Turning a desktop into a server

rozilla · 11-19-2008, 05:53 AM

I've got a few desktops that I want to use as servers.

Here is what dmidecode tells me on the specs:

Quote:

BIOS Information
Vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
Version: 5.22
Release Date: 12/12/2007
Address: 0xF0000
Runtime Size: 64 kB
ROM Size: 512 kB
Characteristics:
ISA is supported
PCI is supported
PNP is supported
APM is supported
BIOS is upgradeable
BIOS shadowing is allowed
ESCD support is available
Boot from CD is supported
Selectable boot is supported
BIOS ROM is socketed
EDD is supported
5.25"/1.2 MB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
3.5"/720 KB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
3.5"/2.88 MB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
Print screen service is supported (int 5h)
8042 keyboard services are supported (int 9h)
Serial services are supported (int 14h)
Printer services are supported (int 17h)
CGA/mono video services are supported (int 10h)
ACPI is supported
USB legacy is supported
LS-120 boot is supported
ATAPI Zip drive boot is supported
BIOS boot specification is supported
Function key-initiated network boot is supported
Targeted content distribution is supported
BIOS Revision: 5.22

System Information
Manufacturer: HP-Pavilion
Product Name: GS209AA-ABV dx2290MT
Version:
Serial Number: CNX8040G41
UUID: C4AB1A3A-C0C9-DC11-92AB-78ED0731C45C
Wake-up Type: Power Switch
SKU Number: GS209AA#ABV
Family: 103C_53316J

Base Board Information
Manufacturer: ECS
Product Name: Livermore8
Version: 1.0
Serial Number:
Asset Tag:
Features:
Board is a hosting board
Board is replaceable
Location In Chassis:
Type: Motherboard

Chassis Information
Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
Type: Desktop
Lock: Not Present
Version:
Serial Number:
Asset Tag:
Boot-up State: Safe
Power Supply State: Safe
Thermal State: Safe
Security Status: None
OEM Information: 0x00000000
Height: Unspecified
Number Of Power Cords: 1
Contained Elements: 0

Processor Information
Socket Designation: CPU 1
Type: Central Processor
Family: Other
Manufacturer: Intel
ID: FD 06 00 00 FF FB EB BF
Version: Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU E2160 @ 1.80GHz
Voltage: 1.3 V
External Clock: 200 MHz
Max Speed: 1800 MHz
Current Speed: 1800 MHz
Status: Populated, Enabled
Upgrade: Other
Serial Number:
Asset Tag:
Part Number:

Cache Information
Socket Designation: L1-Cache
Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 1
Operational Mode: Write Back
Location: Internal
Installed Size: 64 KB
Maximum Size: 64 KB
Supported SRAM Types:
Other
Installed SRAM Type: Other
Speed: Unknown
Error Correction Type: Parity
System Type: Data
Associativity: 8-way Set-associative

Cache Information
Socket Designation: L2-Cache
Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 2
Operational Mode: Write Back
Location: Internal
Installed Size: 1024 KB
Maximum Size: 1024 KB
Supported SRAM Types:
Other
Installed SRAM Type: Other
Speed: Unknown
Error Correction Type: Single-bit ECC
System Type: Instruction
Associativity: 8-way Set-associative

Memory Controller Information
Error Detecting Method: 64-bit ECC
Error Correcting Capabilities:
None
Supported Interleave: One-way Interleave
Current Interleave: One-way Interleave
Maximum Memory Module Size: 4096 MB
Maximum Total Memory Size: 8192 MB
Supported Speeds:
Other
Supported Memory Types:
DIMM
SDRAM
Memory Module Voltage: 3.3 V
Associated Memory Slots: 2
0x0008
0x0009
Enabled Error Correcting Capabilities:
None

Memory Module Information
Socket Designation: DIMM0
Bank Connections: 0 1
Current Speed: Unknown
Type: DIMM SDRAM
Installed Size: 512 MB (Single-bank Connection)
Enabled Size: 512 MB (Single-bank Connection)
Error Status: OK

Memory Module Information
Socket Designation: DIMM1
Bank Connections: 4 5
Current Speed: Unknown
Type: DIMM SDRAM
Installed Size: 512 MB (Single-bank Connection)
Enabled Size: 512 MB (Single-bank Connection)
Error Status: OK

OEM Strings
String 1: bid=44APfdBNR1,44APfdBNR1;ACPwrFail=Off;Chan=Retail;CPUFan=On;DV
String 2: DRW;LegacyFloppy=No;TVout=PAL;PCBRAND=Pavilion;OS=LX;.rm;##
String 3:
String 4:
String 5:
String 6:
String 7:
String 8:
String 9:
String 10:
String 11:
String 12:
String 13:
String 14:
String 15:
String 16:
String 17:
String 18:
String 19:
String 20:
String 21:
String 22:
String 23:
String 24:
String 25:
String 26:
String 27:
String 28:
String 29:
String 30:
String 31:
String 32:

BIOS Language Information
Installable Languages: 1
en|US|iso8859-1
Currently Installed Language: en|US|iso8859-1

