Which Windows do I need for simple file share?

[BCinSC]

Two users want to connect to a 3rd "server" box so that documents can reside there and be backed up to that box's tape drive. 2000Pro, 2000Server, XP Pro, 2003 Web. Don't want Peer-to-Peer network, though the lines have been blurred by Windows.

 

[pcthuglife]

ive always used linux for simple network file sharing like that. its free, easy, and reliable.

whats wrong with peer-to-peer networking? just share a directory and limit the access with user authentication. what more do you need for 2 people?

 

[BCinSC]

I concur, but this group had a p2p in the past and it left bad taste in their mouths. Again, I recognize that the lines are blurry for p2p vs c/s, with the only clear detail being 3rd box is not a workstation.

 

[lansalot]

Specify how many concurrent users. Another thumbs-up for linux if you just need simple file sharing however.

 

[pcthuglife]

if youre familiar with linux i still think a linux box running samba would be the way to go. ive been using a redhat 9 samba server here at the office for months now without any problems. i originally configured samba to act as a primary domain controller that ran a batch file whenever a user connected that synchronized their files with their home directory on the server. i couldve also added a cron job (scheduled task) that dumped the home directories onto a tape backup if i wanted.

what did you have in mind to begin with? i dont have a lot of experience with the MS client/server environment, did this group youre working with request any kind of specific setup?

 

[BCinSC]

2 concurrent users. May add 3rd down the road. Moving away from Novell server. While I know some Linux, they don't - need them to be able to do basic troubleshooting, hence Windows based system.

 

[Crusty]

If you are only going to be having 2 users connect to a share to backup documents then why waste your time with Linux and setting up Samba, unless you are familiar with Linux and samba allready it will be a pain in the arse.

Any NT based OS will work just fine for this. If you need more then 10 users connected to the server at once then you need a server version of an NT os.

For your situation, I would just run Win2K pro, or XP Pro, unless you have prior knowledge of Linux and samba... and even then it would overkill to run linux for this simple job.

Keep in mind that if there is a chance of adding more users to the network then that 10 connection limit will be a huge pain, so if you are planning on having more then 10 users in the near future then you might want to consider a server OS or Linux.. but for now just stick with W2k Pro or XP pro.

 

[pcthuglife]

to be honest the unless you configured the linux machine to act as a pdc it would still act as a standard p2p network file server. i just like it because you have so many file sharing options. you can make a shared directory
public/private
guest ok/auth required
browsable/hidden
you can specific user/group access rights
and above all it just seems to work

i only reboot my linux fileserver at home when i re-arrange my office and i have to unplug the server to move it. there wouldnt be any troubleshooting required. i generally have 2 - 3 concurrent connections and im usually moving large graphics or media files. no its not pron! (ok sometimes it is).

i know it sounds like im a linux guy but im a complete linux noob. about a year ago when i wanted to setup a basic file server a few of my friends recommended redhat linux and ive been using it ever since. i probably log into the machine about once every two months. other than that i just use the storage space over the network.

 

[Crusty]

Originally posted by: pcthuglife
to be honest the unless you configured the linux machine to act as a pdc it would still act as a standard p2p network file server. i just like it because you have so many file sharing options. you can make a shared directory
public/private
guest ok/auth required
browsable/hidden
you can specific user/group access rights
and above all it just seems to work

i only reboot my linux fileserver at home when i re-arrange my office and i have to unplug the server to move it. there wouldnt be any troubleshooting required. i generally have 2 - 3 concurrent connections and im usually moving large graphics or media files. no its not pron! (ok sometimes it is).

i know it sounds like im a linux guy but im a complete linux noob. about a year ago when i wanted to setup a basic file server a few of my friends recommended redhat linux and ive been using it ever since. i probably log into the machine about once every two months. other than that i just use the storage space over the network.

You can do all of that with Windows too

 

[pcthuglife]

youre absolutely right. im suggesting this as another option. like i said im not a linux guy but samba shares are very easy to configure and require virtually 0 maintanence. those are two things i look for in a file server. oh yeah, and its free.

 

[Crusty]

Originally posted by: pcthuglife
youre absolutely right. im suggesting this as another option. like i said im not a linux guy but samba shares are very easy to configure and require virtually 0 maintanence. those are two things i look for in a file server. oh yeah, and its free.

Yeah, but the OP said no linux

 

[pcthuglife]

well i guess my question for BsinSC is what kind of troubleshooting would these two people need to do on their file server? if theres more to the story than just a network file share with a tape drive then yeah, linux would be out of the question. i just cant think of any troubleshooting thats ever needed for a file server. Except maybe reboot

i have no idea why im being so stubborn about this, i dont even like linux

 

[cleverhandle]

I love Linux, but it's pretty clear that the OP is not looking at that option. So let it go pcthuglife. There's a fine line between advocacy and thread-crapping.

Like MCrusty said, any 2K/XP Pro workstation would do fine for this. Since you are looking at less than 10 users and don't need Active Directory, buying a server OS for this task would be pointless. Just set up the 3rd box as workstation and make sure that all 3 three boxes have the same user account info. If it's XP Pro, turn off simple file sharing. Easy.