Question : Problem: Cheap/free file server options?

Hi Experts,

A friend's client has a small business with a LAN and some Access (.mdb) files which need to be accessed by client PCs around the office.  He can't afford a "server" operating system (like MS Windows Server 2003), but could run WinXP or perhaps Linux.  The "server" hardware is: HP Proliant ML 110, but I see here:
http://h18023.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/family/model/6309.html?lang=en&cc=us
and here:
http://h71028.www7.hp.com/enterprise/cache/458915-0-0-0-121.html
that WinXP is not listed as an operating system option for this model.

Questions:

1. Does the fact that WinXP is not listed as an operating system for this HP server, mean WinXP will not run on it (or is WinXP just not considered a professional option for a server)?  (I know WinXP is not "supported" by HP or Microsoft for this hardware).

2. Could drivers be an issue?

3. If WinXP is an option, would it have to be WinXP Pro, or would WinXP Home work?

4. At home I have a WinXP desktop PC accessing the C drive of a WinXPSE desktop PC, which I have "shared".  Is this called Peer to Peer (P2P) file sharing or what is it called?

5. What cheap configurations could handle the basic requirement I have listed (ie: a basic file server, I guess)?

6. I was thinking he could install Linux + a FAT32 partition to contain the .mdb files.  Any comments?

7. Would he need any special networking software?

Thanks.

Answer : Problem: Cheap/free file server options?

if you are comfortable with linux then one can load linux and have a samba share (www.samba.org) setup so that you can use it for generic file sharing.  it works well with most of the servers and comes pre-bundled with most of the drivers as long as the server in question is atleast 6+ months old in the market.

WinXP is "considered" not sufficiently professional for running a server and most of the hardware sellers like HP / IBM/ etc do not list desktop OS versions as recommended or even compatiable.  even though you can load all the drivers (almost 99% of drivers are available as free downloads).  the only thing to consider would be the network card if you intend to use the machine only for file sharing.

in my previous office, i had a desktop loaded with linux ext3 file system and a 1 gb RAM for serving more than 100+ clients for simple file sharing.  it also had a domain setup as the password manager/ rights for accessing folders, etc.  so the config that you have given is quite sufficient for a file sharing server assuming that it really is a SMB setup with lesser number of clients

FAT32 is ok.  but if you load samba for file sharing, then it is irrelevant as to which file system you opt for.  i would recommend a software raid enabled disks for redundancy, ext3 journalised file system as the speed of access and troubleshoot options are better.