System Event Log
Area Length: 4 bytes
Header Start Offset: 0x0000
Header Length: 2 bytes
Data Start Offset: 0x0002
Access Method: Indexed I/O, one 16-bit index port, one 8-bit data port
Access Address: Index 0x046A, Data 0x046C
Status: Invalid, Not Full
Change Token: 0x00000000
Header Format: No Header
Supported Log Type Descriptors: 6
Descriptor 1: End of log
Data Format 1: OEM-specific
Descriptor 2: End of log
Data Format 2: OEM-specific
Descriptor 3: End of log
Data Format 3: OEM-specific
Descriptor 4: End of log
Data Format 4: OEM-specific
Descriptor 5: End of log
Data Format 5: OEM-specific
Descriptor 6: End of log
Data Format 6: OEM-specific

Physical Memory Array
Location: System Board Or Motherboard
Use: System Memory
Error Correction Type: None
Maximum Capacity: 4 GB
Number Of Devices: 2

Memory Array Mapped Address
Starting Address: 0x00000000000
Ending Address: 0x0003FFFFFFF
Range Size: 1 GB
Partition Width: 0

Memory Device
Total Width: 64 bits
Data Width: 64 bits
Size: 512 MB
Form Factor: DIMM
Set: None
Locator: DIMM0
Bank Locator: BANK0
Type: DDR2
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: 667 MHz (1.5 ns)
Manufacturer: 7F7F7F7F7F510000
Serial Number: Ser0
Asset Tag: Num0
Part Number: 64T64000HU3SB

Memory Device Mapped Address
Starting Address: 0x00000000000
Ending Address: 0x0001FFFFFFF
Range Size: 512 MB
Partition Row Position: 1
Interleaved Data Depth: 1

Memory Device
Total Width: 64 bits
Data Width: 64 bits
Size: 512 MB
Form Factor: DIMM
Set: None
Locator: DIMM1
Bank Locator: BANK1
Type: DDR2
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: 667 MHz (1.5 ns)
Manufacturer: 7F7F7F7FCB000000
Serial Number: Ser1
Asset Tag: Num1
Part Number: DQPE1908

Memory Device Mapped Address
Starting Address: 0x00020000000
Ending Address: 0x0003FFFFFFF
Range Size: 512 MB
Partition Row Position: 1
Interleaved Data Depth: 1

System Boot Information
Status: No errors detected

What I want it for one desktop to be a firewall server, that includes DHCP, NS, LDAP. And another desktop would be a fileserver, with NFS and SystemImager in the mix. What would you say are the minimum recommended specs regarding disk space, memory, and processor speed?

billymayday · 11-19-2008, 06:16 AM

What is your expected usage?

Electro · 11-19-2008, 03:54 PM

That computer is over kill for a firewall, DHCP, LDAP, and NS. You can also include SAMBA or NFS on the same system. Pre-configured desktops from HP is not the best to use for servers because they use low quality products. Test the power supply to find out it can handle the computer components for 24/7. If the systems are old and they use industry standard ATX power supply, could get a high quality redundant power supply.

A better utility to list hardware of your computer is lshw.

onebuck · 11-19-2008, 04:38 PM

Hi,

For a 'SOHO' server the system you have will suffice. The PSU quality should not be a issue. Thermal shock is the biggest problem. I've had systems in the LAB run 24/7 for years without a problem. The consumer grade units are not the best to use for commercial support systems but there's nothing in stone saying you can't use them. Most professionals would not recommend a consumer grade unit for such use because their job would/could depend on the recommendation. Sure swapping out the 'PSU' for a better grade unit would benefit the system and use.

Just remember that heat is your enemy so make sure the system temperature is fair. If you have to add more cooling or fans then do it. The cost will be justified. Server location environment is important so keep the server in a clean temperature controlled environment with proper ventilation with filtering.

Good luck!

rozilla · 11-22-2008, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billymayday

What is your expected usage?

I'm looking at about 100 users, increasing by 50-70 in the coming months.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electro

That computer is over kill for a firewall, DHCP, LDAP, and NS. You can also include SAMBA or NFS on the same system. Pre-configured desktops from HP is not the best to use for servers because they use low quality products. Test the power supply to find out it can handle the computer components for 24/7. If the systems are old and they use industry standard ATX power supply, could get a high quality redundant power supply.

A better utility to list hardware of your computer is lshw.

Well, we have two computer labs worth of HP desktops. They're always on, 24/7. However only one lab is in actual use. So far our issues have been monitor, mouse, onboard LAN/PXE but no PSU failure so far. Nonetheless, that redundant PSU sounds like a good idea to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by onebuck

Hi,

For a 'SOHO' server the system you have will suffice. The PSU quality should not be a issue. Thermal shock is the biggest problem. I've had systems in the LAB run 24/7 for years without a problem. The consumer grade units are not the best to use for commercial support systems but there's nothing in stone saying you can't use them. Most professionals would not recommend a consumer grade unit for such use because their job would/could depend on the recommendation. Sure swapping out the 'PSU' for a better grade unit would benefit the system and use.

Just remember that heat is your enemy so make sure the system temperature is fair. If you have to add more cooling or fans then do it. The cost will be justified. Server location environment is important so keep the server in a clean temperature controlled environment with proper ventilation with filtering.

Good luck!

The reason I'm using consumer grade material is due to the fact that management is not at all interested in spending any kind of money on IT. This is a university for sciences and engineering, mind you. But yeah, that is our situation. So, until someone sees the benefit of this, we're stuck with transforming HP desktops into HP servers.

Thanks all for all this valuable info. :-)

onebuck · 11-22-2008, 07:45 AM

Hi,

I come from academia and know what you are fighting. So as I stated before 'Good Luck'.