We use a server wired to the school's internet. It just sits in a cabinet in our lab most of the time. More details are on our
website (it isn't very well organized at the moment; Mostly information is just thrown onto the resources page). I am not greatly involved in the configuration of the server itself, so I can't provide anymore than my view of it or my interpretation of the stuff on our website. We use subversion to handle all of our CAD, software, and occasionally a few other files (t-shirt designs, sponsor logos).
As far as I can tell, we didn't really have to deal with the school much to get the server working. The IT person at the school has offered to let us use their server room, but that would make it harder for us to access the server itself whenever we need to.
Again, for technical details, the website is probably your best bet for getting more information quickly. Also, if you are confused by references to random elements, most of the team computers are named after elements.