Hi guys i need a big hand in setting up my old work pc for
a server to share files and be able to back up documents and all that. it would be a business server for my work because they dont want to pay out for a server so i suggested i could take an old pc and make it into a low end server .
Now the PC is and old p4 2.4 ghz with 120gig hdd
now we have a 4 port hub at work with a adsl router for the net traffic. so do i just plug my main network cable from the router to the hub or do i have two network cards in the pc then run a network cable from the router to one of the cards then run a network cable from the other card to the hub ?

You'll have an easier time of it if you just plug the server into the hub, without using an extra network card.

My Celeron 533Mhz with 40Gb hard drive must be ancient or pre-historic.

Hi,

You could setup NAT on the server and create another layer of security for the network. This would require the two NICs', one(eth0) connected to the adsl with the other(eth1) connected to the hub.

The server would then have a firewall running to provide secure access to the subnet.

Along with the adsl router firewall and the server firewall, you would then have a secure network. Sure some service rules would have to be implemented on both firewalls.

The pc that you mentioned using will meet the needs of a small network, this depends on the applications served. If you are going to use the server as a DB fileserver then put as much memory in the machine as possible. If you are concerned with data integrity then adding RAID would be another suggestion.

Of course if you just want to fileserve then the simplest would be to connect the server to either the hub or router via a single NIC. Thus using the router as your firewall with rules.

Either way I would test the network with Steve Gibson's ShieldsUp at his GRC site.

Hi,

One of my servers is a AMD K6-550 that really just hums along. It all depends on what you are doing with the server.

Old boxen can still be utilized. I've got a mini-desktop that I'm currently working on to provide a juke box for my network. Very small footprint. Pentium III based and will meet the requirements that I demand of the boxen.