Arun Khan <knura9@...> writes:

> Are the disk still good?  You could simply transfer the hard disks to
> another machine and boot from them.

Yes, they are OK. They've been moved once before, from a desktop to this
donated server.

> An equivalent server from Dell/HP/Lenovo is a good start.  Suggest up
> the RAM to 8GB.

OK, makes sense re. the RAM. Server boxes may be expensive, hence my query
below. Budget is around 20k. I'm OK assembling high-quality components, just
need advice on what to get.
 
> > I've only used servers with internal hard-drives. Are there reliable boxes
> > (chassis?) which will let me re-use the 2 SATA HDDs?
> 
> A workstation grade (really good SMPS) ATX chassis should do it.
> Avoid the cheapos units.

Right. We are now using Antec SMPS, though not boxes.

> > Is a
> > CPU-RAM-network-only box + SATA box config possible?
> 
> What do you mean?

One box/chassis for cpu/ram/network-cards + separate box(JBOD or something)
for HDDs. Connection through SATA cables, separate power.

> 
> > And the Dell case is
> > really nice, I'd hate to scrap it if it can be re-used. The motherboard has
> > been dying for some time, I think, so it may not be salvageable. Only 2 of
> > the 4 SATA connectors work.
> >
> 
> Most Dell/HP/Lenovo/≤etc> boards are proprietary with proprietary
> chassis.  It is unlikely you can use it with a standard board from the
> market.

OK.
 
> I am biased towards to Supermicro boards, their form factor is
> industry standard.

That would indeed be helpful for future-planning.

Apparently Supermicro's not popular in Chennai. I see only one authorised
distributor in Ashok Nagar - Netweb Technologies.

> > To spice up this problem a little further. Most users are already getting
> > their home directories through NFS. Would it make sense to convert the
> > desktops into thin clients? No hardware replacement here, just
> > distro/OS/config.
> >
> 
> Yes, that is the way to go.

Great, thanks for confirming.

> HTH,

Absolutely!

Sameer
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