Building a OS X 10.5 Hackintosh RAID File Server - n00b needs some help

[eggman51]

Hi Folks,

 

Thanks for the awesome work to make this a possibility!

 

I have 4 Macs in my house and a Windows Vista Media Center box connected to my TV. I would like to set up a file server / iTunes server / UPnP / DLNA server, etc etc. I thought about doing it on Linux, but I don't have the time to maintain 3 different OSs in the house. I can't afford a true Mac that would work as a file server.

 

What I want to do:

1. buy the right (best value) hardware that will give me a painless and fully functional Mac OS X Server v10.5 installation. I have some PC hardware kicking about (most of it too old to be uable with a Hackintosh, but some of it I will use to save $). I don't want to spend too much money, but will spend a bit to get the right hardware that will make installation simple and function 100%.

2. get advice on the right RAID card (I am thinking one of the 4 or 8 port cards like a Rocket RAID or some such)

3. I need a PCI x4 or x8 slot for the RAID card on the mobo. I don't need fancy graphics card capabilities as this will purely be a server (probably administered remotely).

4. I need Gigabit LAN and for that to work 100%

5. I am planning on being able to expand the array to very large size over time using 1TB drives and the ports and port multipliers on the RAID card. Initially just 3 x 1TB in RAID 5. I can configre it to have a seperate SATA drive for OS installation and booting.

6. I don't want to have to spend tooooo much time fiddling with it, I kinda just want it to work and be simple to maintain in the future (likely once I get 10.5.2 working I'll rarely mess with the base installation; just applications, configuration and administration thereafter).

 

Is the above feasible?

 

Do applications care about the Hackintosh platform once the base OS is up and running?

 

Does RAID card hardware and drivers care about the Hackintosh platform once the base OS is up and running? (assuming the hardware supports Mac OS X Server v10.5)

 

I've read LOT of guides and such on here, but there is so much information it can get a bit confusing.

 

Any help *much* appreciated.

 

egg