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Build The Ultimate Small-Business Server And Notebook
How to construct a small but powerful server that can do everything but pay the rent.
October 12, 2004
9 Min Read
Today's growth-focused entrepreneurs know full well that they don't need a dedicated IT department to have serious computing power and connectivity. In this Recipe, I'll show you how to give them what they want -- and room to grow -- with an affordable pair of machines. For the "IT closet," construct a small but powerful server that can do everything but pay the rent. For the proprietor, provide a powerful, high-end notebook that offers portability without skimping on productivity.
This Recipe describes the construction of two PCs: a small form-factor (SFF, or "shoebox") Linux office server, and a Windows XP-based white-box notebook or "whitebook." Together, they should come in under a $4,000 street price.
The whitebook specifications should provide a usable desktop system for years,or perhaps more likely, until the first employee comes onboard and the boss makes it a hand-me-down in order to justify an even newer machine! The server, despite its compact size, will have the internal power and external expandability to provide a growing range of services as the new business needs.
Be sure you discuss business requirements with the user. No two environments are exactly alike, so it may be appropriate to adjust the configuration of the server to suit a specific need. For instance, a new Microsoft development partner will likely require a Windows 2003 Server-based system! However, for most general office computing environments, the Linux platform described in this article will fit the bill.
IngredientsHere are the necessary components to build the ultimate small office computer combination:
Server platform. There are literally thousands of motherboard and chassis combinations you could use to build the server. If your client appreciates the value of compact design, use what we used for this recipe: the Biostar iDEQ 200P (about $250 retail). This Athlon 64-based platform offers integrated USB 2.0 and Firewire along with a SATA RAID controller and gigabit Ethernet, and it won't be an eyesore. If your client is rather old-fashioned or has esoteric expansion-card needs, however, go with a full-sized tower and proper ATX motherboard. Here's a look at this neat box:
Server CPU and peripherals. For this recipe, we populated the 200P's motherboard with an Athlon 64 3200++CPU, dual SATA Maxtor 6Y160M0 drives for a total of 320 GB storage, and dual 512MB DDR400 modules for a total of 1 GB memory. If you know the client intends to use serious database resources, consider substituting a 10,000-RPM drive such as the WD740GD, a 74 GB device. We equipped the server with a basic CD-burning, DVD-reading optical drive, the Aopen COM5232. Finally, the Adesso ACK-540UB mini-keyboard with integrated touchpad makes for the perfect input device for a compact server; it's fully functional, but small enough to be tucked out of the way with the host machine. Here's how it all looks:
Server OS. The Windows Server vs. Linux debate may never end. For this particular recipe we chose to use SUSE Enterprise Server Linux 9 (SLES.) While the cost of a physical Linux distribution with vendor installation support has started to approach that of a small office Windows Server license, most Linux builds and server-side applications have one major advantage for a growing business: They don't require additional client licenses as the company grows. For a one or two-processor machine, the official version of SLES 9 costs $390, although the software may also be redistributed. Here's what the start screen looks like:
Whitebook chassis. Our whitebook for the enterpreneur's desktop is built around the Compal CL56, a laptop built around Intel Centrino technology. Just as important, it offers a full 15-inch LCD at 1400x1050 resolution with a very respectable ATI Radeon 9700 Mobile chip providing the video. In short, the machine delivers for both work and play, and at a weight of just over six pounds.
Whitebook CPU and peripherals. We outfitted our CL56 platform with an Intel Pentium M 745 1.8 GHz CPU, Fujitsu MHT2060AT 60-MB hard drive, and single 512-MB DDR SO-DIMM board. The typical optical drive configuration for the CL56 is a 24x CD-RW/8x DVD-ROM drive; a higher-end DVD-burning drive may be available through your distributor.
Whitebook OS. Unlike the server question, the operating system of choice for the small business desktop is more cut-and-dried. We used Microsoft Windows XP for the notebook OS.
25 Steps To Building a Small Office IT Center
Start with the server. Open the case, and install the CPU, hard drives, RAM, and optical drive. Space is tight inside these small-form-factor cases, so take your time.
Power up the server with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 (SLES) Disc 1 in the CD-ROM drive. When the boot menu appears, select Installation.
After spinning the drive for some time, the SLES YaST (Yet another Setup Tool) program will appear. Click Agree to pass the license agreement, then select the install language you wish to use. YaST probes the computer's hardware and creates a suggested install procedure.
