Hi I’m a volunteer in a youth center. Some time ago, their organization switched to OneDrive and their old server got shelved. I thought it would be a waste to just throw it out, but I’m not sure what to do with it. It runs on an outdated system (CentOS 7, I believe), but otherwise works fine.

I have dipped my toes into Linux, but I am in no ways an expert.

So I would like to ask for ideas, suggestions or maybe just some pointers. What is a fun way to use a server for a youth center? While I’m at it, any ideas what to do with this?

Use it, donate it, sell it? I’m not trying to profit, by the way. Selling would mean to reinvest it into new equipment for the kids, whatever that may be.

I also have a bunch of Lenovo ThinkCentres and old or broken Notebooks at my disposal.

  • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    4·
    19 hours ago

    I think an absolutely great use for an old server at a youth center would be whatever the kids decide to use it for. Seriously, put it to a vote. There are lots of fun options, like a Minecraft server, one of the various Discord alternatives, a private wiki, or whatever else you find on the Awesome Selfhosted List . Just let it be their choice.

    And, more importantly, set it up with them. Let anyone who wants to be involved in the process join in. If you’re kind of a newbie to Linux yourself, that’s even better; let them see you fuck up. Let them help you search for answers when you run into problems. Make it into a collaborative project.

    Now, as for the actual hardware you have there… Man, that thing is ancient. If it’s what you’ve got it’s what you’ve got. As I’ve already indicated I think the process is worth more than the result here. That said, if you look around you can almost certainly find a refurbished old corporate PC for a hundred bucks or so that will be more powerful. Liquidation auctions are especially good for that kind of thing.

  • irmadlad@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    2 days ago

    Well, the Compaq dc7900 is like 19+/- years old. That’s vintage. It would probably handle basic software as a server. If I remember correctly, the Compaq mobo had a RAM max of 8 gb.

    Assuming the Lenova ThinkCenters are of the same era, again, not much you could do with them.

    However, since it’s a Youth Center, you could set them up with a basic Linux distro and introduce Linux to the youngsters. That might be a worthwhile project.

      • irmadlad@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        2 days ago

        Probably better suited for this kind of thing

        Yeah, the Lenovo ThinkCentre M93p’s would be the better option. Those are at least 12 years old, with a max RAM of 16gb, of which I can see some Lenovo RAM in the box so you’d be on your way.