I was thinking whether to go with a windows 2003 server setup along with a NAS for storage of cases, or a Linux server.
What function would the server provide? If you just need storage the NAS would suffice.
I will use the NAS for storage, but seeing I will have more than one workstation and also printer, or is a server not really needed?
Are you planning on running the server as a domain controller? I really think that you have to get above 5 workstations and several employees moving between those workstations to take advantage of the care, feeding and maintenance of a server.
Just sharing the printer can easily be done in a workgroup. The NAS will have built-in security for a workgroup if it is not associated with a domain.
I was going to use the server as a domain controller. Was also thinking of possibly making it a linux machine, which would also allow me to make use of the tools linux has.
Greetings,
I've used Linux boxes as DCs for Windows environments in many cases, but for our own lab I have a dedicated, real Windows DC and other Linux boxes to run Linux tools. It's tempting to do all sorts of cool IT stuff but I've found that keeping forensics environments as simple as possible makes life a lot easier.
And, the more time you spend doing cool IT stuff, the less time you spend doing billable work.
-David
And, the more time you spend doing cool IT stuff, the less time you spend doing billable work.
David - surely you're not saying they're mutually exclusive? Just kidding lol lol lol
32 bit NTFS will max out between 2.8 gb and 3.2 gb depending on the bios and motherboard. I had to research this when I built my last home PC to run Vista. You can buy 3 gb of RAM like I did for my home PC or you can just buy 4 gb and forget about it. The new motherboards will allow you to run memory of different size. Used to be that memory had to match. It is easier to buy a pair of 2 gb modules than one pair of 1 gb and one pair of 0.5 gb.
We archive our cases on 500gb hard drives and lock them up for 5 years. I can order a 500gb hard drive for less than a 300gb DLT tape.