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Thread: Linux file server from scratch

  1. #1
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    Linux file server from scratch

    Howdo.
    Despite having used computers since the Amiga days, I have hardly touched Linux and I have set myself a project that will fulfill my inner geek.
    Basically, I have a windows based home file server and am looking to create a second server to act as a backup for the data.
    I have chosen linux because I would like to learn a bit about it and it saves on costs. I don't want to just install an appliance style server OS like freeNAS, as it will make me learn things if I go with a normal install and configure as needed.
    And as this is the back up, the data is not critical if I mess it up as hopefully the orginal server will still be fine while this is all being configured.
    But where to start?
    After a little searching ubuntu gets mentioned alot and as it's one of the more widely known I guess support will be easier to find and it's probably been more mainstreamed than a lot of others.
    What do you guys think?
    Any suggestions on the flavour of linux (or should I be thinking about centOS, solaris, BSD??) and any guides you think are suitable?
    Any one else on here thinking of learning and want to join me on this little endeavor?

    Oh, in terms of hardware I am re purposing old PC stuff.
    Old phenom quad core, 4 gb ddr2, a dell perc 5 (will be using drives individually, it'll be used just for adding sata ports to the system) and a whole load of HDs that have been removed over the years from my main home server (a mix of 2tb, 1.5tb and 1tb) all in a coolermaster stacker.

    oh (again), my time is very limited (which is why I am rarely on here), so this will be done in patches when I can find time, so if you do offer advice, I might be a while before acting on it and responding.

    Cheers.
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    Senior Member watercooled's Avatar
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    Re: Linux file server from scratch

    How do you wish to connect to the server to transfer files? Obvious options would be SMB or FTP.

    Will you be using it headless or with a connected keyboard and monitor?

    I personally use either Debian or Ubuntu, Debian being the more frugal and stable option (in my experience), Ubuntu being more up-to-date with features. Although Ubuntu is still based on Debian of course.

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    Re: Linux file server from scratch

    The hardware will be fine. I'd personally lean towards Linux Mint as the GUI is a bit more 'normal' if you're coming over from a Windows environment. Build your hardware, install Linux, format drives, share via Samba, use something like Rsync to sync data between the two servers. That's the way I'd do it though I'm sure it can be done better!
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    Anthropomorphic Personification shaithis's Avatar
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    Re: Linux file server from scratch

    I've become quite fond of Ubuntu, if only because the online and goggleable help is plentiful.

    If you want to learn, I'd suggest going with a GUI-less server version. You'll have to get stuck into the nitty-gritty from the get-go
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  5. #5
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    Re: Linux file server from scratch

    http://www.howtoforge.com/howtos/storage

    Job jobbed - pick a distro and method of accessing your storage and you should find an easy to follow how-to there.

  6. #6
    root Member DanceswithUnix's Avatar
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    Re: Linux file server from scratch

    I run CentOS, have done for years. Has been great as a server for all the usual server stuff (email, NFS, CIFS). I would say the big plus is the KVM virtual machine integration if you want to play with a VM farm. It has really long support life which is why I use it.

    As it sounds like you are exploring Linux here, I would suggest using a next gen filesystem. The native Linux one is btrfs. That gives you RAID with easy to add new drives with reduced rebuild times and built in data integrity checking.

    Only down side I have had with CentOS was trying to use it as a MythTV server. It may have improved now as that was about 4 years ago, but I got the impression not enough people used Centos as a media platform to get top support.

  7. #7
    mush-mushroom b0redom's Avatar
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    Re: Linux file server from scratch

    Depends on if you're hoping to use the Linux experience to help you get work, and as others have said, it also depends on if you're running headless or not.

    If you're hoping to get experience of running a Linux server to break into Linux sysadmin work, stick with Centos/Scientific which are pretty much identical to RedHat Enterprise Linux. RHEL still has the lion's share of production deployments that I've come across.

    The other alternative IMO would be one of the LTS (Long Term Support) releases of Ubuntu. It's gaining traction, but still not as commercially successful as RHEL.

  8. #8
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    Re: Linux file server from scratch

    Thank you for the replies.
    I don't work in computers (retail management), this is purely for learning something new, though I guess you never know what the future brings.
    I am leaning towards either Ubuntu or CentOS from suggestions, though I do want to get into the nitty gritty, so I will probably try and do most of the installation and configuration without the GUI.
    Figure if I can't install and setup a simple server without a fancy desktop then what kind of geek am I?

    All the hardware is put together, will probably have a stab at installation either tonight or tomorrow.
    This will mostly be run headless so I can maintain and configure from any of the other computers in the house, but initial setup can be done hooked up to a monitor where needed.

    Cheers peeps, if you have any more advice I look forward to reading it and I will try and report back at various stages for the benefit of others who may want to undertake something similar.
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  9. #9
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    Re: Linux file server from scratch

    Hope it goes well - and I look forward to seeing your updates as I am on the verge of doing exactly what you're doing and would like to learn!

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    Re: Linux file server from scratch

    I would recommend Webmin to remotely administrate the server:
    http://www.webmin.com/download.html

  11. #11
    mush-mushroom b0redom's Avatar
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    Re: Linux file server from scratch

    Only if it's going NOWHERE near an open Internet connection. Better off learning to do it properly IMO.

  12. #12
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    Re: Linux file server from scratch

    So, I finally got around to attempting this yesterday (work, family, life etc... getting in the way) and it would appear that I suck.
    Installed Centos 7 via a flash drive.
    I did notice while it was installing that it said it couldn't find a network card.
    Booted up into terminal.
    I have been looking at a bunch of Linux terminal guides such as this one but am already stuck on how to see the various drives, so I can get the drivers onto a thumb drive via another machine then work out how to install them in terminal.
    Every guide I can find uses commands that use a repo, but I can't do that without network access.
    Definitely don't want my hand holding, as I am already annoyed with myself, but would appreciate at least a shove in the right direction.
    Cheers.
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    Re: Linux file server from scratch

    Use the command
    fdisk -l
    to list the drives and work out what drive is around.
    Use the "mount" command to link the drive to a folder, then you can view the files.

    I would really look at getting a NIC that is supported, as installing drivers may require additional packages to be installed.

  14. #14
    root Member DanceswithUnix's Avatar
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    Re: Linux file server from scratch

    You can do things old school, or during install you can select the KDE desktop and let it do most of the hard graft for you.

    Am really surprised that it couldn't find the network port though, what card/motherboard are you using? In fact, I would expect it is more likely that the network drivers are all there and loaded, but the port is switched off. On a server, turning on the network before things are set up can take down a company network and servers quite often want static IP addresses, so it defaults to off.

    As a sanity check, type at a console:

    dmesg | grep eth0

    I get the output:

    [ 9.106232] r8169 0000:02:00.0 eth0: RTL8168f/8111f at 0xffffc900018ee000, 60:a4:4c:31:9d:0e, XID 08000800 IRQ 89
    [ 9.106238] r8169 0000:02:00.0 eth0: jumbo features [frames: 9200 bytes, tx checksumming: ko]
    [ 9.192405] systemd-udevd[307]: renamed network interface eth0 to p4p1

    So my kernel found an r8169 ethernet chip, which on my Fedora box was renamed by systemd (so I don't think you will get that bit on Centos).

    Log into your graphical desktop, and look at the bottom right of the screen for the Network Manager icon, I expect it would be a picture of an empty network port. Right click it to configure.

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