so i built a server
why?
- i like researching computer parts, building a system in my mind, purchasing everything, and putting it all together
- i like quiet computers
- i’ve been a fan of the small shuttle micro-atx systems since i first saw them in fry’s
- i’ve thought about converting my second bedroom into an office and outfitting it with some more powerful desktop computers
- i thought it would be nice to have a machine whose destiny i controlled so i could play with some new things, like cvs.
- i kept hearing that people (we were interviewing) had servers at home for developing personal projects and experimenting with new software
- in california, looking at dean edwards website again, i saw the no-ip label and read that his webserver was running in his kitchen!
- i stumbled upon the mini-itx site again
- i wanted a project
- i bumped into nolan (linux aficionado/hacker and friend from resnet/spencer dorm) on campus the other day
- i didn’t want to spend a lot of money, and i didn’t want to pay for a machine that has windows on it if i was going to use linux
parts
- case: black casetronic c134
- motherboard: via epia me6000 fanless mini-itx
- memory: 256MB pc2100 (ultra low profile)
- hard drive: 20GB 2.5″ seagate 5400rpm
- optical drive: teac slimline laptop cdrom (plus slimline cd to ide adapter)
- monitor: borrowed from jane
- keyboard/mouse/ethernet cable: i had
cost
$470 + $30 shipping (3 day select)
os
nolan suggested debian. the feeling i got from debian was that it would be hard. i felt the pull of redhat. but i was unfamiliar with all the fedora core stuff. and i didn’t want a froo-froo end user system. i wanted to build a server. so i read through the installation document to refresh my memory and decided to go for it.
assembly
last wednesday i ordered the parts. monday they arrived and later that night jane and i roughly assembled them. i discovered later that i had to replace a heat sink under the cdrom drive in order to get the case back together. last night i popped in the debian cd (woody-i386-1.iso) i had burned and let it rip. the installation went smoother than i expected. took about an hour, then i got apache, mysql, and php installed and fiddled with the hardware to get the case together properly. which took a few more hours.
under the hood
finished product
update: as of 8/26/04, the IP address is 24.211.162.54
update: as of 2/1/05, the IP address is 24.163.64.42
update: the domain name justinsomnia.org now points to the IP address above.
justinsomnia.org is now hosted at DreamHost.
I’m impressed, especially with “jane and i roughly assembled them”. Is the librarian in her being perverted to info sci?