processor speed vs. file server performance

ScreeminChikin · 09-19-2002, 08:49 AM

I want to set up a RH7.3 based box to be used strictly as a file server, mainly to house a large volume of MP3's to be accessable from any machine on my network. What affect will processor speed and or amount of RAM have on the speed that clients can access files on the file server.

Aussie · 09-20-2002, 08:28 AM

Processor speed...bugger all, ram....more ram is always good, network speed is mostly going to depend on your network hardware.

ScreeminChikin · 09-20-2002, 08:46 AM

The reason I ask is that I was using a 300mhz box with 384meg of ram to run Linux on and It took forever for anything to open, the hard drive would basically just pause. I upgraded to a P4-1.4 with 256 meg and it is night and day differance. So It just seemed to me that the processor was slowing down the hard drive. My network in general is fast enough for me, but I want to set up this extra server to play mp3 files from a central distribution point. I want it to be able to keep up with the client demand since the mp3 files will basically just be streeming across the LAN.

Aussie · 09-20-2002, 08:58 AM

If it's just a server then you don't need X or any windowmanagers/desktops, these are the apps that slow things down, the gui takes a huge amount of system resources, and it's just not needed for a server.

ScreeminChikin · 09-20-2002, 09:11 AM

Right, I am going to set this one up just as a server with no GUI because I will be running it headless anyway once its set up. So do you suppose that a p133 with 48 meg should be adaquite for this purpose?

Aussie · 09-20-2002, 09:28 AM

p133 will be ok, more ram will be better though, try 128.

finegan · 09-20-2002, 07:59 PM

The biggest issue with a file server is usually not the network connection unless your are expecting A LOT of clients. 10-Base-T is going to kick out about 1MB/sec. Figure that against a streaming MP3 at around an absolute max of 100k/sec... no problem.

The problems usually come in with disk access. First off, that mobo isn't going to be able to handle a large disk 20GB> without an ATA adapter, and that might not work if the board isn't PCI 2.0 compliant, which it may or may not be, the P133 era is right on the edge of that standard's introduction. RAM is not an issue really at all, no X, no worries, but like Aussie pointed out, this probably runs on EDO, cheap and easy to find used, max the slots!

Right now my house's file server is an old Dualie PPro 180 wirth 64Megs and I have no problems, aside from X+fluxbox is still dog slow... but it hands out NFS and Samba to the three clients it uses just fine.

Cheers,

Finegan