Building a server

[Silent]

Hey all.

Odds are that soon I'll build a little Pentium 4 server. If I'm not mistaken, it has 2.4GHz CPU and I'll fit 1024MB of RAM into it. It will have 2 HDDs 20GB each and maybe a CD/DVD drive. Last speed test results - 14.27MB/s download, 752KB/s upload.
I'm not yet sure what I'm gonna use it for, but I've always wanted a remote access(VNC) server.

My question - since this is an old machine, Puppy should run well on it. But are 1024MB of RAM enough? And will Puppy perform well as a server?

Also, it will be in my room. The router is in the living room. I have 2 choices - buy a WiFi antenna and hack for better performance, or to wire it via LAN which will cost two times as much. What do you think will be better?

Discuss ^.^

[Béèm]

It will be difficult to install and maintain puppy if no CD/DVD drive is present.
But there are ways.
I don't know how a puppy based server will compare to a apache server.

1GB ram looks quite comfortable.

I would also include a USB interface, so you can boot from it if you would like to avoid a CD/DVD device.

You can buy those ethernet-over-power line devices to make your connection to the router. Might give you a better throughput.

P.S. I don't like your sig.
Being in Israel and giving such comment is too political for me.
I have no preference for one or other party.
I would like to see it removed.
It might be against forum policy.

[rcrsn51]

And will Puppy perform well as a server?

What do you want it to serve?

[Flash]

... are 1024MB of RAM enough?

Puppy runs well in at least 256 MB of RAM, so 1024 MB should be plenty for Puppy. Whether it will be enough for Puppy acting as a server is another question. That depends on what you're doing and how you configure it.

... I have 2 choices - buy a WiFi antenna and hack for better performance, or to wire it via LAN which will cost two times as much...

Ethernet will be the better, more reliable choice. Also easier to troubleshoot when something goes worng.

[Silent]

P.S. I don't like your sig.
Being in Israel and giving such comment is too political for me.
I have no preference for one or other party.
I would like to see it removed.
It might be against forum policy.

I'm really sorry if I offended you, but it's not for political reasons. I made my sig as a joke because I'm a pyro(fire breathing, rockets, homemade explosives, etc). I have removed it anyway though, as I do not intend to offend anyone. Honestly, I do not support neither of the parties myself. Again, I'm really really sorry.

Most odds are that I won't get a CD drive, I'll use USB instead.

What do you want it to serve?

I will probably host a simple one-page website, and experiment with remote logins via VLC as stated before.

Ethernet over power is a nice idea... I think I'll just stick with wired networking though.

[disciple]

that machine should be plenty

[Silent]

I just found a 80GB 2.5" SATA HDD in a USB enclosure. Think I might fit it in the server.
I could solder the data wires to the extra USB ports on the motherboard and the power wires to an IDE power plug(5v) on the CPU so it will always be on, and then just glue the enclosure to the bottom of the case.
Another option is to buy a cheap one-port PCI SATA controller.

The first options seems temping... The problem with it is that it's limited to USB(1.1?) speed. It would be very interesting to do and I think I might try it even if I don't end up using it. What do you guys think?

Another topic is keeping the system cool. It's gonna run 24/7. I use two 512MB chips and both have aluminum heat-sinks. I'll get some new thermal paste for the CPU, which has a classic heat-sink. Should I install case fans? If so, where and what direction should they blow?