How to create your own home servers

Current high-speed communication allows for the easy distribution of information between computers in a given local network. A nice possibility is to have a dedicated computer to centralise the information flow, and to store commonly used files, or even to install a web or email server for the local users. Let's discover the basics for this in the article below.

Hardware: Basic computer

The first thing you will need is a dedicated computer that will perform the server function. On the market, you can find specific units, but normal computers can do, too. Of course, there are some differences: - Power supply is more robust in servers, so that it will withstand continuous use without powering down - and this, for whole days, weeks, and sometimes even months. - Hard-drives may be mounted in some duplicated architecture (raid), so that any read / write error can be overcome. Standard PCs may not provide this option. Since no user will be usually working with the server, only basic data management is needed, limited by the connections' speed. Old computers may be good home servers! So, you may not need to buy a new PC at all.

Server software

Depending on the server functionality needed, you may want to install different software applications: - File server: no special software needed, only folders' sharing. - Web server: try Apache, one of the most used free servers, including (optional) PHP and MySQL. - FTP server: best option can also be a free application, Filezilla Server. - Mail server: Mercury Mail is one of the easiest applications to install and manage. Domain register may be needed to define email addresses (johndoe@myserver.com...), though. - Multimedia server: For DLNA-enabled devices, you might try different applications. Even Winamp can work as multimedia server, but you will need to check compatibility with your devices and operating systems.

Installation

The most important thing is to allocate a fixed IP-address for the PC servers in the network, either at the switch (local net) or at the router (for external services, too). Under some Operating Systems, all users and servers may indicate a common network name - for example, "Workgroup". The rest of computers and laptops may log in with dynamic IP allocation. In all cases, every user will need specific login data (at least, user name and password). All server-side programs will need installation in the main computer, whereas every other computer may need to have client applications installed. For some uses (like printing over shared home printers), no specific software will be needed, but you may need to consider versions for FTP and email clients, for example.