[ale] Hardware for a Samba file (and application?) server

[Ben Ostrowsky]

When our Netware 3.12 server started pooping out last week, I copied all
the files (currently only around 7GB) to a Linux server and started up
Samba.  (Linux to the rescue again, hurrah!)  It has no backup drive,
though, and the drive isn't mirrored or anything.  So now that my
organization sees once again that, yes Virginia, Linux can do that too,
and cheaper, it's time to put together a machine to do this properly.

I spent most of yesterday working on my plan for a Samba file server
(optionally to be an application server for X clients, too, since what
else am I gonna do with that much CPU?).  I based it on the Ultimate
Linux Box article (q. you definitely ought to v.) in Linux Journal. 
I've listed the parts I'm thinking of below, but the interesting thing
is that without going beyond DDS4 capacities, I've had a hard time
pushing the price above $5000.  (We've got $6000 budgeted, and might not
throw any more money at this until we replace it in three years or so.)

What I'm thinking about so far:

A Tyan Tiger with two 1.4GHz Palominos and four Registered PC2100
512MBs, the new 3Com 3CR990-TX-97 NIC that has some onboard crypto (even
though we're not using it yet), an Adaptec Ultra160 RAID adapter, three
IBM 36GB 10000rpm Ultra160 drives (I'm thinking 0/5), an HP DDS4 Ultra2
LVD drive with ten tapes, a Pioneer SCSI 10xDVD/40xCD, a Matrox G450, a
plain old floppy drive, a Lian-Li PC68 aluminum case with a PC Power &
Cooling 450W power supply.

Short of case mods to make it look like the Mystery Machine, what else
can I do to make this thing useful?  Maybe a fourth drive and just
stripe 'em all to 36GB total?  That sounds like it's gotta be pushing
some sort of diminishing return, but I dunno.

Guess I could rackmount it -- anyone have a favorite manufacturer of 4U
cases?  I'm guessing that's what I'd need.  And I'm loath to turn my
rack into an oven with two 1.4GHz Palominos, so great cooling would be
important if I rackmount it.

Of course, if I go beyond DDS4 (20GB native, 40GB with an average 2:1
compression) capacities, I could have four drives and mirror two for
72GB. Or 0/5 for 108GB, I think.  What's a decent way to back up that
kind of data on a removable medium?  I heard DLT's more fragile.

ext3, ReiserFS, other journaling filesystem?  Haven't decided.  ext3's
easy to install if I put RH7.2 on here... that's tempting.  But if I'm
going to do things other than Samba with this, Debian's apt system is
very handy.  And a certifiably completely Free machine is a nice
voluntary quest, as it were.

Be gentle with me -- I'm fairly new to SCSI, RAID, and filesystems.

Evidence, anecdotes, rumors, propaganda and holy wars welcomed, but in
that order. ;)

Ben


---
This message has been sent through the ALE general discussion list.
See http://www.ale.org/mailing-lists.shtml for more info. Problems should be 
sent to listmaster at ale dot org.