Preparing a new server - hardware ideas?
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| dave Apr 25, 2005 8:08 AM EDT |
I'm about to enter into a rack-sharing arrangement, where I'll have half a rack (21U) all to myself. Now, I am ready to start building my servers. I am planning one server to run the database backend, and then one server to manage the front-end services (including Apache, of course). For the database backend server, I am planning a 1U rackmount server with dual Opteron 242s, 2G ram and SATA disk drives. I am considering going with RAID 5 for the disks. Does anyone have experience with putting such a machine together? Can you give recommendations on vendors? dave |
| PaulFerris Apr 26, 2005 2:34 AM EDT |
Dave: Whatever vendor you get, try to get (if possible) RIB service -- I don't know about your provider, but it's possible to get a frame-buffer driven window into the console. I know Compaq (HP) have a web-based feature that allows you to run one of these rib boards from a web browser over SSL. I'm sure other vendors have similar features, but at one place where I worked it was an awesome feature -- you could even boot a CD remotely -- albeit a bit slowly ;) Other things to look for, some providers give you the ability to power off the machine from the rack itself -- that may be a premium service, I don't know. These were big shops I've worked for. They might also offer load balancing and firewalling -- not that you need the latter. It's nice to have though, if you consider setting up the machines as load-balanced stand-alone units instead of how you describe, you can have high availability. If you need to upgrade something you can take half of the "cluster" down, and swap them and so on. Stuff to consider... --FeriCyde |
| dinotrac Apr 26, 2005 3:38 AM EDT |
OK, Paulie, your spectacular technical prowess has gone beyond my meager level. Wottheheckisa RIB? Would Adam eye it with lust? |
| PaulFerris Apr 26, 2005 5:14 AM EDT |
dino: it's a raster interface board -- rather than have a VGA console, you have a network layer protocol that can transmit the VGA console output to a remote device. Then you can bounce the box and so on with ease. But it sucks mightily at playing doom, so it has marginal value in this context. --FeriCyde PS: Eve would have wanted one anyway. |
| dave Apr 26, 2005 7:06 AM EDT |
Paul, I'll probably be buying an APC Remote Reboot Switch. http://www.kvms.com/apc/apc_remote_reboot_switches.asp Thanks for the RIB tip. I'll look into it. I'm a little frustrated that I am having trouble finding a supplier for opteron hardware at reasonable prices. What I want seems simple enough, and I shouldn't have to pay $8K for it... I wish IBM would just pony up for it. I've helped them enough in the past. Dave |
| dinotrac Apr 26, 2005 9:14 AM EDT |
Dave... Yeah. Opteron stuff -- cough, hack, wheeze -- ain't cheap. Don't know your needs, but new generation socket 939 stuff is pretty interesting... A bit behind the Opteron on performance, way behind it on price. The 90 nano stuff is nice. Runs very cool, draws very little power. |
| dave Apr 26, 2005 9:29 AM EDT |
Well, the server we're using right now is an Opteron 142 with SATA drives and 2G DDR 400 memory. I purchased it a year ago for around $900. I would expect to be able to get more than that today for the same price. A year really ought to make a difference! I digress... I'll look into the socket 939 and 90 nano. Never head of 'em before. dave |
| dinotrac Apr 26, 2005 9:44 AM EDT |
The socket 939 stuff is really AMD's desktop line, but they now support DDR memory (which was the tie-up before). Tis all in what you need... |
| dave Apr 26, 2005 10:02 AM EDT |
I need big iron. 750,000+ unique visitors per month is getting a bit much for my little tiny Opteron. I have a half-rack arranged for $375/mo and I'm going to fill it up. dave |
| mariuz Apr 26, 2005 10:17 AM EDT |
i have seen some benchmarks on the linuxhardware http://linuxhardware.org/ ps: my first choice would be tyan for mb as for raid5 until now i used software raid for all my servers |
| dinotrac Apr 26, 2005 10:28 AM EDT |
I'm impressed your tiny Opteron has not jumped in front of a truck... |
| Koriel Apr 26, 2005 3:26 PM EDT |
Im currently running an AMD 64 3500+ Socket 939 on an Asus A8N SLI Deluxe PCI-E motherboard with Slackware 10.1 installed with no problems, This Nvidia based board has pretty good linux support for a bleeding edge desktop based motherboard. Asus also announced that the board will support dual cores with a bios update. Has dual onboard gigabyte ethernet one of which has diagnostic monitoring and firewalling built in, cant comment on their reliabilty as i dont use them. Has all the usual Sata 2 and Raid stuff onboard, DDR400 support up to 2GB Ram As to how well it would perform as a long term heavy duty server is anyones guess due to it being a desktop board but im sure the server boards using the same tech will be along very soon. It certainly appears to perform well in the speed department as to reliability well its lasted the 3 months ive had it for :) Most reviews ive seen for this board are along the lines of "Its not the fastest of all the Nforce4 S939 boards they have seen but it is one of the most stable" which is why i bought it. |
