> ---2U boxes are a pain because: > --PCI riser cards rarely work right, > though I do have some Athlon/Tyan/Enlight systems that work. > --center mount brackets rarely come with the case, > and screwing a 2U system onto a single post rack can cause > rolling-rack-tipover (is that a beer?) or screw-thread stripping > (too much rear weight hanging on a small 2U == too much leverage).
cheap cases don't work right no matter what. ...and a $300 rackmount enclosure is a cheap case. the boxes that "big boy" servers come in don't have the electric or mechanical problems that plauge DIY rackmount stuff. in my experience the VA linux (california something these days?) are at the bottom end of the tolerable scale. i've bought lots of the 2u 'fullon' systems and they've all been fine. perhaps you should consider 4 post racks? even with center-mount rack ears and the rack bolted to the floor, it's still a bummer because you can't reach the screws with everything sticking out so far, and little things like switches and hubs are recessed behind big damn boxes sticking out, especially if they've got front-mount only rack ears. > ---4U boxes are probably smarter because: > --PCI cards can stand up "normally" and work at the right bus speed; > --4U height w/ 4 front-mount screws can take more rear weight. you're in a unique situation if your real estate is costs less than upgrading to a "big boy" system. most customers are looking for density rather than giant empty boxes. just look at the rash of 4u server blade systems that have come out. > Despite all this accumulated "wisdom", I still don't trust any local > vendors who are wise? enough to > choose mboards/cpus/memory(with me) > assemble the various parts (motherboard,CD,floppy,powersupply,etc) > deliver on time, > price reasonably, > and (probably least important) be nearby/ready when they break. don't let the vendor choose. spec it yourself. anybody can assemble. you've got work on the configuration end no matter what. turning the screws is the least of your worries. pcs 4 everyone in cambridge has been good to me... but the cases they carry are the same junk everybody else sells: it's fine if you expect to bleed on it from time to time. > I havent called the "big boys" like HP. I assume they charge 2-3-?x > what it should cost (a 2U or 4U Athlon or Xeon system with > 2x2ghz, 2x1gb ECC ram,IDE disk,etc are do-able for $2500.. > or as low as $1700 for 1x1.6ghz. > (we're not really finding worthy applications to justify dual cpu's). you're right that these commercial systems are ridiculously priced... but they're really nice. you're definitely not going to find a minimally configured system in a 4u case from these guys. the customers they cater to all care about the size of the equipment, so if it comes in a 4u enclosure, it's gonna be a honkin' box with hardware raid, hot swap drives, multiple pci busses... be wary of hp, many of their rackable systems are *way* too long. they stick out the back of most server cabinets. i *love* intel's big server class motherboard. i don't know what the current version is, but if you're spending more than $500 it's probably the right one. lots of nice environmental monitoring, network boot, headless operation, blah, blah, blah, kind of stuff. it may be tricky to get it into an enclosure though. old ones like the nightshade were huge. > So if you have a vendor like this...appreciate your recommendation! VA linux was great. i've not bought a system from the folks that took over the operation. i only purchased one system from penquin computing. it was fairly low end, and the case was a bummer, but not as bad as most. pcs 4 everyone has always done right by me. network engines is a local company, aren't they? small boxes though. good luck /chris --- Send mail for the `bblisa' mailing list to `[EMAIL PROTECTED]'. Mail administrative requests to `[EMAIL PROTECTED]'.
