I'm interested in setting up something to act as a file server. Think of it as "the cloud" but local. I've never built (or bought) something specifically for this, so it's a big foreign to me.
I think really all I would want is something that can store a lot of TB of data easily. It doesn't need to be fast. It doesn't need to be able to stream media anywhere. It really only needs to be able to act as an SFTP server, maybe run sync thing (new to that), and maybe act as a NAS. My gut feeling is something like 10+ TB might be a good amount to start. Something that won't fill up quick and that I can put big things in (like a full system image of another computer) without concern.
What would be a good way to go about this? Building a computer like normal but getting very cheap stuff? Getting something pre built or used (like surplus office stuff)? I'm just not really sure where to begin.
A server is quite literally just a computer. Your desires could be serviced by something as simple as a raspi with a USB attached external HDD.
My very first server many years ago was just a desktop chassis with old scrap parts I had lying around. If you don't have parts on hand you can obviously buy them or if you are unsure about how committed you are to this project just pick up some cheap used system of Craigslist/some online marketplace/eBay/etc.
The above all assumes you are interested or comfortable with setting up the software side of things yourself. A prebuilt NAS device is again nothing more than a computer but among other things will come preloaded with an OS and software catered to fulfilling its role and typically making it highly user friendly to just start rolling with.
If cost savings is key though and you are interested in learning you can also just install Linux on any old box and set it up to do everything and more that a prebuilt NAS can.
I think I may have made myself seem like more of a novice than I intended. I know a server is a computer. I run Linux on multiple devices and I've built multiple daily use/gaming computers. I only meant I haven't had experience with what sort of things to shop for for a file storage server.
The bare minimum is a hard drive and a computer. Unless you have a more specific question I'm not sure how else to answer. I don't think I fully understand what your concerns are.
I don't have any concerns, I guess I'm just curious if there is any sort of advice folks with they had after the first time they did something similar.
Well... I guess advice for such an open ended inquiry is desgin our backup plan first and build around that.
Also decide what level of fault tolerance you want. If you want to be able to survive a disk failure without restoring from a backup then you'll want at least a RAID1 configuration or similar.
If you do so be sure to test out your planned recovery methods before loading up all your data and thoroughly document your process so that when the worst happens all you need to do is follow your own directions.
To your point, I'm running Proxmox on a 5+ year old Dell small form factor desktop with 3 (2.5") drives in it for data. That's all that will phsycially fit.
Works great as a file server, and it syncs the data partition to a NAS and a couple external drives using an offset schedule. It also has a backup running to Backblaze. (The NAS doesn't have the performance of the desktop, and it's even older).