My first DIY project was to build a new workstation. Unfortunately, that project sort of fizzled out. I have two excuses for my failure to complete the project: 1) I really don't know what I'm doing, and 2) I think the case power switch is defective. I never got around to RMA'ing the case and disassembling everything and sending it back for repair. I just bought myself a new fire-breathing computer from Dell and been happy with it.
Yesterday I stumbled on a link to an article about a cheap home server project. I thought that this might be a good idea. I've been wanting to run a full VPN, or at least a PPTP VPN, server at home so I can encrypt my connection when I use public wifi hotspots. I currently configured my Mac Mini at home to be a SOCKS5 proxy -- I probably should post my experiences with this to add my $0.02 worth to the blogosphere -- but that requires more manual configuration than I want to deal with plus it is only part of my network traffic. I tried to install an OpenVPN server on my Mac Mini but the instructions are written for people who know what they are doing. As I mentioned before, I really don't know what I'm doing.
I tried to find the article but couldn't. Instead, I found other articles about small low power "green" home servers. One that caught my eye was a post from Home Server Hacks featuring
the Shuttle KPC K45 for $100. It is a case, motherboard, and power supply. You provide the CPU, RAM, and hard drives. I have a Core 2 Duo CPU from my failed desktop computer project. I have the 2 x 1 GB RAM and SATA hard drives from my old Dell that I was going to use in the failed project. I'd need to double-check that the RAM is compatible, but I'm reasonably sure it is.
I know Windows XP Professional has a built in PPTP VPN server. I think Windows XP Home has it as well. If so, I can use my existing OS and not have to purchase new software.
Yes, I know that Linux has VPN software and it is faster, more stable, and requires fewer resources than Win XP. Did I mention that I really don't know what I'm doing? Staying with what I know and doing my best to lock it down will improve my chances of success.
06 August 2008
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2 comments:
You should watch the latest episode of dl.tv (online at http://dl.tv) - they had a segment on cheap home servers using Ubuntu. We have an old Shuttle in the closet that will work perfect for it.
Yes, I saw that episode. I haven't dropped a C note for a [new, low end] Shuttle barebones kit yet. I have other thoughts that I've been meaning to post.
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