I'm looking to make a home server to use for documents media ect for myself. I'm trying to do this on the cheap so looking for cheap hardware setup. So what are the recommended hardware requirements for a server? I know the server os would have some bearing on this. I haven't decided but probably a red hat deviation.

What kind of services and documents, how many, and what level of usage? At the one end, you can have a Raspberry Pi with or without extra drives. At the other end you can set up a rack mounted OpenPOWER system.

I'd stick with a Debian or Devuan derivative though.

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Most documents would be related to work but OpenOffice/equivalent or PDF.

As far as use just me and my immediate family members. In no way commercial/ public.

I really dislike Ubuntu so wouldn't be Ubuntu. Yes I realize there are other Debian derivatives. I'm open to some of them however I'm much more familiar with redhat which is why I'm leaning that way. Again not set.

I guess another question I should ask and maybe more important is there any hardware to avoid?

Edited

Rocky or Alma linux if you prefer RH based distributions.
I suggest looking at used or refurbished Dell desktops.

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For a home server, if you're not going to use the machine to play audio, edit video, or do other demanding tasks, any reasonably decent hardware should do. And, remember, as a home server, it's not going to have to serve a multitude of clients.

As for a distro, I recommend something stable. You don't need bleeding edge software or frequent version upgrades on what is basically a storage device, but you do want stable and secure. If I were setting one up for myself, I'd go with something like Debian (or Devuan if you are so inclined) or Slackware or Alma.

Just my two cents.

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Does energy efficient or low cost or other factors?

Cost is more of a factor to me.

I also agree I don't need bleeding edge tech.

Then you might look at one of the Single Board Computers. Raspberry Pis are still mostly unavailable, though production is ramping up again. There are a lot of others to choose from some of which have mSATA, PCIe, or m.2 connectors.

Here are some at a random:

https://linuxgizmos.com/rockchip-bas...-sata-support/

https://linuxgizmos.com/raspberry-pi...starts-at-333/

https://linuxgizmos.com/elkhart-lake...owered-up-kit/

I'd give consideration to using multiple drives and OpenZFS' RAIDZ for the file-level error detection and error correction.

Hardware to avoid:

• nvidia graphics cards
• IGP solutions
• less than 8 GiB RAM
• mainboards with less than four slots for RAM modules
• mainboards with less than four SATA ports
• a HDD for the OS, if the server doesn't run 24/7
• floppy disk drives

You can use an older computer for this. Minimum hardware should be:

• CPU: Intel Core2Quad or AMD Phenom X4
• RAM: 8 GiB DDR2 PC-800
• Graphics card: PCIe x16, Ati Radeon HD xxxx
• Mainboard with 4-Port SATA 3.0 GB/s controller
• 120 GB SSD for OS (Linux)
• HDD for data
• optional: PCIe SATA controller for 3+ TB drives, if required

Thank you everyone. You have given me some good options as well as things to consider.