A linux Solution Needed

[90Ninety]

Hello ALL

I have tasked myself with the challenge of building a Linux file server

What I need :

A server to hold files and folders ( preferably with GUI as I am a linux noob)

Bit torrent or torrent application to run and download material to the server (headless), -remotely controlled by local computer on LAN

Access files and folder remotely -web interface

Basically I want the Server to run headless in my garage , yet be controlled by a client windows pc in my bedroom . From my bedroom I can access all my media files and download torrents to the server . Also I want to be able to retrieve files remotely so a web interface would be cool
I've used google to look for guides but none are specific enough as a complete solution .
So far I have used my old PC with a 1.5 TB drive & installed Xubuntu 12.10 AMD x64 on it.

Is there a complete guide , video or any material which can help me learn. I've found guides but, none are complete enough or up to date . The guide in the following link initially spurred my interest and in theory is exactly what I need , however the guide is over 5 years old and is invalid with newer linux software :http://www.bit-tech.net/bits/2007/06/05/build_your_own_server/2

So Please show me the ropes , I want to learn Linux !

 

[NoMonitor]

subscribed!

 

[HankB]

TLDP
The Linux Documentation Project.
If it still exists. It does. http://www.tldp.org/

It's probably as good a place as any to start if you want to read. Another place to go is Distrowatch.com It lists various distros and the descriptions might help you to pick one.

More popular distros have user forums and wikis that have information that is general as well as specific to the particular distro.

Personally I suggest picking out a popular distro and installing it. Don't be afraid of installing a server edition and administering it using the command line. You can do most things via a GUI and you can do anything that involves administration via the command line. I have a file server at my son's place and I administer it via an ssh connection.

I don't know if you will find a ready assembled solution to all of our needs. Rather select a solid starting point and assemble the pieces for what you want.

One of the keys to finding information is to search for "howto <task that needs to be done>" Many of the documents that describe how to do things using Linux are tagged with "howto." For example "howto access files remotely via http using linux" gets 5 million hits on Google. Something on the front page will probably point you in the right direction. (Be sure to consider the security implications of doing this!)

Of course if you have specific questions there are a number of very knowledgeable users here who can help.

Good luck!

 

[Stratus_ss]

Hello ALL

I have tasked myself with the challenge of building a Linux file server

What I need :

A server to hold files and folders ( preferably with GUI as I am a linux noob)

Bit torrent or torrent application to run and download material to the server (headless), -remotely controlled by local computer on LAN

Access files and folder remotely -web interface

Basically I want the Server to run headless in my garage , yet be controlled by a client windows pc in my bedroom . From my bedroom I can access all my media files and download torrents to the server . Also I want to be able to retrieve files remotely so a web interface would be cool
I've used google to look for guides but none are specific enough as a complete solution .
So far I have used my old PC with a 1.5 TB drive & installed Xubuntu 12.10 AMD x64 on it.

So Please show me the ropes , I want to learn Linux !

So this is basically what you are looking for is this:

1) Samba for file sharing
2) Apache for Web access to files (though I am really not sure why you would publish your personal files to the internet... more info is required)
3) Transmission or Ktorrent for torrnets (transmission has a nice web interface!)
4) X11vnc, FreeNX, Teamviewer or something similar for remote access. The reason I wouldn't go with the built in vnc (vino) is because its kind of garbage in my opinion. On my servers I use tigervnc, though I do not spin up Ubuntu servers, I use CentOS.

Can you explain to me why you want web interface for files? Is the Windows explorer method not sufficient enough? If you MUST have them served via http, the easiest way for a beginner is to make /var a separate partition and make it huge! Then put all your files in /var/www/http (this is the apache default folder). Then you basically turn on apache, and allow it to show the index of the folder and you are finished

 

[fall]

I personally would recommend Owncloud to access your files remotely. It has a beautiful web-interface and it is pretty easy to setup (not as easy as Stratus' suggestion)!

http://owncloud.org/

Then if you want to go all out you can get yourself a Domain (not needed but easier to remember than your IP) and install the Android or iOS app to get your files to your phone.

I currently have one setup for my family, they have the client on their computers that syncs up their pictures and files instantly and they dont have to worry about who can get the data.

Other than that I agree with Stratus there is really no reason to have a web interface to view files as a \\servername\files on any windows machine will work nicely with Samba.