# Now that that's done...



## Night-Leopard-800 (Sep 12, 2009)

If and when I buy a newer computer, what do I do with this old machine? I've heard about using it as a server. I want to know all the things I can use this for OTHER than personal computing.

Dell OptiPlex GX200

Pentium III Coppermine, 733 MHz

512MB RAM

HD1: 20GB

HD2: 15GB

CD drive - CD/DVD ROM

CD drive - CD-R/RW writer, DVD ROM

Floppy drive

I have a Zip drive, but I'd have to remove one of the other drives for it to have a connection to the motherboard.

Ethernet

NVidia TNT via PCI

Two USB 1.0 ports

Two PS/2 ports

Line-in (stereo 3.5mm)

Mic (3.5mm)

Line-out (stereo 3.5mm)


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## Internet Police Chief (Sep 12, 2009)

Night-Leopard-800 said:


> NVidia TNT via PCI



Woo hoo.



Anyway, there aren't many things you can use a personal computer for other than personal computing tasks.


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## Night-Leopard-800 (Sep 12, 2009)

Baron Von Yiffington said:


> Woo hoo.
> 
> 
> 
> Anyway, there aren't many things you can use a personal computer for other than personal computing tasks.



What about as a server? How does that work?


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## Runefox (Sep 12, 2009)

Well, you can look into downloading Apache, which is a free webserver, to run it on either Ubuntu or some other distro (I recommend Debian if you're not afraid of a command prompt, since it weighs in a little lighter by default than Ubuntu (though Ubuntu Server is pretty similar)). Using it that way, you can run websites if you like. You will likely need to call your ISP and ask them to unblock port 80, if it's blocked, or use an alternate port like 8080.

Otherwise, you could put a relatively large (IDE) hard drive into the computer and use it as a file server (in other words, a place to throw stuff you're not going to need immediately, like ISO files, non-installable/standalone utilities, older documents, etc, and a place to backup files to). If you're going to be keeping it behind a firewall and not accessing the internet with it, it won't be a big issue to run Win2k if you're not familiar with how to do this in Linux, though I do recommend the Linux route for the sake of security.

You won't be able to run a media server with it, per se, since its CPU isn't fast enough to do any transcoding, but you could place movies and music on it and access it via the file server method.

One other thing that you can do is put an extra network card into it and use it as a router using pfSense or similar (m0n0wall, etc). You can get a really good router environment out of that.


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## Night-Leopard-800 (Sep 12, 2009)

*Using a PC as a Server*

I'd like details on the following TWO items:

Using it as a file server

Using it as a web server (specifically on how to get it set up with its own web address)


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## Carenath (Sep 12, 2009)

*Re: Using a PC as a Server*

First: Please list the specs of the system in question.
Second: Choice of operating system; Windows or Linux, there are pros and cons to both.

I would strongly recommend Linux for the flexibility and customisable nature, as well as that, there are plenty of people here on the forums that can help you get it running if you hit a snag.


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## AshleyAshes (Sep 12, 2009)

*Re: Using a PC as a Server*



Carenath said:


> First: Please list the specs of the system in question.
> Second: Choice of operating system; Windows or Linux, there are pros and cons to both.


 
This is like his FOURTH thread on this system.  Better question would be 'Why can't he keep the conversation contained to one thread?'


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## Carenath (Sep 12, 2009)

*Re: Using a PC as a Server*



AshleyAshes said:


> This is like his FOURTH thread on this system.  Better question would be 'Why can't he keep the conversation contained to one thread?'


Thread Merged - Sorted.


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## Internet Police Chief (Sep 13, 2009)

From the specs you listed, there really isn't too much you can do with it except run a server... but even that is iffy, since you have an entire 20GB on the primary drive, meaning there really isn't a great deal you CAN host.

But, if you still want to...

The best thing I can suggest to download and use is XAMPP. It's extremely quick and easy to install and sets up EVERYTHING except the ports in your firewall and router (if you use either, which you should if you plan on hosting a server). It's almost literally a click-and-run web server. It comes with Apache for running web pages and hosting files, Filezilla FTP so you can mess with files when not at home and MySQL for running PHP software like blogs and message boards if you so pleased.

But yeah, don't expect it to run well.


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## Runefox (Sep 13, 2009)

I guess the actual server software thing's already been said, so...

If you're wondering about getting a "web address", as in furaffinity.net, you'll need to purchase one of those from a registrar (I recommend Godaddy) and use a free name server service like ZoneEdit to point the domain to your IP address. If you've got a dynamic IP address like most of the world, there are a number of options available to automatically update the IP when it changes, from facilities in pfSense to programs that run on a Windows/*NIX machine. Personally, I use DirectUpdate on my Windows machine, since it runs as a system service and supports pretty much every like service ever.

