Hi all.
I'm currently researching into the feasibility of using my old tower PC for home server duty. Knowing that there are a lot of ways to currently do that (Linux, FreeNAS, etc etc), I would rather try it my preferred way - which is running a copy of Windows 10 Pro with DrivePool and Scanner.
First off, the hardware (prepare to cringe!)
- AMD Phenom II x3 710
- ASUS M4A780 uATX w/ Realtek GbE on board
- 4GB DDR2-800, 2 open slots. (ASUS board is ECC compatible)
- Corsair Force 120GB SSD for boot
- 2x WD Black 1TB to start off with
- OCZ ModXstream 600W power supply
Main goals for this rig are:
- Plex
- File Sharing within home
- iTunes Server
- Local backup for 1-2 PCs & 2 iPhones' worth of photos
- BackBlaze to backup
The main reason I want to stick with Windows since that's what I'm most familiar with. I plan on using RDP on Win10 Pro to manage the machine headless from my laptop. While not the most power efficient, I do not plan to have it up 24/7 - more like "as needed, when needed" for a few hours at a time. After burning my brain out with RAID-this, along with RAID-that...I don't really want anything to do with RAID on this which is why DrivePool is perfect.
I don't think it's too far-fetched of an idea, but I've never really done anything like this before. What do you folks think?