Member Avatar for joey_r

Hello everyone, I've been using Linux for the past ~6months and really enjoy it. I've read a few books so I have a good grasp of linux fundamentals but want to up my skill and have always liked projects as a way to learn. Anyway I would like to build a Centos mail server, file server, try some encyrption, ssh, just learn and build something.

Anyway, what would you guys reccommend as solid hardware for a home server? I'm looking for something cheap so an old desktop tower would work but low power consumption and compact size would be nice. I couldn't find anything worthwhile on craigslist but there is tons of stuff on ebay and I don't even know where to start.

Can you please recommend some hardware, maybe even specific models that you personally have used and liked, I really don't want to spend more than $100.

Thanks in advance.

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A few practical, low-cost routes will cover the CentOS mail + file + SSH + encryption learning goals while staying near the $100 target.

A compact used laptop - very low idle power and a built-in battery makes it an easy always-on box for single services. A small-form-factor corporate desktop (common auction finds from Dell/Lenovo/HP) gives SATA bays and easy RAM upgrades if the plan later moves to multiple guests. A fanless mini-PC / thin client or ARM board offers the lowest power draw but limits RAM and CPU for heavier services. Each option trades expandability for power efficiency.

As suggested, virtualization is a great learning path if the hardware can support it. RAM is the limiting resource for running multiple full VMs; a host with upgrade room for RAM is worth prioritizing. If budget forces a single cheap box, running one physical server or using lightweight containers will produce more realistic always-on behavior and use far less RAM than several full virtual machines.

Quick hardware checklist for this project: at least 2 GB RAM (4 GB preferred if running VMs), a dual-core CPU from the Core2 era or better, a 2.5" HDD or small SSD for lower idle watts, and a gigabit NIC (Intel NICs typically have the best Linux support). Avoid old Pentium 4 desktops since their electricity cost often exceeds any purchase savings. Verify the used PSU and look for systems with an extra SATA port for a data drive.

Security and mail notes: many residential ISPs block outbound SMTP and residential IPs often lack rDNS, hurting deliverability; for learning, use local testing or an authenticated relay. Basic hardening examples: disable root SSH login, prefer key-based auth, and encrypt data partitions with LUKS. Example commands (illustrative):

cryptsetup luksFormat /dev/sda2
cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/sda2 cryptdata
mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/cryptdata
mount /dev/mapper/cryptdata /srv

And SSH config snippets to enforce keys and lock down root:

PermitRootLogin no
PasswordAuthentication no

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Member Avatar for khajvah

I dont know about server, but can you please tell me what book you read?
Again it is few months that i use Arch linux...

Member Avatar for JorgeM

Since it sounds like you are interested in learning and improving your skills, have you considered setting up a good host computer and running a virtualization application that can host serveral virtual machines? This is a really good and cost effective approach in building a virtual computer lab. On the host computer, you would install a virtual app such as VMWare and then run your "test" servers as guest VMs. When you are done with testing, you just archive the virtual machine or delete it and move on to the next evaluation.

Even if you budget is restricted, try to focus the spending on a decent host computer that has room to scale with regard to RAM and just load a few GBs of RAM for now. Over time, as you have funding, add more RAM to the host system. The more RAM you have, the more VMs you can run simultaneously.

Member Avatar for joey_r

The very first book I read was the "Linux Command Line Introduction" and I recommend it to any beginner. But as you are using Arch you're probably advanced, The Linux Programmer's Toolbox was the last book I read and it was pretty great.
http://www.amazon.com/Linux-Programmers-Toolbox-John-Fusco/dp/0132198576/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_T1?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2861BQV3MWNNW&colid=15ZVCNYTYHYQI

@ITG-JM Very interesting, I'll definitely do some research in the VM area. Any good recommendations? I installed Virtual Box a while back but didn't explore much other than try a few different OS's.

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