Member Avatar for sirlink99

I am currently in University studying Computer Science, and I am debating whether or not to buy a server. I have co-op and I am currently working at a company that works with newtorking, programming, etc. and I decided that I would want to learn more about this field even if it isn't my final career path. This server would be used for web hosting (al least my website) with a chance at hosting more websites (for friends), and possibly a dedicated server on the side if the server can handle it. is the server that I am currently looking at currently. My budget is $800 including tax (for me it is 13%). It would also be preferrable to have a possibility to insert a hot-swap rack if needed in the future. How would you rate the server above with respect to what I need it to do, and if you have any other suggestions for servers I would like to hear them.

Also if you have any other interesting information I would like to know about that too. I want to learn as much as possible.

Thank you for your time.

Edit: The server would run linux, though I'm not sure which distro yet. Probably Ubuntu Server

Edited by sirlink99
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A concise expert summary for that ties the thread together and fills missing planning details.

The goals (learning + hosting your site and student sites) are sensible, but the rough math matters: 490 sites at 1 GB each = ~490 GB of user data. That alone implies at least 500 GB usable disk, and with simple mirroring (RAID1) you need ~1 TB raw. Storage and I/O are the limiting factors for many small sites, not just CPU. was right to flag the power supply: choose a chassis with room for multiple drives and a quality PSU (or plan to upgrade) so future expansion does not become a hardware emergency.

Recommended baseline for a light multi-site host and lab box:

  • 64-bit OS (Ubuntu Server LTS) and >8 GB RAM (16 GB safer if running many PHP/MySQL sites).
  • Multi-core CPU (4 logical cores or more).
  • Separate OS SSD (120–240 GB) + bulk storage (RAID1 or RAID10 HDDs) sized to actual quotas.
  • At least one Gigabit NIC; consider a second NIC for management or backup traffic.
  • UPS and good cooling; expect tower servers to be noisy and power-hungry.

Operational notes and gaps from the thread:

  • Use per-user disk quotas and limit PHP worker memory (or prefer Nginx + PHP-FPM) to keep per-site memory low.
  • Backups are mandatory — RAID is not a backup. Keep regular offsite/incremental backups.
  • Security: firewall, automatic updates, and monitoring (disk, load, connections).
  • Hot-swap bays and redundant PSUs are useful for colocated production hardware, but not required for a home/lab tower unless uptime is critical.
  • Consider starting with a cheap VPS or colocating one small server; it often costs less than a noisy, power-hungry home server and avoids ISP/static-IP and bandwidth issues.

These points should make it easier to pick a chassis and configuration that balances learning value, expandability, and realistic hosting limits.

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Member Avatar for rubberman

Not a bad starting server, but the power supply is on the meager side. You should have at least a 750W supply (instead of the included 400W one) for a server this size, especially as you add stuff to it. One other thing is that it doesn't seem to come with keyboard, mouse, or display (but does have built-in audio and video w/ DVI and VGA ports). You might be able to configure it to allow console access via the network interface so you can use a laptop or other system to remote in via the network.

Member Avatar for sirlink99

I have a monitor (I use dual monitors for my laptop), and I could probably find a mouse and a keyboard. As I don't have a server rack I would prefer a tower server. You wouldn't happen to know of a server with a 750W power supply in my price range would you? All the ones I found were 400W or less (in the $500-$750 category). Also what would you suggest the minimum specs be. My current idea is to provide cheap hosting to the students at my university. They wouldn't get much space (1 gig), but it is enough to hold a fully functional website. Would the one I mentioned in my first post be able to host ~490 websites (I expect most won't get much traffic)? I am willing to purchase the server elsewhere so if you have any suggestions please tell me. Also would you recommend eventually getting a hot-swap rack?

Thanks for your help.

Member Avatar for sirlink99

Reading on 490 websites seems unrealistic even if not all of them are being viewed all the time. In general how much does it cost in terms of ram, cpu, etc. for each person or website (probably goes by person though). Sorry for all the questions I just want to make the best decision possible, and have the most accurate information when it comes time to buying the server.

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