I will be buying a new computer which will be used as a CentOS server. I will put it on my home LAN, and once it is set up, will access it only through SSH.

I don't want to spend a lot of money (maybe $500), and I don't want to buy another monitor or keyboard just to through them away after the server is setup.

My question is how do I access the computer without a keyboard and monitor when I install the operating system? For media, I can use either the DVD or an ISO on the USB, so am good there. But how do I see what I am doing and enter commands without a monitor or keyboard? I have a Window 7 laptop, an XP laptop, and a CentOS laptop.

Can I use one of my laptops to act as the MMI (Man Machine Interface)? If not, what is the easiest and least expensive option?

Thank you