Alternatively, you can use a free domain service, like No-IP, which gives you a subdomain of your choice (assuming it isn't already in use) branched from a number of different domain options. If you use a service like this, you don't need to use ZoneEdit (and you can't); You can update directly using DirectUpdate or any other updating engine of your choice. Also, services like No-IP can set your domain up to accept connections and automatically forward an arbitrary port number as port 80 - In other words, rather than http://yourdomain.no-ip.org:8888/ it would automatically redirect that to http://yourdomain.no-ip.org/ - Which is neat, but it has its limitations. Useful only if your ISP blocks port 80.

For the most part, once the DNS is pointed, it can take between 1 to 48 hours, depending on the service, for the changes to be reflected so that the rest of the internet knows about your domain. After that, you're limited only by your ISP. You should also forward the relevant ports on your router (HTTP = 80, FTP = 21, SSH = 22) to the server. If it turns out that your ISP blocks these ports, common alternatives are: HTTP = 88, 8080; FTP = 2121; SSH = (whatever you want really, but 2222 works)); Modify your server configurations accordingly (in this vein, please do some research into configuring an Apache/PureFTPd/OpenSSH server). More than likely, you won't be able to run a mail server off residential (most ISP's block inbound connections to port 25, which is what you need to actually be able to receive anything, and alternatives can't be used (except by a mail proxy, which is a pain and expensive)), so you don't really need to worry about that.


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## AshleyAshes (Sep 13, 2009)

It seems to me that a server is a 'solution' and you're suggesting him this solution before problem or need has been presented.

He can do a LOT of things with this computer.  The real question is, what does he actually NEED?  What's he actually gonna do with a server?  Except possibly violate the TOS of his ISP and host his own avatars on his onw unrealiable connection instead of Photobucket.


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## Runefox (Sep 13, 2009)

Fact is, he asked about file servers and web servers specifically. So... Information! They were some of the more common answers to begin with on... One or two of the other topics, and frankly, I recall saying 1) Internet appliance (web/e-mail); 2) web server; 3) file server; 4) Internet gateway/router. Which is really about it. I mean, the "old games" idea was mentioned. I'd imagine that if he had an actual *need*, he'd be filling it with that system by now, or planning to.

While I'm not entirely sure about the CPU and software decoding, I do believe that the TNT2 does support MPEG2 decoding, so DVD's would probably be possible (this was mentioned in one of those other hundred threads). Unfortunately, having a computer kicking around solely for DVD playback isn't a great use of resources, so I'd have to lump that into the "Internet appliance" suggestion, along with word processing. I can't really think of many other uses for this system.


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## Carenath (Sep 13, 2009)

Oldish systems make for okay servers, particularly if all you plan to do is mess around and learn by doing.

An old system like that is fine for tinkering around, doing anything from:


 File Serving / Active Directory Domain's (Samba)
 Webserving (Apache|nginx, PHP, MySQL)
 Outgoing Email server (Exim|Postfix|Sendmail|qmail)
 Local DNS (Bind9) (probably better than most ISP's piss-poor DNS, and without the caching problem and browser hijacking with OpenDNS).
 DHCP (dhcpd) (also likely to be better than the DHCPd on consumer-grade routers)
 Firewall/Router (iptables) (superior in every way to the firewall on most all consumer-level hardware)
 Proxy (Squid|nCache)
 And those are just what I can think of off the top of my head.

As for acquiring a domain name.. DynDNS is your friend there, particularly as most ISPs dont provide static IP addresses, Ashley does raise the valid point that some ISPs explicitly forbid 'home hosting' and will not be too happy if they find you running a server off your internet connection.
If your upload speed is good enough, it can be used for hosting simple websites, but don't expect to get any decent level of performance out of it.
It is also worth remembering the risk, if you have a machine exposed to the outside world, you run the increasing risk of being attacked and having it compromised, so keeping security updates applied regularly, and firewalling off anything you dont need visible on the outside is recommended.


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## Night-Leopard-800 (Sep 13, 2009)

Cool, guys, thanks! I guess I'll eventually set up a website - if of course my IP allows it. Thanks!


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## Internet Police Chief (Sep 13, 2009)

Carenath said:


> As for acquiring a domain name.. DynDNS is your friend there, particularly as most ISPs dont provide static IP addresses, Ashley does raise the valid point that some ISPs explicitly forbid 'home hosting' and will not be too happy if they find you running a server off your internet connection.



This is why I fucking love Bright House networks in Florida. They not only will give you a static IP if you ask, but also don't care if you host servers.


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