Need Advice: OS for dedicated file server?

[Seizure]

I recently got (for free) a piece-of-garbage computer (by today's standards anyways) with less-then-pleasant resources. Instead of even bothering to try and use it as an actual desktop, I decided I'd much rather use it as a file server so all computers running on my LAN can access a collection of shared files.

Whatever OS, I want it to be as compact and efficient as possible. I don't need a load of various components that I would otherwise need for a desktop replacement, such as browsers, sound drivers, unnecessary background services, etc. In addition, I want to be able to completely fine tune it's power settings to make it as energy-efficient as possible so as to affect the power bill as little as possible. You know, idling the hard drive whenever possible, keeping processor usage to a minimum, whatever.

I know that for the most part, just about ANY Linux distribution out there can be modified, fine tuned, and have options removed to achieve a "minimalist setting" but I was wondering if there were any particular distributions out there that are specifically made for just such a job, in addition to being much easier on resources and wattage then other distributions.

Thanks in advance for any help, and I look forward to a response.

[Impact]

I think Arch Linux is just about as customizable as it gets. Even though I don't think it was made just for servers, I think it would be your best bet.

[MrA]

+1 for Arch. It's a very simple, bare-bones distro. Good if you're already familiar with Linux. The *BSDs might also make a good choice.

[Seizure]

Thank you, I'll definitely look into that. As for the BSDs, are they all about the same? The only open-source OS family I'm sort of familiar with is Linux.

[MrA]

Thank you, I'll definitely look into that. As for the BSDs, are they all about the same? The only open-source OS family I'm sort of familiar with is Linux.

Like Linux distros, the BSD flavours have different focuses. NetBSD toutes it's portability, OpenBSD makes a huge deal about security, FreeBSD for networking, DragonflyBSD for... not sure, but I'm sure they have a reason for forking from FreeBSD. The thing you should note about the BSDs is that commands will have different arguments and work differently than Linux (or other SVR4 style *NIXes). Other things like the boot style and package management will also seem quite foreign, but really, once you've uses one *NIX, the other are quire trivial to learn.

[pdmcmahon]

I have a 1TB drive locked away on a FreeNAS Server, practically ZERO overhead, it just works.

[deadearth]

Can't go wrong with an @Base install of CentOS 5

[Evolution]

FreeBSD focuses on performance and security... and if all you need is a server to hold your files... then it will do the job. You haven't specified what kind of environment you're looking for.... FreeNAS is a variant on FreeBSD and looks like a great option.

Are you still looking for a graphical Desktop environment, or can you accept command line interfaces?

[bankajac]

I have a 1.5 TB FreeNAS server. It sounds like this is something you should look into as it fits your criteria.

[roadgeek9]

Can't go wrong with an @Base install of CentOS 5

That's what I use on my print server, only I have GNOME installed (I've never understood VIM, it confuses the crap out of me, so I only have GNOME installed in case I need to edit some config file, then I can edit it in GEdit).

[Seizure]

So far, FreeNAS seems like the best-suited and easiest solution.

The only issue I have, (and this is a bit off topic from my original question) is that the computers that will be accessing the server run Windows XP. How would I go about making sure there are no compatibility issues? I know that I can easily find NTFS drivers, but is that all I need? Will Windows be able to see the server, and write/read to the linux drive? Do I need to make that portion of the drive in NTFS? Etc etc etc.

[TurboTuna]

I believe NTFS on freenas is still experiental. however, that being said, I used it on a daily basis for around a year without problems.

Just install it, open the web gui and you're good to go.

No fuss!

[Seizure]

alright, thanks a lot!

[Ricardo Gil]

Why not just buy some NAS? If the computer is such a POS you're probably going to spend some money on it putting a larger hard drive anyway, so why bother?

[Fish]

Bit late to the party, I know, sorry.

FreeNAS uses its own filesystem for storage, but uses a variety of protocols for sharing your files. I use both NFS and CIFS on my server, so I can easily access my files whether I'm in Linux or Windows. I have toyed with FTP too, and it works well. All protocols are simply a couple of clicks to setup using the web-based GUI.

[+BudMan MVC]

FreeNAS uses its own filesystem for storage

Exactly! You would not use NTFS drives with freenas, sure it might be possible but there would be no point to doing it - NONE! Its network attached storage -- its does not matter what file system the OS that is sharing the storage out with is using.

The only time the filesystem on the drive would come into play is if you wanted to physically remove the drive from the nas box and put it in a different machine. That OS would need to understand the filesystem(s) that are in use on the drive to be able to read files off of it.