Ubuntu Server

Thomas93

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On my previously mentioned craptop, I have gone with Ubuntu (with xfce on top) as the OS. Basically I am going to file-share from desktop to PS3 as well as back up with this machine as it isn't much good for anything else and has a low power draw.

I have filled it with important files and would lie to be able to securely access them (securely being user-name and passworded) externally, especially at school where access is very limited so no program downloads. It is hooked upto to my wireless router with a Ethernet cable so it is plugged into the outside world.

What i am really after is www.tomscraptop.com (just an example) then pops up username and password then just click what I want to download, is there anyway to do this? Even better if the solution is free.Is this possible on my current set-up?

Thanks

UPDATED
Ok, after a bit more fiddling about and immersion into the world of servers I have made up my mind a bit clearer.
First of all I think I need to lay down specs.
15" 6or so year old Packard Bell.
1.5ghz AMD Athlon XP-M Mobile
256mb RAM
No gpu worth mentioning
40gb (to be externally expanded) HDD.
All functions except half the keyboard, but that is of no concern. Wirelessly enabled too!

I want to:
Mainly use as a home server;
iTunes Server
Dish up movies to my PS3, possible integrate with my N97 some sort of music? If possible I want to restrict access from my brothers PS3, until I get the server of its feet.
Back-up my HP-7 machine and my Macbook (time machine possible)
Generic NAS, and torrent slaving.

Internet wise I want to:
Access the occasional file, but always be able to access my photos to show on other peoples computers (or would I be better off paying for flickr?)

Currently got Xubuntu on the machine and I am willing to learn :)

I know its a lot to ask but if you dont ask you dont get!

On a side note- Xubuntu doesn't seem to play nice with terminal for retrieving packages, it always seems to fail, any solutions?
 
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sounds like you want to set up an FTP server. I don't know the details on Linux but there should be a ton of free software available to do that, just don't expect great speeds depending on your home connection. You can also use SSH or similar to remote log in to the PC but that's a bit different.
 
sounds like you want to set up an FTP server. I don't know the details on Linux but there should be a ton of free software available to do that, just don't expect great speeds depending on your home connection. You can also use SSH or similar to remote log in to the PC but that's a bit different.
Combine these two ideas; use SFTP.
 
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Well once all is said and done with FTP you just log in and get a list of files, so yeah, clickey-clickey (but the same cannot be said for setting it up). Best part is you can log in with any decent web browser.
 
Thomas,
I think you could do with trying out Openfiler: http://www.openfiler.com/. Quick rip from their site:
http://www.openfiler.com said:
Openfiler is a network storage operating system, fronted by a web based management user interface. With the features we built into Openfiler, you can take advantage of file-based Network Attached Storage and block-based Storage Area Networking functionality in a single cohesive framework.

It has something of a learning curve to deal with, not too steep though. You setup your volumes, can even software raid them, setup the shares on the volumes and then setup user accounts to be able to use quotas and access levels. The software is a fully contained OS/software/website suite, so all you do is download the iso and install as if it was xubuntu. Then you open your webbrowser to configure from there, no console work.

Check out the site to see how it works, and if you decide to give it a try and need some help, hit me up.
 
What do you mean by iTunes server? If you just want to share music files as an iTunes network share use Firefly Media Server.

Torrent slaving? Do you mean downloading? If so get transmission, run the daemon and use the web based interface. Flexget can be used with a torrent director for RSS.
 
Given your skill level, I suggest finding some custom solution that fits your needs, like OpenFiler that burnsy mentioned. If however you want to do it yourself, please do everyone a favor and install Ubuntu Server 9.10. Run an aptitude update and then an aptitude full-upgrade. Install and configure openssh-server (remote shell), samba (LAN file access), firefly (mt-daapd), apache (for web access to files), Mediatomb (for ps3), and maybe vsftpd, forward the required ports on your router, and you're good to go.
 
Yeah, if your going to go the Ubuntu Server route (which is what I do) first you need to get some basic skills and be ready to get kicked in the nads a few times. But once you get over the hump things will come to you naturally and you will be running a system that is WAY more powerful then any all in one solution.
PacketCollision has all the things you need, tho something I have been playing with is TwonkyMedia which is paid, but from what I am reading is setting up to do trans-coding plus it supports Xbox vs Mediatomb which does not (last time I checked)
A great resource to check out is http://ubuntuguide.org/ its targeted towards the desktop version of Ubuntu but you can find a lot of tips/steps on installing things you need to get up and running.

If all this seems a bit over you, a great ALL in one thing is FreeNAS, http://freenas.org/ , which I used before and is great but I had a hard time doing more then what it includes which is why i moved to Ubuntu.
 
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