Add a decent server to your home network

Zatni Arbi, Columnists, Jakarta

The idea of building a network to link all the PCs in the house has been accepted for some time. When cable Internet access becomes available in a home, a network will be required to allow different people share the same facility from different PCs.

Furthermore, if you have more than one teenager in the house, a network would be a solution that will end the constant fights for their turn to use the PC. Besides, a network will also allow them to play interactive games and bring their rivalry online.

However, maintaining a few PCs at home is not easy. If your teenagers know what they are doing, you can perhaps leave it to them to stuff their hard disks with all the game software that they can lay their hands on. If their PCs hang, you can tell them to fix the machines by themselves. However, if the entire family depends on you for the well-being of their individual computers, having a low-end server may be a good solution.

Meanwhile, the smart home concept, which is already gaining momentum in more advanced countries, will definitely rely on a lot of servers. Surveillance and security cameras, for example, will require their own servers, which can be accessed remotely. Even the refrigerator may one day serve as a data server, too.

A server for the home network will be an even better idea if you and your spouse work from home. You can use a good but inexpensive PC for this purpose, or you can also buy a low-end server from the store. More and more local vendors are now offering their own brand of servers, although if you look under the hood you will find almost the same set of components.

Intel, ASUS and a lot of other component makers now have what you need to build a decent server, including the motherboard, the network interface card -- even the casing. All you need to add is perhaps a large capacity and high quality hard disk with at least 7200 RPM and 8 MB of buffer memory.

Why use a server for the network? First, because the electricity in this country has gone from bad to worse -- you will definitely need an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) to protect your machines and your data. If you have a server and you save all your work in it, you will need only one UPS. Of course, the ideal situation would be that each of the workstations on the network has its own UPS. But the UPSes cost a lot of money and they consume electricity. They also generate heat, which reduces the effectiveness of your air conditioning.

And, there is an important benefit in centralizing your data storage: You need to backup only one hard disk. If your data is scattered all over the place, you will need more time to back it up and manage the backup medium. Besides, you will also need one printer for the entire family if you have a server that also functions as a print server.

So, what is the right configuration for your home network server? An Intel Pentium III processor will provide more than enough power. As to the operating system, Linux will be a low cost but highly reliable alternative, although Windows XP Professional will be the choice for those who feel more comfortable using the Microsoft platform. If you choose Linux, you can even use an older and slower processor, as this OS requires less resources.

If you have the time and the drive to learn new things, you can even build your own mail server. The benefit is the ease with which you can protect the health of your data. Just don't forget to add a firewall and constantly updated anti-virus software to the entire system. -- Zatni Arbi

Upcoming Topics

- Roundup of MP3 players --- June 9 - Digital pens to compete with Tablet PCs - June 16 - CDMA phones are coming --- June 23