Ok guys, I have a few questions for the people that have done this in the past. So I am would like to build a home network server, (not sure if thats the classification), to house several hdds of movies, music (preferably iTunes) as well as other media like documents and pictures. I would like all of this to be ready accessible from smart TVs or from a HTPC or other devices.
First will I be able to do this using a lag 775 set up. the mother board is a MSI G41m-p33 with a Core 2 duo E8400 3.0ghz. The mother board does support ddr3 ram up to 1333 and I have 8gb of ram for it as well as i 16x pci slot.
Question, will this set up be enough to run a dozen hdds with my media on it and will it populate a terabyte switch if I had a pci card with a full nic port in it.
I do not want to run the hard drives in a raid configuration, I would like to individuals populate them with all of the data. I am not worried about a hard drive crashing since all of the data will be backed up either in a cloud or on a stored dvd and other storage formats.
So my end goal is to have a server that will house all my data, that is networked through a switch, and from the switch out to individual interfaces (i.e. HTPC, Xbox, Playstation, iPads)
Question, I have what operating system should I use for the server. I would like to find one that would power down the hdd when they are not being used and would put the computer in a sleep mode to save some power (power draw is not a big issue nor is the heat out put).
Question, do I really need to run 3 or 4 data line from the server to a switch, and what benefit do i gain from doing that, when from the switch to each interface position I will only have one data cable or will be using wifi to retrieve the data from the server.
Question, I would like to learn a lot more about setting up a home network, maybe to use as a personal cloud, media streaming (both at home and away), and maybe building a centralized gaming rig to stream my games to other devices. Where could I go to find any information about this. When looking at the internet and reading about this, it seems that so many people call what I want to do by a dozen different names, so I am confused with where to start. Can someone please help by pointing me in the right direction
Thanks for all the help, you guys rock.