[luau] Proposed LTSP Server Config

Sat Sep 20 09:09:00 PDT 2003

Warren,

Thanks for the feedback. I didn't know about Apaptec card problems. Thanks
for steering me clear of it. The LSI Symbios is an on board SCSI
Controller. Do you think I will gain anything by buying an off board card?
I will be doing a lot of file sharing and serving, so I figure on getting 4
HDs, 74GB per. Do you think I would see any benefit from more HDs? Thanks.

Michael

Warren Togami <warren at togami.com>@videl.ics.hawaii.edu on 09/19/2003
09:59:22 PM

Please respond to luau at videl.ics.hawaii.edu

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cc:

Subject:    Re: [luau] Proposed LTSP Server Config

On Fri, 2003-09-19 at 21:06,
Michael_Bishop/FARRINCS/HIDOE at notes.k12.hi.us wrote:
> I am just starting to build a full blown LTSP lab at our school and I
> would
> appreciate any feed back or ideas about the purchase of our server.
> Please
> take a minute to look at our server config.
>
> It will run K12LTSP RedHat version, IceWM, StarOffice 7, Mozilla and
> The Rosetta Stone.
>
> I expect this to support at least 50 thin clients running The Rosetta
> Stone ( http://www.rosettastone.com ) on WINE. As well as allow
> students to surf
>  the net and type out letters.
>
> I know this config might seem like over kill. However, I expect to be
> running WINE on at least 20-30 thin clients at a time.
>
> Summery of server: Dual AMD Opteron 240s 1.4Ghz, 4GB RAM, 4 x HD SCSI
> 15K 73.4GB, RAID 0+1, 1Gig Fiber connection.
>
> This is a quote from CDW-G. However they won't provide a warranty. Do
> you know of any vendors that build and offer warranty and support?
>
> Tyan Thunder K8S (S2880GNR) Extended ATX Motherboard  1  $510.00
> $510.00
> AMD Boxed Opteron 240 Processor  2  $325.00  $650.00
> SIMPLE 1GB PC2100/PC266 DDR REG  4  $370.00  $1,480.00
> Enlight Server Case 8950 System cabinet  1  $510.00  $510.00
> Adaptec SCSI RAID 2120S RAID  1  $410.00  $410.00

If you plan on ever running it in 64bit mode, do not buy this card.
Both of Mid-Pac's Opteron servers have a similar card.  The driver is
not 64bit clean (it seems that it is broken on any 64bit Linux), and
thus broken.  It seems that Adaptec has no plans on fixing it too.

However, if you run only 32bit Linux this card works fine.  Mid-Pac's
Opterons are running 32bit Linux currently because of this Adaptec
driver problem.  Later this year Red Hat Enterprise Linux for AMD64 (and
IA64) will be released... I think it will be version 3.0 but I am not
sure.  If I had a working 64bit SCSI RAID card I might be able to take
advantage of the speed boost of Opteron running in pure 64bit, but it
seems I am stuck.

> ENLIGHT ULTRA3 SCSI HOT SWAP MOD  1  $265.00  $265.00
> Seagate Cheetah 15K.3 Hard drive  4  $675.00  $2,700.00
>

How large are the hard drives?  May I recommend saving money and buying
two drives running in RAID-1 rather than four for RAID-0+1.  You will
not see much of any benefits for the thin clients with 4 instead of 2
drives.

However, if you intend on using this server as a file server for other
labs too, then the four drive combination will be well worth the money.
Otherwise you would have better thin client performance by kicking up
the processors to 242 or 244 with the money you saved from two fewer
disks.

> Grand Total $6,772.60 with shipping
>
> Thank you.
>
> Michael

Liholiho Elementary and Mid-Pac bought roughly the following machine for
LTSP.

> MicroVault 5002 Tower  $2341.00
> GOLD Service Plan (3 Years Labor, 3 Years Parts).
> In-Win IW-Q2000 ATX Tower 300W P.S..
> Upgrade from 300 to 400Watt Intel/AMD PS.
> Enermax UC-8FAB 8cm Case Cooling Fan.
> Tyan S2880UGNR Dual AMD Opteron DDR266/333 Ultra 320 SCSI G-bit LAN
> Video.
> Two AMD Opteron 240 Server CPU.
> Two Coolermaster SK8-7I53A CPU Fan.
> Two 1GB Micro Pro PC2100 DDR266 ECC Registered.

Your double RAM will certainly be a benefit.

> Mitsumi 3.5" Floppy Disk Drive.
> Two Fujitsu 36.7GB 10K-RPM Ultra320 (68-Pin) MAP3367NP.
> Adaptec 2010S U320 SCSI Zero-Channel RAID Card.
> 52x24x52 CD-RW IDE Drive, Mitsumi CR-52XETE.

MicroPro had a 3 year parts warranty for $100 at the time.  I disliked
their service because they were very slow, moving back the shipping date
by 2-3 weeks and constantly making excuses, but eventually Mid-Pac
received our servers at substantially cheaper prices than other vendors
at the time.  Peter at Liholiho had an easier time receiving the server
when he ordered about a month later.

The prices above were only 2 weeks after Opteron release, so I don't
know how prices are now.

Peter's server was slightly different, with an "LSI Symbios" RAID card
rather than Adaptec.  I had not heard of the brand, but apparently it is
well supported in both 32bit and 64bit Linux and highly recommended
among some hardware people I know.

You may want to wait at least a week to see how hardware prices shift.
IIRC Athlon64 releases early next week, meaning there will be a flood of
new AMD64 hardware on the market.  While Athlon64 wont be suitable for
that server, it may or may not effect pricing on the Opteron hardware or
other generic hardware around it.

Warren Togami
warren at togami.com

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