Cheap Server from HOME backup?

I want to have another PC on my home LAN to use to run the External 250 GB
HD backup I used to backup 4 PCs.
I have 4 PCs on my LAN and when they backup over LAN it bogs down the PC I
use, this is the same PC that interfaces (USB 2.0) to the External HD.

What is the cheapest way to get a server (or is there a simple device that
will act like a server) to interface from the ethernet (100 baseT) LAN to my
External USB HD backup?

I have a spare old laptop that would work, but I need USB 2.0 for the HD and
it doesnt have that.

Any thoughts or tips or suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks!

"jtsnow" wrote in message
news:LOXGd.11654$Tf5.4196@lakeread03...
I want to have another PC on my home LAN to use to run the External 250 GB
HD backup I used to backup 4 PCs.
I have 4 PCs on my LAN and when they backup over LAN it bogs down the PC I
use, this is the same PC that interfaces (USB 2.0) to the External HD.

What is the cheapest way to get a server (or is there a simple device that
will act like a server) to interface from the ethernet (100 baseT) LAN to
my External USB HD backup?

I have a spare old laptop that would work, but I need USB 2.0 for the HD
and it doesnt have that.

Any thoughts or tips or suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks!


I use these at home http://www.linksys.com/hdd/

Steve

thats a great tip!...thanks!

"Steve" wrote in message
news:07YGd.44846$Wo.3772@lakeread08...

"jtsnow" wrote in message
news:LOXGd.11654$Tf5.4196@lakeread03...
I want to have another PC on my home LAN to use to run the External 250 GB
HD backup I used to backup 4 PCs.
I have 4 PCs on my LAN and when they backup over LAN it bogs down the PC
I use, this is the same PC that interfaces (USB 2.0) to the External HD.

What is the cheapest way to get a server (or is there a simple device
that will act like a server) to interface from the ethernet (100 baseT)
LAN to my External USB HD backup?

I have a spare old laptop that would work, but I need USB 2.0 for the HD
and it doesnt have that.

Any thoughts or tips or suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks!


I use these at home http://www.linksys.com/hdd/

Steve

"jtsnow" wrote in message
news:LOXGd.11654$Tf5.4196@lakeread03...
I want to have another PC on my home LAN to use to run the External 250 GB
HD backup I used to backup 4 PCs.
I have 4 PCs on my LAN and when they backup over LAN it bogs down the PC I
use, this is the same PC that interfaces (USB 2.0) to the External HD.

What is the cheapest way to get a server (or is there a simple device that
will act like a server) to interface from the ethernet (100 baseT) LAN to
my External USB HD backup?

I have a spare old laptop that would work, but I need USB 2.0 for the HD
and it doesnt have that.

Any thoughts or tips or suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks!

You could get a USB 2.0 card to put into your laptop. I think that would be
the cheapest way to go. Here is one example I found at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...onics&n=507846

your bottleneck will always be the IDE interface to those USB/1394 drives.
Consider buidling an SATA or SCSI raid workstation with multiple drives for
better I/O and redundancy.

- NuTs

"jtsnow" wrote in message
news:LOXGd.11654$Tf5.4196@lakeread03...
I want to have another PC on my home LAN to use to run the External 250 GB
HD backup I used to backup 4 PCs.
I have 4 PCs on my LAN and when they backup over LAN it bogs down the PC I
use, this is the same PC that interfaces (USB 2.0) to the External HD.

What is the cheapest way to get a server (or is there a simple device that
will act like a server) to interface from the ethernet (100 baseT) LAN to
my External USB HD backup?

I have a spare old laptop that would work, but I need USB 2.0 for the HD
and it doesnt have that.

Any thoughts or tips or suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks!

i wonder...

is it possible to go out and buy a bunch of SATA drives; stack them in some
sort of case; and use the linksys to tie them to a network as one huge RAID
0 drive? for all i know this may be a standard practice, but i'm not sure
where to look.


"Steve" wrote in message
news:07YGd.44846$Wo.3772@lakeread08...

"jtsnow" wrote in message
news:LOXGd.11654$Tf5.4196@lakeread03...
I want to have another PC on my home LAN to use to run the External 250
GB
HD backup I used to backup 4 PCs.
I have 4 PCs on my LAN and when they backup over LAN it bogs down the PC
I
use, this is the same PC that interfaces (USB 2.0) to the External HD.

What is the cheapest way to get a server (or is there a simple device
that
will act like a server) to interface from the ethernet (100 baseT) LAN
to
my External USB HD backup?

I have a spare old laptop that would work, but I need USB 2.0 for the HD
and it doesnt have that.

Any thoughts or tips or suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks!


I use these at home http://www.linksys.com/hdd/

Steve

To set up SATA or SCSI or IDE/ATA drives as a RAID 0 (or RAID anything) array, a
computer chassis with appropriate memory is required. The drives can do
nothing all by themselves... Ben Myers

On Thu, 20 Jan 2005 10:33:58 -0500, "hoops" wrote:

i wonder...

is it possible to go out and buy a bunch of SATA drives; stack them in some
sort of case; and use the linksys to tie them to a network as one huge RAID
0 drive? for all i know this may be a standard practice, but i'm not sure
where to look.


"Steve" wrote in message
news:07YGd.44846$Wo.3772@lakeread08...

"jtsnow" wrote in message
news:LOXGd.11654$Tf5.4196@lakeread03...
I want to have another PC on my home LAN to use to run the External 250
GB
HD backup I used to backup 4 PCs.
I have 4 PCs on my LAN and when they backup over LAN it bogs down the PC
I
use, this is the same PC that interfaces (USB 2.0) to the External HD.

What is the cheapest way to get a server (or is there a simple device
that
will act like a server) to interface from the ethernet (100 baseT) LAN
to
my External USB HD backup?

I have a spare old laptop that would work, but I need USB 2.0 for the HD
and it doesnt have that.

Any thoughts or tips or suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks!


I use these at home http://www.linksys.com/hdd/

Steve