Turning an older laptop into a NAS+media server

[ZesPak]

Hi,

Through my job I have quite some experience with NAS/server setups.
However, my mate has some spare hardware lying around that could well be a proper home server setup.

The hardware in question is a 5yo laptop with reasonable spec and a big external HDD.

Now I want the stuff to do two things:

1. Serve as a NAS for the home network
2. Run Plex so we can 'cast' movies to devices

I have no problem investing some time in this for him, he'd do the same for me. But, the thing has to be very stable so ideally it doesn't need a monthly reboot.
The computer in question has a Win XP key on it, which I wouldn't mind at all, but since it's a fresh install and I have a bit of linux experience I wouldn't mind giving a Linux distro a go.

The 2nd part then comes in question. Plex installs on Windows and OSX, but I'd like to give one of the free options a go: FreeBSD, Ubuntu, Fedora and CentOS.
Of those 4 I only have experience with Ubuntu, but I'd like to give the "geeks" here a shout out as to their opinion of the OS's above. I imagine all of these will easily meet my needs and more though, which one would be:

1. easiest to set up
2. most suitable for the job at hand

Thanks for your input!

[ZesPak]

JimbobVFR said:

I'd say Vortexbox might be worth a look for this.

??

pcameron said:

I have a very similar configuration to the one you are suggesting. I run Ubuntu Linux, Plex server and NAS functionality all on a single system, and it works great - and has done for about 2 years.

You can download Plex server for Linux from their web site [https://plex.tv/downloads], just make sure you choose computer not NAS (that's for special NAS devices). It's not quite as straightforward as a WIndows or OSX to install, but it isn't hard. For NAS functionality you can use SAMBA for Windows clients, NFS for other LINUX systems, and OpenAFS for OSX clients. I run Ubuntu desktop rather than Ubuntu server (i.e. without a GUI), but both should work fine.

Thanks, I'm aware of the Plex installations, just haven't done it on an Unbuntu yet.
Good to know that it works as well.

[ZesPak]

Hi, thanks all for the input!
In the end I'll think I go for the stuff I know, which is ubuntu. It's more of a desktop environment but it has all the software I need available for it so...