What you'll learn

Learn how to use freely available software to transform a computer into a file server to be used at home (NAS: Network Attached Storage)
Be able to backup files from your computer (and those of your whole family…) over the network to your new NAS
Use your NAS as a media server to, for example, stream your movies to a TV or tablet, or listen to your music on your smartphone
Know the key differences between building a NAS and buying one
Know why buying a real NAS will be safer

Requirements

A computer with a 64-bit Intel/AMD based processor (this will be your NAS and you will not be able to use it for anything else afterwards...)
Another computer to access your future NAS
A USB memory stick that will be used to boot the server
To connect your NAS to a network, you will need... well... a network... (If you have a broadband router with a WiFi, you have a network)
Basic computer literacy is enough to follow the course (dealing with files and using a web browser are the main tasks that will be used)

Description

Did you buy a new computer and you still have the older one lying around? In that case, you probably asked yourself what to do with that old PC or laptop that you really liked... It is still working very well but is just not powerful enough anymore for your current needs. Well, do not trash it yet: you can give it a new life by transforming it into a very powerful $2,000 server!

In this course, you will learn step by step how to use freely available software to do exactly that: take a 64-bit computer that is obsolete by today's standards and turn it into a NAS - Network Attached Storage.

Storing and sharing files is only one of the features of your future server! In this course, you will learn how to use it as a backup machine as well as a powerful media server... and this is only a small part of what the software is capable of doing.

Synology Inc. is a Taiwanese corporation that specializes in network attached storage (NAS) appliances. A group of ingenious persons has turned Synology's software into XPEnology, which is the program that you will be using to transform your PC. Thanks to them, you will be able to create your own NAS at a fraction of the cost of a Synology server. In fact, if you already have that old computer we talked about earlier, it will cost you nothing more than about half and hour of your time to set it up :o)

Synology's software being easy to use, I will be showing you the basics to get started. After that, with the straightforward user interface of the system, you will very easily go your own way with your new server and add new functionalities according to your needs or desires!

If you want to buy a NAS from Synology (which I strongly support and advocate!) this course will show you why they are so good :o)

Disclaimers:

This is a course aimed at beginners. As such, it will show an easy way to get going with your XPEnology server and will not teach you all the intricacies of Synology's DSM operating system (there are other very good courses on Udemy which go in that direction.)

The course is showing how it works on a Windows 7 computer, but the process is still the same and works with Windows 8 or 10.

I am not, in any way, affiliated to Synology Inc. or the developers of XPEnology (but I absolutely love their products!)
The information contained in this course is for informational and educational purposes only.
Do not trust any professional or important data to a XPEnology driven computer, there is a risk of losing it! Instead, buy a real Synology NAS: there are a lot of different options depending on your budget...

Who this course is for:

Do you have one or more computer at home and have no idea of what a server is? This course will give you a good idea and you may even setup a server by yourself as no special networking knowledge is required!
If you have an older computer (64-bit processor) lying around and you wondered what to do with it, this course will show you how to transform it into a very useful server: no need to trash it yet!
If, like me, you have an old Synology NAS that you cannot upgrade to their more recent 5.x DSM software, you can try it out with what you'll learn in this course. Their software being Open Source, you can freely and legally use it on other hardware than their own.
If you already know what a NAS is and have a good one at home, this is probably not a course that you will need, especially if you are the lucky owner of a recent Synology server :o)

Homepage: https://www.udemy.com/course/turn-an-old-pc-into-a-top-server/