[Leaplist] RFC: LEAP Linux NON-dream boxes

[Kevin Anderson]

Agreed 100%.  The cheapest piece of crap will be lots these days.  RAM matters.  If you have two options at the same price, pick the one with the most RAM.  Don't worry about the processor as much, they're all overkill 90% of the time.

For a server, REALLY care about RAM and buy a good RAID card.  There's already been some talk about software vs hardware raid in the past couple of days, so I won't reiterate it here.  But you want hardware RAID.  Less than that is wasting your money.  I'll add too that RAID 5 (or 6) is great for some things, but with a database, and/or mail server, you'll be MUCH better served by RAID 10, though it's significantly more expensive, especially as your array size grows.

Also POP/IMAP.  1 IMAP connection is equal in load to about 25 POP connections updating every 5 mins.  The two are REALLY not interchangeable.  IMAP is the biggest load a mail server can suffer under.  Below that is MAPI, below that is POP.  With 5 clients on a server, it won't matter.  With 500, it very much will.

Kev.



-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Hartley [mailto:xjimh at cfl.rr.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 8:23 AM
To: This is the Leap Main List
Subject: Re: [Leaplist] RFC: LEAP Linux NON-dream boxes

I go for the current "rebate special" at Office Depot, Walmart, or 
wherever. Specs don't matter much, just look for the cheapest box in the 
store, it will be "good enuff" ... anything that can run WinXP or even 
the crummiest Vista will be a speed demon with Linux.

Jim Hartley

Chris wrote:
> We've all seen the articles on dream boxes. Multi-core CPUs with
> liquid nitrogen cooling, hard drives that spin at 50 zillion RPM and
> warp space around them, and a couple of terrabytes of RAM.
> 
> This is about non-dream boxes. Because, let's face it, it's fun to
> dream, but at some point, you have to put your hard-earned cash
> down, and build a real box on a real budget to get the job done.
> 
> With that in mind, I thought I'd turn to the esteemed LEAPers
> for their ideas on a variety of Linux boxes, and see what we
> can come up with.
> 
> The only design constraint is bang for the buck, where the sweet
> spot is in pricing for the machine objectives. The only modifier
> to bang for the buck is the goodnuff factor - yes, maybe the
> five-terrabyte drive is cheaper per byte, but if the 20 gig drive
> will accomplish the task for less money, that trumps bang for
> buck.
> 
> The only rules are - hey, it's an open-source RFC - there are no
> rules. Feel free to add categories, or think, literally, outside
> the box to meet the goal, or even change the design goals.
> 
> With that in mind, here are a few possible non-dream boxes to
> chew on.
> 
> --Firewall/router
> Design goals: small form factor. Low power. Wireless?
> Motherboard:
> CPU:
> RAM:
> Drives:
> Case:
> PS:
> OS/Apps:
> Other:
> 
> Reasons:
> 
> --Home Workstation:
> Design goals: Versatile enough to do a variety of jobs - the family sedan.
> Motherboard:
> CPU:
> RAM:
> Drives:
> Case:
> PS:
> OS/Apps:
> Other:
> 
> Reasons:
> 
> --Multimedia Center:
> Design goals: play/record audio and video. Integrate well with
>   other A/V equipment. Useable remote interface.
> Motherboard:
> CPU:
> RAM:
> Drives:
> Case:
> PS:
> OS/Apps:
> Other:
> 
> Reasons:
> 
> SOHO Web/Mail server
> Design goals: Handle basic Web and mail services for a small
>                        business, church or other organization. Should be
>                        able to create content from DB, but not necessarily
>                        a YouTube-grade server. Able to handle POP or
>                        IMAP.
> Motherboard:
> CPU:
> RAM:
> Drives:
> Case:
> PS:
> OS/Apps:
> Other:
> 
> Reasons:
> 
> Other possible boxes... whatever you can think of, from
> grade-school networked workstation, to killer robot
> brain to home control unit.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Chris
> _______________________________________________
> Leaplist mailing list
> Leaplist at leap-cf.org
> http://lists.leap-cf.org/mailman/listinfo/leaplist
> 

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