Windows 2003 vs. XP Pro as a server

[disturbed1]

Sticking with Windows per OP's request , 2000 server would be the best bet.

For basic server functions, firewall, NAT, routing, file serving, ftp host, http host, the requirements are quite low, as long as your not serving files to 1,000's+ of users.

In a typical home situation with 10 or less computers, your setup would be fine.

If you choose XP, by the time you turn off all the eye candy, and advanced features to allow it to run at a decent speed, you just have Windows 2000 anyways.

2000 server runs just fine on a dual PII 300 and 128mb of ram. So i'd assume, you'd have a similar experience with a PII 550. I'm currently running it with dual PIII 600's and 1 gig of ram with SCSI raids. I've found that CPU power isn't as important as disk speed and ram, once you hit the 500mhz mark for small servers. I upgraded the CPUs last, and saw very little difference compared to adding the raid arrays and more RAM.

[stiltman]

This pertains to my other recent post, kinda. I have windows 2003 server and I was wondering how well it would work on a PII 550 w/128mb PC133. I was going to use it as a server/firewall in the house. You guys/gals think that's enough "power" to run alright? Currently it has XP Pro SP1 and it seems to run "OK" ubt I thought 2003 might be faster? I've never used it and was curious. I have no idea how to use linux and any variations of that type. I'm stuck in the windows world and don't have any time to learn the other OS's.

Thanks

I have yet to see you say what this "server/firewall" is going to be used for. Once you figure out your "needs" you can then figure out what you need.

Example:
I need a web server and file server for 5 people in my house.
My recomendation would be Win2K Pro, WinNT Pro, Linux with Samba

[BJ_M]

what stiltman says is right -- and if its going to be JUST a firewall and some file serving duties -- there are many simple linux preconfig'd firewalls to run on there - though if you dont know linux well, can sometimes be less secure ..