Whether you're running a Plex media server, virtual machines galore, or simply maintaining your ain cloud storage system, at that topographic point are a handful of things aspiring habitation server aficionados should stimulate got inwards their arsenal.
RAID Calculator
If you're going to stimulate got a modest handful of hard drives inwards your server, together with thence it's non also hard to determine which RAID setup you lot should become with. However, ane time you lot outset adding inwards to a greater extent than disks, it's a expert thought to experiment amongst unlike RAID setups on newspaper earlier officially rebuilding your array.
For this, RAID Calculator is a super simple, yet really helpful tool. You simply locomote inwards the number of disks you lot have, the size of the disks (individually), together with and thence what type of RAID setup you're thinking most using. From there, you'll acquire an overview of how much storage infinite you'll acquire to operate with, the surgical operation of the array, together with its mistake tolerance.
A Hard Drive Docking Station
Upgrading to novel hard drives together with getting rid of old ones? Just involve to run some tests on a problematic hard drive? A hard effort docking station is handy to stimulate got inwards these situations.
It essentially acts every bit an external hard effort of sorts, but you lot tin ship away chop-chop plug whatsoever internal hard effort into it together with burn it upwardly on whatsoever computer. I role it for wiping old hard drives I desire to acquire rid of, every bit good every bit diagnosing possible issues amongst drives inwards an isolated environs that eliminates other factors. They're inexpensive plenty that fifty-fifty if you lot wouldn't role it often, it's smashing to stimulate got when you lot genuinely practise involve it.
A Spare Drive Always Ready to Go
When you lot stimulate got a row of hard drives working 24/7, ane of them is bound to crap out at some point—that's what your RAID setup is for, after all. But aside from that, it's ever a expert thought to stimulate got a spare hard effort at the ready.
RELATED: What to Do When Your Hard Drive Fails
Instead of waiting for a hard effort to neglect together with non beingness laid for it, it's best to stimulate got a spare hard effort inwards identify together with laid to stimulate got over thence that you lot tin ship away commence to rebuild the array ASAP, rather than having to purchase a novel disk together with hold back for it to acquire inwards on your front end porch. Most server operating systems allow you lot plug inwards a spare effort but cash inwards one's chips on it dissever from everything else. And together with thence when you lot involve it, you lot tin ship away easily convey it into the fold.
It's ever tempting to role that extra storage that you lot stimulate got simply sitting there, but you'll give cheers yourself afterwards when ane of your drives inevitably calls it quits.
Ethernet Crimping Skills
Having a habitation server involves running Ethernet cable every which way. You could simply purchase Ethernet cables inwards the specific lengths you lot involve them in, but you lot relieve a lot of coin if you make your ain Ethernet cables instead.
RELATED: How to Crimp Your Own Custom Ethernet Cables of Any Length
You tin ship away acquire a 1,000-foot spool of Ethernet cable for unopen to $60, which should concluding you lot quite a while. Of course, you'll also involve to pass a fleck to a greater extent than coin for the plugs and some tools to crimp the cables, but you'll however come upwardly out means ahead.
Plus, crimping your ain ethernet cables allows you lot to brand them at simply the lengths you lot need, which tin ship away assist brand things hold back tidy together with create clean inwards your habitation server setup.
Various Command Line Tools
Some habitation server operating systems are pretty slow to use, fifty-fifty for beginners. But you'll undoubtedly role the ascendence business at some point, together with at that topographic point are some genuinely smashing ascendence business tools that are worth using.
RELATED: How to Use wget, the Ultimate Command Line Downloading Tool
If you're at all a information hoarder, together with thence you'll beloved using Wget, which is a ascendence line-based downloading tool. You tin ship away role it to download a unmarried file or an entire website together with all of its assets, all amongst a elementary command.
There's also iPerf and Speedtest-cli. The onetime tin ship away examination your local network's read together with write speeds, piece the onetime tin ship away examination your meshing connection. Both are useful when you lot involve your habitation server to perform inwards tip-top shape at all times.
RELATED: 8 Common Network Utilities Explained
Back Up Your Data!
Ok, this one's non thence much a matter you lot should stimulate got available, but a matter you lot should do. But really, dorsum upwardly your data. This is mutual knowledge, but it's existent slow to practise all kinds of stupid materials together with experiment amongst novel things on your server every bit you lot become through the learning process—you never know if you'll halt upwardly accidentally messing things upwardly together with involve to outset from scratch.
RELATED: Backups vs. Redundancy: What's the Difference?
And no, your RAID setup is not a backup. It's exclusively at that topographic point if a hard effort ever fails. Instead, dorsum upwardly everything to a separate, isolated hard effort that tin ship away locomote stored inwards a rubber location, preferably offsit
