New Server Hardware and price quotes, Funding the server - Page 3

Tasuke · 2002-10-15, 18:55

The WD special edition drives are still 3 year and have the huge cache to boot. I have found them to be EXCELLENT for IDE raid, being that they have high rotation speeds, densith, and such a large cache. And the 80 gig is dirt cheep right now(at about $140).

The top end of the Maxtor drives also have a 3 year warranty, but use 5400 rpm(large drives), 7200 rpm(smaller densities)and have only the 2 meg cache.

On a database server, Hdd throughput and access times will be the bottleneck. Lots of ram may allow the DB to be cached to ram(if it is small enough)but you still have to write it out to disk often. It will be worth skimping on Processor power to get more Hdd performmance.

ebx · 2002-10-15, 21:27

Static IP is a must.

Serial console access is very nice too in case you drop to single user mode. Need a secure terminal server of course.

Prime95 · 2002-10-16, 01:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebx

Static IP is a must.

Serial console access is very nice too in case you drop to single user mode. Need a secure terminal server of course.

The question about static IP was who obtains it, the University or us? I've never obtained one before so I don't know how that is done.

Serial console access? What is that? Is it a way for remote users to control the server in single user mode? I was wondering how we would do that. Will it let us remotely reboot the machine when it gets stuck? If not, is there another product that will?

There are all kinds of remote administration questions. Will we be able to do remote restores from backups sitting on the Internet? I assume we are backing up the machine over the internet too. Will we be able to remotely install Linux from scratch in case of a disasterous disk crash?

Xyzzy · 2002-10-16, 04:43

If it were up to me...

http://store.sun.com/catalog/doc/BrowsePage.jhtml?cid=77644

I used to have one of these... They seriously rock and they are inexpensive...

If I had a better budget...

http://store.sun.com/catalog/doc/BrowsePage.jhtml?cid=77656

This adds SCSI and a larger memory capacity...

Don't let the memory prices freak you out... You can get memory much cheaper for these at Crucial...

Here is some info about LOM...

ftp://192.18.99.138/806-2038/806-2038.pdf

Here are some more links...

http://sunsolve.sun.com/handbook_pub/Systems/SunFireV100/SunFireV100.html
http://sunsolve.sun.com/handbook_pub/Systems/SunFireV120/SunFireV120.html

Yes, I am a Solaris/Sun bigot...

By January I can afford to purchase another SFV100 that I'd be willing to donate to the cause... My "plan" would be to prototype the new server on my Ultra 1 (Binary compatibility is Sun's forte!) and then transfer this system to the new Sun Fire... Then I'd play with it for a month of two at home to make sure it works, and then ship it off the the IT department at Curtisc's school, so they could mount it in their datacenter... Or, I could host it at my local colo facility...

I don't know much, but I do know how to set up and maintain Solaris on Sun...

If you are curious and have some free time, read this...

http://arstechnica.infopop.net/OpenTopic/page?q=Y&a=tpc&s=50009562&f=96509133&m=3100907092&p=1

Yes, it is a long article, but I think you will agree, after reading it, that if I can keep a box running under those circumstances, then I just might have a chance here...

BTW, if you all like this plan, we can begin working on the software and database immediately... My U1 is standing by...

ebx · 2002-10-16, 04:54

More than likely, the university will have some spare IPs. Since they okeyed the plan, there should not be a problem to get us one.

For serial console access, you first telnet/ssh to a terminal server. From there, there are serial lines to the serial port(COM1: or COM3: ). Some OS allows the serial port to be used as console port so you can do more things remotely.

Reboot machine can be done with any telnet/ssh session. As soon as you enter the reboot command, the session closed. All goes well, you can go back in. If there are problems and the box cant be fully booted, you stuck.

Remote install needs rommon (bios is the more popular term) support I think.

Does Linux allow src code upgrade? That may happen more often than disk crash. We want to avoid taking the host down and sitting at the console to do the upgrade. I dont think Redhat allows that but others may.

One thing though, dont expect a 100% reliable system no matter what you do. The last 1% usually costs 90% of the effort. We should settle with some realistic goals and figure out a way to best recover from disaster.

PadainFain · 2002-11-14, 04:31

If going with RAID5 try to avoid a SunOS system. They have dreadful performance hits if a drive does die I learnt from recent experience!

delta_t · 2002-11-16, 19:05

Hey guys, I've been crunching primes with George's software for many years now and I really like this distributed computing effort. I've been reading through the server hardware thread with great interest. I'd really like to see this thing move ahead. I think xyzzy has a great idea, . . . a donation. I'm sure there are people in the GIMPS community that would love to see this thing move ahead as well. Hell, I'll be willing to start by donating a dual Athlon motherboard and processors. The motherboard is a Tyan Tiger MP, the processors are Athlon MP 1.2GHz.

QuintLeo · 2002-11-20, 23:19

http//www.angstrom.com/products/titan64_evaluation.htm

Can someone (George?) look into what there terms would be?

I think Prime95 has a high enough profile that they would at least *think* about providing a free/low cost system to help port to the Clawhammer, in exchange for "fastest Prime machine" rights....

devil

battlemaxx · 2002-11-24, 17:19

When it comes time to buy hardware, memory, disks and such please let me know and I'll try working some of my vendor contacts to get them to give a deal, donate, bleed to the cause.

battlemaxx · 2002-11-24, 21:48

Also, just noticed Napster's hardware is going up for auction. These auctions typically see the prices for stuff go for more than what you can buy it new (or "new" used). But, might be able to get something on the cheap.

http://www.dovebid.com/auctions/browsewebcast.asp?AuctionID=1618

battlemaxx · 2002-12-09, 01:12

circuitcity.com has the 8 MB cache 80 GB WD IDE hard drives for like $90 or so, after rebates. If IDE RAID is the solution we're after, then maybe these drives are part of the puzzle.

