All: In an office of 4 to 5 folks who access shared files often and need a place to store/access their own files...what is most important for the HARDWARE of an XP Pro file server (using good 'ol peer-to-peer)? I don't have a lot of money...so should I put most of it into a FAST Hard Drive (I've heard that for a file server....HD access speed is much more important than processor speed)?? Or should I get a less expensive 5400 rpm drive (rather than 7200) and put the money into a really fast processor with tons of RAM?? Any advice appreciated. THANKS!

7200 !!!!!!!!!! hd

Thanks for the HD info. How about the importance of the HD vs. the processor speed? Is it true that on a file server, the processor speed is not that important???? IF SO, what would be considered an adequate processor speed for the situation I described above? Thanks Much!

You definitely want 7200RPM (or better) drives, with at least 2MB of cache. However, a file server is has multiple dependencies. The highest priority on a file server, especially if you have high traffic or volume, is the network card. I would absolutely recommend getting a gigabit network card that is capable of offloading processes. I use Intel PRO/1000 Server cards, but others work too. You might spend $200 on the card, but it might be well worth it. I have found that having good switches can make or break your network, and all the computers connected. So, I would also recommend getting a 16-port (or better) 100-base SWITCH with at least one gigabit port for the server. Then comes hard drives. You can get 10000 RPM drives now, even 15K if you go SCSI. For servers, redundancy and reliablity are huge issues. If you don't believe me, just have a server crash and lose some documents.... So, the controller cards are important. Running a RAID is very important for data protection, and the RAID type is important for speed. RAID-5 is a good mix of speed and protection, you only need 3 drives, and most solutions allow you you keep a 4th drive free as a "hot spare" in case a drive goes down. As a rule, SCSI controllers will give you better performance than ATA/IDE controllers. As you go down the list, the parts get less and less important. From here I would go with the processor of the macine, then the RAM, then the motherboard, etc. You just have to keep in mind what the goals are. Availability? Reliability? Performance? Kerry

Why not something simple like a SNAP Server? Just plug the box into the network and set the address. Totally adequate for most users.