Bill Pye <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi All > I'm in need of a file server for my LAN, I have an old AMD MP > server and I wondered if it would be adequate for this type of > server. It's a Tyan Tiger MPX (S2466) motherboard with two AMD > Athlon 2400+ MP installed.
Yes, the AMD762 north w/three (3) [EMAIL PROTECTED] PCI masters @ 3.3V, one (1) used by the AMD768 south (which then feeds legacy [EMAIL PROTECTED] PCI @ 5V). That gives you (2) [EMAIL PROTECTED] PCI masters to use. One for storage, one for network. > It currently has a Broadcom 1820 Raid card with three drives > installed, this will be increased to six. You might wish to put the funds into an 8-channel 3Ware. If money is tight, then just go for a 4-channel 3Ware 7506-4/8506-4 card (sub-$250) with four (4) good capacity drives for RAID-10. I wouldn't use it for RAID-5 -- although the 9500S or 9550SX are options that are now supported. I still like the older 7000/8000 series because they have a very mature/proven firmware and driver release (7.7.1) that is in about every kernel since 2004 for every card sold. The 9500S firmware seems fine as of release 9.2.1.1, although you'll probably want to update the driver in the kernel (which might not be latest). The 9550SX is still maturing -- having tried the latest 9.3.x release though. Areca ARC-11x0 (PCI-X 3.3V, which works in [EMAIL PROTECTED] PCI 3.3V slots) is another option, but the last time I checked, you'll have to do some driver maint. > It is a rather old system but would this be capable of running as a > file server? Can I also run this server as a backup server with > something like bacula backing up to the raid array? I also wanted > to use this as a media server for the LAN, would this kill > performance? Yes. But I'd put in a matching [EMAIL PROTECTED] PCI GbE network card of quality. Do _not_ put in a cheap [EMAIL PROTECTED] PCI GbE! > If that system is to feeble what would you suggest as something > suitable? Would a dual-processor system be better or something like > a Sempron? This system is _more_ideal_ older system because it has [EMAIL PROTECTED] PCI. There is a darth of PCIe storage controllers (only the Areca ARC-12x0 series), and they are PCIe x8 -- most Sempron mainboards only have PCIe x1. If you _really_ want to "go cheap," consider getting an single processor Intel E7210 Socket-478 or an Intel E7221/7230 LGA-775 system _with_ a PCI-X channel on-board. Some of them E7221/7230 options often include PCIe x4 and/or x8 channels too. The PCI-X configuration is typically 3 PCI-X masters at 66MHz, so that's basically the same as your current AMD762+768 design. Alternatively, if you like Opteron, there are the single Socket-939 (with dual-core option) using the Broadcom ServerWorks HT1000 chipset for about $200-250. It also gives you a single PCI-X channel, and typically has dual-NICs on-board connect to it -- with 1-2 66MHZ PCI-X slots. I covered these options in an older blog article here: "Budget Uniprocessor Servers" http://thebs413.blogspot.com/2005/12/budget-uniprocessor-pc-servers-wip.html NOTE: Some E7200 designs are _cheap_ in their on-board NIC, they connect to the legacy [EMAIL PROTECTED] PCI channel instead of the PCI-X. _Avoid_ those. Look for ones that tap the PCI-X, or at least a PCIe x1 channel. For Intel, you can verify the PCI/PCI-X/PCIe for a given GbE MAC here from this quick'n easy table: http://www.intel.com/design/network/products/ethernet/linecard_ec.htm For Broadcom, hit their site. I don't have a quick table for them. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, Technical Annoyance [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://thebs413.blogspot.com -------------------------------------------------- I'm a Democrat. No wait, I'm a Republican. Hmm, it seems I'm just whatever someone disagrees with. _______________________________________________ Openfiler-users mailing list [email protected] https://lists.openfiler.com/mailman/listinfo/openfiler-users
