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Can anyone tell me the benefit of having a server at home?
Depends what you mean by server? There's so such thing as a generic 'server'.
A server is just a computer that is built with a specific task in mind, but that could be many different things.
Mine (http://duncb.co.uk/phpsysinfo/) for example acts as a file server, storing most of my music and videos etc. It also acts as a backup location for important documents etc
As well as that it acts as a webserver, serving a small personal website, and hosting various files and pictures.
it also acts as a mailserver, with all my personal email being handled by it.
It does a variety of other useful stuff that i'm not gonna list here too.
Of course i could pay some company to do this all for me, but i like doing it myself..
So your question hasnt got a good answer really i'm afraid, its like asking whats the benefit of having a computer at home.
Mine is used for downloading, serving music and videos across the network (so my PC doesn't get tied up by flatmates wanting stuff). It also does automated backups. Servers tend to be designed to be out of the way and perform their task 24/7, allowing your other machines to do what you want without using up their resources on other things.
Nick
Ah, got you. So, in theory, I could set one up to host my website, games (Doom3, UT and for me and my friends and co-ordinate my e-mail between main computer and a laptop? If I am to do this, what specs would you recommend? I've been toying with the idea of using a SFF due to lack of space.
Mine is used for downloading, serving music and videos across the network (so my PC doesn't get tied up by flatmates wanting stuff). It also does automated backups. Servers tend to be designed to be out of the way and perform their task 24/7, allowing your other machines to do what you want without using up their resources on other things.
Nick
Cheers Nick. Do you think a SFF would suffice?
A decent Shuttle would more than suffice. The only reason you'd need the extra power would be for hosting the games. My server is an old dual P3 500Mhz which I built from the forums and eBay for under £200.
Nick
brumster
25-11-2004, 18:46
I used to run a server ages ago - ran Exchange on it, a dial-in modem on the spare line so I could always dial back home and get any files I'd forgotten (I worked away a lot). Also the exchange server gave me a way of getting mail wherever I was, and synchronising with multiple machines/laptop - plus arranging meetings with other users using the usual Exchange features you don't normally get with vanilla Outlook.
It had a DAT drive that backed up every month all my important stuff.
It also held all the MP3s, vids, etc.
These days, though, I find little use for it in that sense. I now have a little 1U linux server which mirrors the online server I have for personal/company use, but that's about all.
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