HI all

just after some views from the members...

I am thinking of setting up a 1GB network at home, with a central linux server, hosting accounts , data (lots + lots of video, audio, projects etc) and apps, serving 3x nodes (2 linux and one XP).

I'm considering purchasing a rack case and server ( http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dell-Poweredge...d=p3286.c0.m14 )

was wondering if, in terms of performance and reliability, I would be better off with a tower system, say P4 Xeon with 4 160GB SATA drives. Clearly the latter would cost more ?? although I already have 1x80GB SATA + 3x160GB IDE drives.

I have no experience with these rack servers, and was wondering what the differences were. Scanning ebay, these servers regularly appear with 2.0GH or more CPUs and several SCSI drives. Are they "old hat"??

Any view on the above ??

Hi there,

Rack mounted servers are built specifically for datacentre environments. Generally there are long and flat, so it is possible to stack 30+ servers in a smaller amoun of space.

I would use what you already have. If it's a desktop machine, which your using as a server, then you could always reuse that box in a few years. If you go with rack servers, your kinda stuck with them. There not as versatile and quite a bit noisier.

Its certainly a good point about noise; the typical server room environment is not one in which people are expected to work for and extended period and is quite noisy. Even though you would only have one machine, the necessity for small, high rpm fans is likely to lead to the noise having an unpleasant characteristic. this might not be a problem if the server is out of the living environment...

Whether they are 'old hat' or not shouldn't be an issue; how well they do the job should be.

The difficulty with 'tower cases', in general, is that you do not know how good or bad the power supply is - this doesn't really apply for server hardware.

The cheap power supplies are failures waiting to happen. They probably won't failed particularly soon if they are rated generously, but run them to their supposed limit and they will give up, either immediately or after a short period. On the other hand, in a 'profesional' system, you can at least be fairly confident that the power supply will meet its ratings. So, I would consider one of several routes:

• over-rate the power supply
• replace supply with a better 'brand'
• buy my tower case from an established server supplier

Note also that once you lose the gui, you can do quite a bit with a low level of hardware resources. The only thing that you have that sounds stressing is the AV stuff (and I don't know how much bandwidth that will be using...) but otherwise quite low end hardware would do it for you. And the AV stuff is primarily a matter of having big fast disks...

I've had tower systems with at times upto 4xHDD in.

PSU never been a problem.

Note sure if my questions have been answered.

Perhaps you would like to reiterate?

Yes, sorry, I could have asked a better question with more clarity...I shall try again..

I wish to install a linux server in my home. The location will be away from living areas, and the server will be on a 1GB LAN. On the LAN there are: 1 linux power workstation, 1 XP media centre, 1 linux Home Theatre box (mythTV). I will be installing all O/S and Apps on all machines.

The server will hold all the media, sound and video.

I was surfing eBay the other day and I saw a variety of servers (some rack mounts, some more "traditional" boxe type). The servers tend to have small capacity SCSI drives (4x 40 or 80GB). They sell for around £100.

The capacity of the servers seems small. Question for me was whether these servers would suffice or whether I should just get a tower case and put IDE/SATA drives in it. If I should go for Tower, then why are people buying these severs ??

Also, if I go for Tower, then am I correct in my belief that I would only need a low-end CPU (not sure what though) and on board video (for a console when installing )

thanks