherboard. No graphics though, sound, screen and disc-reader will be taken out.
???

#2

Why donā€™t you go for a VPS instead ? It will be just a little more expensive (edit actually if you are planning to BUY a new machine, a VPS will surely be cheaper), but youā€™ll have ā€œguaranteedā€ 24/7 and no worries of telling your friend not to shut down your computer. And a real IP, and support , etc .
Check this derailed thread, there are some interesting discussions about VPSs.

The downside is that you have to have some basic unix knowledge, but I think itā€™s a win-win situation : you have a great opportunity to learn something different which will be very useful, professionaly, for you .

#3

Are you sure your upstream (upload for you, download for everybody else) bandwidth is sufficient? Iā€™m quite sure it isnā€™t. Upstream bandwidth is extremely costly, and once you flood your upstream, you and your roommates can hardly do anything with your internet connection.

With a VPS, you get at least 100mbit, for a few bucks per month.

Also, donā€™t underestimate the price of electricity. (0.15kW * ā‚¬0.21 * 24 * 30 => ~ ā‚¬18 per month)

Iā€™m fairly sure you will be much better off with a VPS.

#4

Depends what he wants the server for surely? A VPS isnā€™t much good for serving media in his house.

Iā€™ve got a SheevaPlug sitting on top of a 1TB external drive running torrents and serving media. It runs TwonkyMedia server and transcodes video on the fly with no problems. According to the specs, it draws 7w at maximum, plus whatever the external drive (which spins down when not in use anyway) draws.

Itā€™s difficult to say exactly what a regular PC will draw without measuring it under typical load, but itā€™s probably safe to assume itā€™ll be significantly more.

#5

I read his post in the context of ā€˜javagamingā€™, otherwise it would have probably been posted in the ā€˜miscā€™ forum. Time will tell :slight_smile:

#6

for versioncontrol, project forums, stuff like that home server is great. anything else, like for the unwashed masses, go the vps.

#7

Thank you for the comments guys :slight_smile:

I am sure that I want a home-server, and not a VPS :stuck_out_tongue: I already checked how much electricity costs here (0,2 kW = $0,8 @ day).
How much power can my desktop (cleaned ofcourse) possibly use? I also have a small laptop (duo core 500 MHz, and 800 MHz) and 500 MB ram, netbook.
I checked some charts (googled my way) and it seems to use less than 0,05 kW - can that be true?

I already have a 10 Mbit connection here, and I am not going to run anything that will have more than 5 connections at a time (closed minecraft SMP software, and possibly some small thing to update my own software - around 10 people will need that, and only when an update is needed).

#8

[quote]I already have a 10 Mbit connection here
[/quote]
youā€™r upload is probably no much more than 512Kb, check by doing a bandwith test

#9

It sounds like he is a student, and then he probably has fiber (I had fiber 10 years ago when I was a student).

#10

I have Telia :smiley: just tested my connection on my iTouch to be 4MB download and 0,5 MB upload.
Would that not be enough for my purpose?