[mdlug] Time to build a new server

[Aaron Kulkis]

Robert Adkins II wrote:
> I am starting the initial planning process for building the next fileserver
> here.
>
> This one will be built using actual "server" hardward, as opposed to the
> light server/big bad desktop hardware that I have been using.
>
> My intention is to have one internal drive containing the OS, configuration,
> etc., etc. and a series of externally accessible Hotplug drives. Two will be
> in a RAID 1 set containing partitions separating the various datashares. The
> remaining hot plug bays will be used for nightly/bi-nightly or even just
> weekly back-up purposes.
>

Unless your purpose is to have multiple machines accessing the
same files, and hitting them pretty hard, this will actually result
in slower response on your primary desktop machine.

Even NFS or Samba over gigabit ethernet is slow compared to
a directly connected disk on a SATA port, or even EIDEIDE.

What I would do is to make this a "backup server" which
automatically conducts backups via some mechanism such
as remote execution and/or rsync, and copying the desired
data onto the fileserver.


> Anyone here have familiarity with particular server mainboard manufacturers
> that support such a setup on Linux out of the box with a default kernel?

I strongly support Gigabyte's products.  And almost all of them
have E-SATA plugs.

> (Yeah, I can easily build a kernel, but if I don't have to in order to get
> things up and running, why should I?)

openSUSE.

>
> Thank you,
> Rob
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