| mariuz Apr 26, 2005 11:51 PM EDT |
tyan makes nforce based motherboards also http://www.tyan.com/products/html/thunderk8we.html |
| dave Apr 27, 2005 6:33 AM EDT |
Here's what I ended up getting: Motherboard: ($192 * 2) Tyan S2850G2NR Socket940(Opteron)/SATA/R/V/2GBE/ATX Motherboard Has 2 GBE Nics. SATA RAID. MEMORY: 4 DIMMS SUPPORTS UP TO 8GB REGISTERED(ECC/NON-ECC)DDR333/266/200 http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-S2850G2 Memory: (x4 + x2) ($816) KINGSTON KVR400X64C3A/1G 1024MB PC3200 400MHZ CL3 (3-3-3) DDR DIMM ($136.00) http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=BA20668 Case: ($145.99 * 2) ($291.98) SKY HAWK IPC-2025 (BLACK) 2U CHASSIS NO POWER SUPPLY 2x5.25" 2x3.5" 3x3.5"(hidden) W/ 80mm FAN x 2 *SLIDING RAIL NOT INCLUDED!80mm BALL BEARING FAN (CLEAR); 500W UL P/S; POWER SUPPLY INSTALLATION Cases: http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?&scriteria=BA20719 Rails: http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?&scriteria=BA20721 Drives: ($189 * 4) ($756) MAXTOR 300GB 6B300SO SATA-150 16MB 7200RPM http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=AA28930 Processor: ($296 * 2) ($592) AMD OPTERON 148 2.2GHZ RETAIL BOX W/COOLING FAN http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=BA03425 ---------------------------------------- Purchased processors from eWiz.com: $384.00 Everything else from mwave.com: $2,637.04 Total: $3,021.04 Thanks for the discussion fellows. dave |
| mariuz Apr 27, 2005 9:32 AM EDT |
is that Registered ram ? |
| mariuz Apr 27, 2005 9:37 AM EDT |
this is what i saw on kingston site [url=http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator/modelsinfo.asp?SysID=16279&mfr=Tyan Computers&model=Tomcat K8S (S2850)&Sys=16279-Tyan Computers-Tomcat K8S (S2850)&distributor=0&submit1=Search]http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator/modelsinfo.asp?...[/url] and tyan's http://www.tyan.com/support/html/memory_s2850.html |
| PaulFerris Apr 27, 2005 11:41 AM EDT |
Dave that thing is practically useless. I'll bet the FPS rating is through the floor with no 3D graphics adaptor! What were you thinking! [FeriCyde ducks] |
| dave Apr 27, 2005 2:03 PM EDT |
Does it HAVE to be registered? Maybe I ought to put a hold on the order and change it to registered? It's just SOOO much more expensive. dave |
| dinotrac Apr 27, 2005 3:49 PM EDT |
Dave - With the Opteron (unless something has changed recently) registered ram is required. That was one of the big reasons for socket 939 -- Let the desktop-oriented Athlon 64 get by with cheaper unregistered ram. |
| TxtEdMacs Apr 27, 2005 4:47 PM EDT |
dinotrac - unless I am mistaken the socket I read he is using is the 940. It too may require registered ram, but I thought the real requirement is for ECC memory. Perhaps neither of us have it right: look at the top of the page on his link: "Socket 940", and "MEMORY: 4 DIMMS SUPPORTS UP TO 8GB REGISTERED(ECC/NON-ECC)DDR333/266/200". If it allows for non-ECC RAM, despite what the parentheses may seem to imply, I doubt registration is necessary. I thought registration is a guarantee of quality not a necessity. Anyone reading this exchange have any real knowledge to suppress this perhaps ignorant exchange of uniformed opinion? Please chime in! |
| mariuz Apr 27, 2005 10:35 PM EDT |
registered ram is ECC - usually "Opteron actually does not require ECC memory (it DOES require Registered memory), but the two functions are practically synonymous when it comes to modern RAM. It’s possible to get Registered-but-not-ECC memory (or vice versa), but the majority of modern RAM is sold as both simultaneously, as are the types we’ll be examining today." http://www.sudhian.com/showdocs.cfm?aid=493 |
| Koriel Apr 28, 2005 12:34 AM EDT |
Their is no way that thing will run Far Cry shame on you :) |
| SeanConnery315 Apr 29, 2005 7:03 AM EDT |
Too bad I missed this thread earlier - would have been fun to give my two cents on all this fun stuff! I would have personally recommended some IBM X-series hardware, or perhaps some HP/Compaq DL series (a 580 would probably meet your needs nicely). But money seemed to be a concern, so those are automatically out :-( As for the memory question, I think Crucial explains this best: Definition of "registered" memory: http://www.crucial.com/kb/answer.asp?qid=3669 Is all registered also ECC? http://www.crucial.com/kb/answer.asp?qid=3744 Good luck with the new toys! -Tool |
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