2002-11-16, 19:05	#29
delta_t Nov 2002 Anchorage, AK 101100101₂ Posts	How about donations? Hey guys, I've been crunching primes with George's software for many years now and I really like this distributed computing effort. I've been reading through the server hardware thread with great interest. I'd really like to see this thing move ahead. I think xyzzy has a great idea, . . . a donation. I'm sure there are people in the GIMPS community that would love to see this thing move ahead as well. Hell, I'll be willing to start by donating a dual Athlon motherboard and processors. The motherboard is a Tyan Tiger MP, the processors are Athlon MP 1.2GHz.

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2002-10-15, 18:55	#23
Tasuke Aug 2002 2³·3² Posts	The WD special edition drives are still 3 year and have the huge cache to boot. I have found them to be EXCELLENT for IDE raid, being that they have high rotation speeds, densith, and such a large cache. And the 80 gig is dirt cheep right now(at about $140). The top end of the Maxtor drives also have a 3 year warranty, but use 5400 rpm(large drives), 7200 rpm(smaller densities)and have only the 2 meg cache. On a database server, Hdd throughput and access times will be the bottleneck. Lots of ram may allow the DB to be cached to ram(if it is small enough)but you still have to write it out to disk often. It will be worth skimping on Processor power to get more Hdd performmance.

2002-10-15, 21:27	#24
ebx Aug 2002 101 Posts	Static IP is a must. Serial console access is very nice too in case you drop to single user mode. Need a secure terminal server of course.

2002-10-16, 04:43	#26
Xyzzy "Mike" Aug 2002 8223₁₀ Posts	If it were up to me... http://store.sun.com/catalog/doc/BrowsePage.jhtml?cid=77644 I used to have one of these... They seriously rock and they are inexpensive... If I had a better budget... http://store.sun.com/catalog/doc/BrowsePage.jhtml?cid=77656 This adds SCSI and a larger memory capacity... Don't let the memory prices freak you out... You can get memory much cheaper for these at Crucial... Here is some info about LOM... ftp://192.18.99.138/806-2038/806-2038.pdf Here are some more links... http://sunsolve.sun.com/handbook_pub/Systems/SunFireV100/SunFireV100.html http://sunsolve.sun.com/handbook_pub/Systems/SunFireV120/SunFireV120.html Yes, I am a Solaris/Sun bigot... By January I can afford to purchase another SFV100 that I'd be willing to donate to the cause... My "plan" would be to prototype the new server on my Ultra 1 (Binary compatibility is Sun's forte!) and then transfer this system to the new Sun Fire... Then I'd play with it for a month of two at home to make sure it works, and then ship it off the the IT department at Curtisc's school, so they could mount it in their datacenter... Or, I could host it at my local colo facility... I don't know much, but I do know how to set up and maintain Solaris on Sun... If you are curious and have some free time, read this... http://arstechnica.infopop.net/OpenTopic/page?q=Y&a=tpc&s=50009562&f=96509133&m=3100907092&p=1 Yes, it is a long article, but I think you will agree, after reading it, that if I can keep a box running under those circumstances, then I just might have a chance here... BTW, if you all like this plan, we can begin working on the software and database immediately... My U1 is standing by...

2002-10-16, 04:54	#27
ebx Aug 2002 101 Posts	More than likely, the university will have some spare IPs. Since they okeyed the plan, there should not be a problem to get us one. For serial console access, you first telnet/ssh to a terminal server. From there, there are serial lines to the serial port(COM1: or COM3: ). Some OS allows the serial port to be used as console port so you can do more things remotely. Reboot machine can be done with any telnet/ssh session. As soon as you enter the reboot command, the session closed. All goes well, you can go back in. If there are problems and the box cant be fully booted, you stuck. Remote install needs rommon (bios is the more popular term) support I think. Does Linux allow src code upgrade? That may happen more often than disk crash. We want to avoid taking the host down and sitting at the console to do the upgrade. I dont think Redhat allows that but others may. One thing though, dont expect a 100% reliable system no matter what you do. The last 1% usually costs 90% of the effort. We should settle with some realistic goals and figure out a way to best recover from disaster.

2002-11-14, 04:31	#28
PadainFain Nov 2002 100₂ Posts	If going with RAID5 try to avoid a SunOS system. They have dreadful performance hits if a drive does die I learnt from recent experience!

2002-11-20, 23:19	#30
QuintLeo Oct 2002 Lost in the hills of Iowa 2⁶×7 Posts	http//www.angstrom.com/products/titan64_evaluation.htm Can someone (George?) look into what there terms would be? I think Prime95 has a high enough profile that they would at least think about providing a free/low cost system to help port to the Clawhammer, in exchange for "fastest Prime machine" rights.... devil

2002-11-24, 17:19	#31
battlemaxx Nov 2002 43 Posts	When it comes time to buy hardware, memory, disks and such please let me know and I'll try working some of my vendor contacts to get them to give a deal, donate, bleed to the cause.

2002-11-24, 21:48	#32
battlemaxx Nov 2002 43 Posts	Also, just noticed Napster's hardware is going up for auction. These auctions typically see the prices for stuff go for more than what you can buy it new (or "new" used). But, might be able to get something on the cheap. http://www.dovebid.com/auctions/browsewebcast.asp?AuctionID=1618

2002-12-09, 01:12	#33
battlemaxx Nov 2002 43 Posts	circuitcity.com has the 8 MB cache 80 GB WD IDE hard drives for like $90 or so, after rebates. If IDE RAID is the solution we're after, then maybe these drives are part of the puzzle.