If you did a standard install of the software, there ought to be a program group folder which has both the Freelancer start link and a Freelancer server start link.You can run the server on any halfway-up-to-date windows computer. If you want to run it on the same machine as the game you want to play, the system requirements are a bit more demanding.The real purpose of the server are multi-player games, which require some sort of network. You could use the internet, but information flow into the internet usually is slower than from the internet, so any other player on your server would have to wait for the information to reach him.On a local area network, there are no such problems (transfer rates 100 to 1000 times faster than DSL).simply start the server software and fill in the required info. Try the "lancers reactor" website for additional advice.
www.lancersreactor.com