Should I use an old rack server for Amahi?

[cahamahi]

Here in Portland we have a used computer store that sells old rack servers from about $60 to $120.

Would one of these work for Amahi? If so, any buying advice?

I'm intrigued! I've never owned a rack server and think they look cool. Not the best reason to buy a computer, I know, but, it would also help me professionally to know my way around one.

As for the computers: They come in various configurations and brands. Some come with drives, other not, but they all seem to be set-up for RAID drives. I think the IDE ones are cheaper and more likely to come with drives than the SATA (I think I remember seeing an SCSI one, too).

As for my skill level: I'm a daily and long time user of Linux (not an expert) and I have built/upgraded/fixed lots of regular PCs (again, not an expert). I have never run a server nor used Amahi.

Advice, anyone? Good idea? Dumb Idea? Proceed with caution?

Thanks ahead of time.

Craig

[radioz]

FreeGeek FTW!

(http://www.freegeek.org/ )

[cahamahi]

RadioZ,

Exactly... FreeGeek. I didn't mention their name because I don't know how famous they are. You probably remember the rack of old servers in the corner.

Every time I go in there, I admire them and think how fun it would be to have one.

Would you recommend Amahi and a rack server?

[ghstryder]

Racks are cool, and should definitely give you geek cred.

There is nothing magical about them, but the good ones are like tanks. They can be expensive to repair, too. With that source, parts are best obtained by picking up a spare. I have 3 Dell Poweredge 2650s at work. One of them has run 24/7 since 2003 with one new hard drive and a couple of new fans. They have 8 fans, and they are not built to sit quietly on a desk. Unless you have a server room, listen to one before you buy. If you have to sit near it, the novelty will wear off in about 5 minutes. Dual Xeon's, dual NIC's, 5 15,000 RPM SCSI's and redundant power supplies - they are not low power, either.

These are certified for RHEL, so I would expect Fedora to run nicely. Try to buy it with the goodies you want unless they sell parts too. It is far cheaper than trying to buy widgets and install them. Do check the Bus as well, mine can only take PCI-X cards, the selection is limited.

[cahamahi]

Racks are cool, and should definitely give you geek cred.

Thanks for the feedback. I gather that the rack itself should work fine with Fedora and Amahi.

The bigger issue is whether a rack is good for me because of the power consumption and the noise. I will have to think about that one. I would have to put it in the corner of my office.

The second issue is the parts.

Is was mentioned earlier, my parts will come from a place called "Free Geek" here in Portland. If they have the parts, they are always reasonable. So, a common brand/model that they might get in more often is probably a good choice.

ONE MORE QUESTION:

What about RAID drives? Does Fedora support RAID? Can I choose between RAID or just use them as two separate drives? I probably don't need RAID but it doesn't hurt.

[moredruid]

the "rack" (probably a 1u or 2u rack server) should work fine.
buy HP/IBM/Dell, they're trusted. HP DL360's are very common.

note however they are LOUD. They are meant to be put into a datacenter where people wear earplugs because of the thousands of fans whirring and whining. They produce between 50 and 80dB (50dB is people talking, 80dB about the same as a vacuum cleaner). Note that it is a constant sound that you won't get used to.

If you can get a tower server do it. They're usually a little more tinker friendly and made for small businesses (so usually quieter as they are expected to sit in a corner with a printer for example). I have one here at my feet and although I hear it running it's not too bad.

try to have them boot a system up so you can decide for yourself. Note that the first 10 to 20 seconds these things sound like they're going to take off to the moon (yes, they're that loud), this is also the max sound you'll hear if you push the server to its limits in a warm room. The sound will subside to something more reasonable after a while, that would be your normal sound level.

wrt to RAID, most have a hardware RAID controller; you can configure that for several RAID types including no RAID (simple volumes or even 1 large volume from all disks). Fedora will cope with that (it has those drivers on board to see the "virtual" disk (i.e. the RAID/nonRAID volume you built with the RAID controller).

Good luck!

[cahamahi]

Moredruid,

I really appreciate the warning about the sound of the rack. Clearly, my first job is to find a place for it. I live in an apartment, so this isn't going to be easy but I've not given up, yet. I will take the noise issue seriously.