Click on the Software header of the YaST install list to make changes. SLES automatically selects most common server software applications but a few important ones are missing. To select them, click on the checkboxes for File Server, Mail and News Services, DHCP and DNS Server, and Simple Webserver.
Click on the Search tab, then enter "MySQL." Click the checkboxes for all found items. The server will now be able to run a sophisticated Web site with database back-end, or to act as a datastore for internal applications.
Click Next to proceed. If an "Automatic Change" window appears, the software selection has been tweaked slightly to ensure that all programs have the support software they need. Click Continue to accept.
Back in the main install menu, click Accept. When the green warning box appears, confirm Yes. The display changes to an installation progress screen, which shows how many GB of data will be pulled, and from which CDs. The configuration used for this recipe uses just CDs 1-4, but if you select other software packages, you may need all six SLES discs.
After the install is complete, the machine will reboot and return to YaST. At this step, create a root password for the machine. The root password lets any user take any action, so make it a strong password with varying character case as well as numbers and symbols.
Next, YaST validates all network devices, including 56k, DSL, and ISDN modems. Verify that the installer sees the machine's onboard gigabit Ethernet chip.
If you wish to finish the configuration of the machine in "headless" mode -- that is, with no monitor or keyboard -- click VNC Remote Administration and turn it on. By default, the VNC screen-sharing server won't have a password protecting it, although a user employing VNC will still need a valid username and user password to see anything more than a login screen. If you are installing an external router in the client's network, you can block incoming traffic on ports 5801 and 5901 to help protect from outside VNC accesses. But if you plan to offer remote support, keep those ports open.
Next, SLES creates basic certificate authority and LDAP settings. If you have specific requirements from the client, enter the values here. Otherwise, click Next to accept defaults.
The next install step asks you to select an authentication method. LDAP or Local will be acceptable for a basic user. Click Next.
Create a basic user-privileges account by entering a username and password. Check Receive System Mail, then click Next to proceed.
In this step, YaST displays some final documentation and re-scans the computer hardware. Accept the default recommendations presented. Now click Next. This will reboot the system once again and deliver you to the multilingual graphical login screen, shown below.
Log in to SLES with the username and password from step 13. You still need to ensure that some of the services you installed are running. So click the start button (Novell "N" logo). Then select Control Center.
Select YaST 2 Modules, Network Services, and click the Samba Server setting. You will need to enter the root password in every new module in Control Center. Once you're in the Samba Server configuration screen, enter the workgroup or domain you wish to use for Windows filesharing. Call the server the Primary Domain Controller if you wish to establish a Windows domain, or call it No Domain Controller to keep the shares simple and peer-to-peer. Click Next. In the Start-Up tab, click On. Finally, switch to the Shares tab to view the directories available to Windows clients connecting to the network. Use the Add button if you need additional server directories available to Windows clients. By default, Samba Server will be machine "Linux" on workgroup "TUX-NET." To enable Samba, click Finish.View screen shot in separate window.
To set up printer sharing, go to Hardware/Printer in YaST. Click Add and locate the printer if it is not automatically detected. Be sure you help the customer do homework on the printer purchase. While most laser printers support Linux, many low-end ink-jet printers lack Linux drivers.
If you need to install additional programs found in the SLES distribution at this time, go to the Software/Install and Remove Software section of YaST, and search for the application, as shown in the next screen shot:
Next, let's build the whitebook. Start by unpacking the CL56 chassis. You can leave the AC adapter and battery to the side for now. Disassemble the unit, and remove the heatsink over the CPU socket. Use a flathead screwdriver to operate the ZIF socket, turning it to lock the pins in place when the Pentium M chip is flush with the socket.
Unpack the DDR module, and install it in the SO-DIMM slot.
If not already done inside the CL56, install the 802.11 b/g card included with the CL56 in the Mini-PCI slot. Connect the two antenna leads to the card.
Unpack the hard drive and connect it to the 44-pin IDE cable. Lock the drive in its housing.
Reassemble the whitebook, insert the battery, and power it up.
Install Windows XP Professional. When establishing the main user account, use the same username and password you created on the server in step 13.
Once the Windows laptop is configured and attached to the same network, the machine can use the Linux server's resources much like any Windows server. Simply have the notebook join the same domain or workgroup configured in step 16.
New companies don't have to settle for yesterday's castoff PCs. Top-notch servers and notebooks can be delivered right to their doors, tailor-made to their specific needs, and with plenty of room to grow as the business takes flight.
JASON COMPTON is a technology writer who has covered topics ranging from 8-bit entertainment to supercomputing for more than a decade.
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