Benefits of network server?

[mattri]

Hi,

I have a home network setup between 2 pc's and a laptop that is occasionaly connected. As i have just upgraded my pc radically I now have a spare pc (just without a hard drive at moment) Is it worth setting this up as a server? At the moment the adsl is connected to one of the above pc's and this pc is always on and only used for internet, email and office xp. Are there any great benefits from using a server seeing as the pc currently directly connected to the internet is in my home office and so there are no noise worries.

Cheers

[ReSpAwN DeMoN]

I had a spare PC and I did use it as a server. It provides us access to our network drive so we can pass files and it provides us access to our laser printer. I truly do not recommend connecting the modem to a PC and getting everyone accesss through internet connection sharing. I did this and did run into quite a few problems. Every so often for some reason the PC has to be rebooted cuase it can't pass on the connection anymore due to stability issues. If its possible I say get yourself a router. You can get a decent one for pretty cheap.

[Wiggo]

I have a small home network and the server here does file/internet/printer duties plus processing Seti duties. The best part is that the server just does what it has to while the rest of us sit behind its firewall and as it don't do much then reseting is seldom needed and others arn't cut off from its resources. :thumb:
<center>:cheers:</center>

[JediAgent]

I agree with ReSpAwN about not using interent connection sharing, rather get a router and plug in all from there.

If you want to build a server instead, that can do routing functions, so you wouldn't need a router, it can also have network attached drives, printer services, and possibly speed up internet access with the right caching. All under Win2K Server (server, not pro) you could set this up. The pros to a server are immense if you need them. For your situation a simple router would do, and the server would take a lot more work.

I dont know, if you have the time, build a server. Learn something new. Thats typically the best reason to do something. And we'll always be here to help you when you get lost.