On 14 Nov 2015, at 19:16, steve-ALUG@hst.me.uk wrote:
Hi folks. I'm going to have to replace an ancient Pentium (2?) with 2gb ram that's run as a file server with software raid (twin disks), media server, print server, web server. None of these are high use and the web server is only internal.
Anyone got any recommendations for a low-ish power, small-ish form factor machine that will run linux that I could use?
Have a look at the https://www.serversplus.com/hp_proliant_microserver which has 4 HD bays, a dual-core celeron, and 2DIMMs for up to 16G RAM. I bought a predecessor some time ago. There are often cashback deals like http://www.serversplus.com/pdfs/ml10_65_oct15.pdf which you just missed. You could have a chat with them and see if that is likely to come back. If you want more CPU power but still a small form factor, have a browse around mini-itx.com; they have a wide range of motherboards (perhaps a Gigabyte J1900N?) and some NAS chassis (like say the CFI-A2060) too.
Existing machine is running Ubuntu, and I'd probably continue with that, or Lubuntu, or possibly debian.
Also is there any easy way to migrate from the existing machine to the new one? Presumably I can't simply move the disks from the old machine to the new one?
Wether it is even possible depends on the HDs, the motherboard, what OS you have installed, etc. But likely your existing HDs are PATA and your new machine will have SATA, so it won't fit. If your HDs are old, perhaps now would be a good time to look at replacing them before they fail anyway? I'd start over and just copy files across a network.
(This bit's a bit off topic- sorry) Also probably got to get sprog a Windows machine. It's a long time since I've delved into the wacky world of windows. Schoolwork and games like train simulator and minecraft would probably be it. Can't decide for sure, but probably a laptop. Any good deals or recommendations?
A laptop sounds sensible for school work. The Dell XPS line has some nice models, and you can often get cheaper refurbished through http://www.dell.com/uk/dfh/p/laptops The last laptop I bought came from http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk. But there are thousands of others.
-- Martijn