Need Server Suggestions

[Tony-N]

Hello, I am new to the world of servers, and need a little help.

What I'm needing is a server that is not only a LAMP server so I can test my forums locally but also a server that I can store all of my media on (my computer will only have an OS drive, no storage) and is accessible over the internet.

Along with the above, I'm also needing something that is not going to bottleneck swapping files from anywhere. Not including the single internet connection of course.

I have found some dell blade servers for about $200 locally with dual Xeon processors. But I'm not sure if this is what I need. Any and all help would be great. Thanks in advance.

 

[PhilFrisbie]

If this is for testing and file storage then you really do not need a server; you need a desktop with the appropriate OS loaded.

Beware of the blade servers; you must also purchase the chassis that holds the blades and houses the power supplies and hard drives, and that will be very expensive. . .

 

[Tony-N]

I understand it's going to be expensive and I'm fine with that to a point. I guess my biggest thing with building a server rack is my curiosity of the hardware and how it works. I just want to make sure I get what I need and I'm not purchasing something I don't need. I'm really thinking about going to school for server admin or network admin, something along those lines. And if I can learn about it before I do, it would be much easier.

 

[PhilFrisbie]

Server hardware is so varied I would not waste my money on it. The software is what you really need to learn and experiment with, and that will install on almost any decent desktop hardware.