Choice of a hardware configuration

[vodoo]

Hi all

May I ask your expert opinion for the following:

I am planning to set up a system running SuSE-11.1 32-bit (due to some dependencies I have) with Nameserver (bind), Apache, Mysql, sendmail, Mailman and a webcam showing a web browseable picture ever few seconds.

This will be hooked up to an ADSL connection with fixed IP. It's going to run 24 hrs a day. I have limited physical access to the box, just once every few weeks, but remote maintenance via ssh is possible. I am looking for a very good reliability. There will be no gaming at all and expected system load is low. One important factor is noise: it should be as quiet as possible.

HW providers in my region are:

Steg Online Shop or Willkommen im PC HAI Onlineshop

What configuration would you pick under the constraints of HW compatibility, best reliability for the buck and giving preference to a small system as opposed to a big tower full blown server?

Any thoughts are welcome.

Best regards and thanks in advance
Vodoo

[keyb_user]

Hi,

If for some reason you really need OpenSuSE then perhaps a Asus/Shuttle barebone would meet your requirements.
Go for the booksize Asus or the shuttle (cube-like) barebones.
I have then both and it seems to me that the Shuttle is quieter. On the Ausus I had to place and extra fan in order to cool it on summer ... so pay attention to all details when deploying you system. Remember, it must run 24H/day ... every single day ...
With a barebone you just have to add CPU+memory +hdd. For what you have told us you are looking for a minimal configuration. Just choose the cheapest possible ...

But if you can make you intended application in another distro for you particular case I would strongly recommend something like Bubba2 Excito | Small and silent home server.
This consumes only 9W. It is very small (almost the same size as an external USB hdd case), and very reliable.
I have one and you only ear the disk. And even that they have an SSD version ... Or, you can build your own ...

Also in the scenario of embedded solutions, if you take a look at :
LinuxDevices.com -- All About Linux-powered Devices
There are plenty info there for your type of application.

-> OR:

You can also have a very cheap ... -> Asus EeePC !
It even has a built in camera
They make all your requirements and ... they are silent and Cheap!

I really think this is the best solution from the pragmatical point of view: Cheap, reliable, efficient, silent and even web-cam enableb! and runs OpenSuSE. _ And you have the wifi on top of that, makes your network scenario even easier.
All very affordable, running OpenSuSE .

Originally Posted by vodoo

Hi all

May I ask your expert opinion for the following:

I am planning to set up a system running SuSE-11.1 32-bit (due to some dependencies I have) with Nameserver (bind), Apache, Mysql, sendmail, Mailman and a webcam showing a web browseable picture ever few seconds.

This will be hooked up to an ADSL connection with fixed IP. It's going to run 24 hrs a day. I have limited physical access to the box, just once every few weeks, but remote maintenance via ssh is possible. I am looking for a very good reliability. There will be no gaming at all and expected system load is low. One important factor is noise: it should be as quiet as possible.

HW providers in my region are:

Steg Online Shop or Willkommen im PC HAI Onlineshop

What configuration would you pick under the constraints of HW compatibility, best reliability for the buck and giving preference to a small system as opposed to a big tower full blown server?

Any thoughts are welcome.

Best regards and thanks in advance
Vodoo

Regards,
Pedro

[vodoo]

Hi Pedro,

Thanks a lot for your suggestions. I have used Shuttle barebones before. Problem was that the harddisks got quite hot because there is no sufficient airflow over them. So my nice and expensive Raptor crashed after 2 years.

Good to know that the Asus has thermal problems too.

Just choose the cheapest possible ...

Probably not. I will pick the best industry grade cool running disks I can get. Setting up the whole thing takes a long time and I don't want to repeat the process soon.

The Bubba2 looks nice, but I will stick to SuSE because I know the setup and don't have to reinvent the wheel.

As for the small notebooks: These are not really meant to run 24 hrs a day. Probably I should use a mini-tower with very quiet fans.

Regards, Tom

[keyb_user]

Hi,

Originally Posted by vodoo

Hi Pedro,

Thanks a lot for your suggestions. I have used Shuttle barebones before. Problem was that the harddisks got quite hot because there is no sufficient airflow over them. So my nice and expensive Raptor crashed after 2 years.

Good to know that the Asus has thermal problems too.

I must clarify what I said about the Asus Pundit (booksize).
_Only_ the Pundit models overheat a little, the booksize models, and even those _only_ if exposed to direct sun light. They behave quite well actually, apart from this issue.
My model is also an old one, a Pentium 4 not even hyperthreading.
I also heard that the new models are much better.
And the models that are a bit bigger, like a shoe card box, they are completely ok.

Probably not. I will pick the best industry grade cool running disks I can get. Setting up the whole thing takes a long time and I don't want to repeat the process soon.

The Bubba2 looks nice, but I will stick to SuSE because I know the setup and don't have to reinvent the wheel.

As for the small notebooks: These are not really meant to run 24 hrs a day. Probably I should use a mini-tower with very quiet fans.

Regards, Tom

Well .. apart from a solution like Bubba2 or, even better, something you can easily get at LinuxDevices.com -- All About Linux-powered Devices like pico ATX from VIA solutions or other embedded stuff that easily runs OpenSuSE, you are likely going to end up spending a lot of cash.

I know EeePC (or equivalent) sound a bit ... uncommon ... for the lack of a better word ... in your scenario situation. But a EeePC is very reliable even for 24H/day operation ... quite frankly I doubt anyone can make a normal "box" PC with a reliability matching any EeePC ... just the fact that the disk is flash ... no heat generation, no noise, lower power ...
Just protect the electricity plug where they are going to connect and that's it.
And they run OpenSuSE .. so you get your OS comfort zone this case.

Regards,
Pedro

vodoo wrote:

> What configuration would you pick under the constraints of HW
> compatibility, best reliability for the buck and giving preference to a
> small system as opposed to a big tower full blown server?

I would go with a home-build system:

Good case (racked or backplane setup is very usefull to get out the disks
very quickly), micro-atx motherboard (Intel's one are pretty stable and
well constructed. If you prefer an AMD configuration, Asus and Gigabyte are
also a good option) with integrated vga, a pair of enterprise sata hdd
(carefull with Seagate recent firmware bug), 4 GB of ram (or the maximum
board can handle, see board's manual to select sticks recommended by the
manufacturer), low-noise fans for case, cpu cooler and PSU. Also, pick a
CPU with lowest TDP (65W preferred).

Branded barebones (Shuttle, Asus, MSI...) are good -generally speaking-, but
if anything breaks you maybe forced to change the whole board because they
tend to use a special/proprietary design. And the cost of such boards is
usually like the whole system :-/

Greetings,

--
Camaleón

[ken_yap]

A notebook will quite easily fit the requirements actually, and they are low power and quiet. Prices are quite competitive with box systems these days. I don't know how they would fare on the reliability front, I suspect most notebooks fail for more physical reasons.

Obviously if you go for a notebook, you're opting for replace the whole system at one go approach unless it's the disk or RAM that fails. Access doors are handy for those two.

[vodoo]

Thanks to everyone who made suggestions. I finally decided for an ASUS P3-P5G31 barebone.