WyzrdX

I will give it a shot and let you know. Thanks I have never set any auto start except with scripts. I am in runlevel 2, which I just found out is the default in Debian. I will have to chkconfig and see what is currently listed and add vnc if necessary. At this point I have webmin installed and while it may be a simple interface and easy to configure, I would really like to know exactly what it is doing and possibly just use the command line or vnc as needed. I know there are simple packages out there to do what I am wanting with this server but I am a die hard tweaker. And I want to be able to set this up the way I want. I really appreciate the assistance and information. When I get home tomorrow I will check everything and see where I stand.

OK got my new MB and installed everything. After doing some research, I settled on going with Ubuntu Server. I took care of SSH, Samba, VNC, Serviio (for my media server). Wrote a few simple scripts for auto-starting VNC and Serviio. I am doing some testing and installing a few more things. Once I am done I will post speeds and hopefully I will have good read & decent write speeds.

@Dungeon-Dave OK. I ran into an issue that caused everything to halt until Tuesday. It appears that the itx board I got has an issue with PCIe cards in the x16 slot. Apparently it is with almost any except video cards. So I went back to an ASUS and ordered a P8H61-M LE/CSM. It should be here Tuesday and I will be able to get back on this build. I will update after I get it.

Actually if I CAN go headless and still do the work remotely I would love to. Honestly like I said, I havent used *nix in years. And when I last did it was always a secondary desktop that I used. I never really did any compiling etc and the only remote usage was running a small website. I did not realize I could remotely do everything. If this is the case I can locate the server in my Temp controlled media closet and just use it as a true server. I havent started my coding classes yet but I start 2 this coming semester and the idea of keeping everything on the server while using my mac is very interseting. I will spend as much time doing what I need to get everything the way I want, which is why I am wanting to use Linux. M$ = $ + restrictive. I looked a xbmc and I could not find any that was a clean install. Everything I saw was a package that installed on top of an OS, am I missing one? As for a NAS OS, I am more than willing to try one if I can add packages as needed but ultimately I will have to research them as it is an unknown to me. You have given me several things to think about so I am starting today, trying to get it sorted and start building. I will start with the packages you mentioned and then go from there. I will update and see what I still want/need and let you know.

OK I see where I was confusing. Beginning, this will be headless to serve files and media as well as provide remote access. I have used Freenas in the past (not recently) and I am not sure how I will be able to expand functionality. However In the next 4 months I will also be starting Python, C++ classes in school. And I did not think the NAS OS's can be used any way but headless. (Like I said I haven't kept up with Development in years) If you think I can do this by expanding a ready made NAS OS please point me to it and I will check it out.

Hello all. I am recently returning to Linux after about a 10 year absence. I have not kept up with development except through various articles. Here is my plight. I have searched and there are really no topics that actually fit what I am looking for. And google seems to bring me here time and time again. I dont want a dedicated NAS OS. I want to be able to do other things with the system on occasion, not continuous, i.e. development, etc. I am looking to set up a home NAS/media/file/backup server. I am not really asking for Distro advice as I am going to use CentOS. I am running it on Gigabyte GA-H61N-USB3 1155 ITX with Intel Pentium G630T (35W CPU) 8 GB DDR3 1333 Perc 5/i w/ 4 WD RE4 1TB Dirves. Here is what will be on the network. 1 MBP (heavy use) with OSX 10.7 maybe upgrade to 10.8 1 Windows 7 Laptop (wifes mostly for internet FB stuff) 1 Xeon Workstation with OSX/ WIndows7/ Fedora 15 1 iPad (internet and file sharing) 1 Kindle Fire (internet use only) 2 Android Phone (mostly using internet, no file sharing) 1 Sony BP-S580 DLNA capable Blu-Ray 1 Xbox 360 Mostly This will be for streaming files and media in the network but I am also returning to school to get another degree. (Programming this time versus current Admin Degree. ) So I will be accessing files remotely. The reason I am here is to find out what packages should I grab. I have a static IP with 2 firewalls but want to access files etc. I want as secure as possible so VPN is a good place to start. SFTP for letting a friend or iPad access media server for itunes files as well as other media. Samba of course. And anything else you can think of that will help. I tried this same question at 2 other sites and got the general consensus response WHS. I DONT want M$. I have it because I work with it and I am tired of it. Windows 7 is the last M$ OS I will run. Although OSX is my OS I use the most. But I am not a FANBOY either. Any ideas help or corrections please feel free. Even criticism is welcome, constructively for a 2nd time n00b.