File Sharing Server

[film]

Hi, I was wondering what would be the best OS for a file sharing server ?

-F!LM

[boristsr]

a *nix variant. either FreeNAS as was used last episode, or any linux distro. something lightweight so it will run on older machines.

[Darren Kitchen]

Windows 3.11.... FOR WORKGROUPS!

[armadaender]

Windows 3.11.... FOR WORKGROUPS!

NOO!!, Bad Darren, bad!

*Shoots with water-spray bottle*

[manuel]

Windows 3.11.... FOR WORKGROUPS!

NOO!!, Bad Darren, bad!

*Shoots with water-spray bottle*

LOL

Why not OS/2 Warp?

[VaKo]

Hi, I was wondering what would be the best OS for a file sharing server ?

-F!LM

Anything with network support and samba/windows file & printer sharing. Hell, even XP works ok as a headless file server, and 2k3 gave me 5 months of uptime on a beat up old desktop from the late 90's. There is no flat out best server OS, and anyone who claims there is, is lieing or ignorant. It depends soley on your requirements, budget, useage plan & hardware.

If your looking for a piss easy linux solution for an old desktop and have limited or no prior *nix expirence, ubuntu probally gives you the best bang for your buck as its free and has a huge amount of community support geared at newbies.

Also, if you want to make it public facing (ie accesible from the web) don't buy into the myth that linux is automatically bullet proof. A poorly setup *nix distro is just as bad as a poorly setup windows box.

[macker]

OpenBSD FTW :D

[stingwray]

Not FreeNAS.

Look into the different linux/bsd distros and decide which one you like the best on what it specialises in and then choose that one.