Best use for several older PCs?

robogymnast · 08-12-2008, 02:37 PM

I have come across several (probably 3 or 4 once I get consolidate all of the parts) older (P3 and below) PCs. I'm getting the hang of running linux on a single PC, but what are some possible uses that I could put these machines to on my personal network?

MS3FGX · 08-12-2008, 02:38 PM

Well it is really up to you. You could use them as file servers, test machines, firewalls, distributed computing clients, you name it.

IsaacKuo · 08-12-2008, 03:03 PM

P3 machines are good for use as a thin client dumb x terminal, if you want to have an extra work station.

Faster P3 machines are good for playing non-HD resolution videos.

One use I like is to have a file server plus one or two spare computers which can be swapped in as a replacement file server. However, these older computers will restrict you to using PATA hard drives.

robogymnast · 08-13-2008, 10:42 AM

How difficult is it to set them up as a cluster? I was thinking of making a render farm for 3D animation

MS3FGX · 08-13-2008, 02:31 PM

Depends on the software used. Some packages are pretty straight forward.

Fair warning though, older machines aren't terribly good in clusters. The inherent inefficiency of the setup combined with their relatively low computing power means that the entire cluster is likely not to be any more powerful than even a ~1.5 GHz computer; which can now be had for cheap (and is considerably less complex to run).

robogymnast · 08-13-2008, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MS3FGX

Depends on the software used. Some packages are pretty straight forward.

Fair warning though, older machines aren't terribly good in clusters. The inherent inefficiency of the setup combined with their relatively low computing power means that the entire cluster is likely not to be any more powerful than even a ~1.5 GHz computer; which can now be had for cheap (and is considerably less complex to run).

Thanks for the tip, I'll probably just set them up as standalone machines for now and see where that takes me. Maybe I can gain a few linux converts by lending them out to some friends =)

chrism01 · 08-13-2008, 09:17 PM

Test machines is good, but if you want to practice as if you had a large (prod LAN) network, make each one a separate server eg 1=Apache, 2=MySQL, 3=Sendmail etc, than make them all work as an integrated set.
Don't forget to customise firewall on each one, then test for integration/security holes
Have fun

immortaltechnique · 08-14-2008, 07:22 AM

I'd go with chrism01's idea. A fairly sizable network is always fun to play with. At times i find myself in need of machines to run dry tests or even better to run honeypots. But its entirely up to you. Go have fun.:smile:

immortaltechnique · 08-14-2008, 07:23 AM

I'd go with chrism01's idea. A fairly sizable network is always fun to play with. At times i find myself in need of machines to run dry tests or even better to run honeypots. But its entirely up to you. Go have fun.:smilie: