[olug] OT: Looking for server hardware

[Kevin]

Power and cooling are magically free, but you'd still have to worry about
noise. Very much agree that virtualization is a Big Thing, even more so
having fun and don't worry about destroying a few installs. Use the
virtualization manager's ability to snapshot and roll back. Break your
install, see if you can fix it. For when you can't, use snapshots. There's
a lot to play with here, the sky's the limit.
On Aug 24, 2014 9:12 AM, "Greg Gerke" <ggerke at gmail.com> wrote:

> Although if they're high school students that'd likely mean living at
> home... thus no worries about power and cooling 'cause that's magically
> free ;)
>
> There's some things that you'll only get with server class hardware (fiber,
> SAN, etc) but you'll be better off getting CentOS and doing some KVM type
> work as virtualization is really the big thing these days. Getting good
> with LVM (not just that specifically but the theory of how such storage
> mgmt works) would also be a good move.
>
> But the main thing is have fun with it and don't be afraid to destroy a few
> dozen OS installs along the way.
>
>
> On Sun, Aug 24, 2014 at 8:25 AM, Jason Troy <jason.troy at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > +1 to what Ben / others say.
> > To some it may look like a desktop but it's what it is running that
> > matters.
> > The only benefit I can think of is the redundant power, etc ... But if
> > Uptime doesn't matter you can get away with the random fan/power supply
> > issue.
> >
> > I understand / respect wanting to learn / sink your teeth into the
> > enterprise stuff. Hardware changes and you don't want be like a dog
> chasing
> > is tail trying to keep up. You might consider an internship or
> positioning
> > yourself at a company that has some of that equipment.
> >
> > Good luck / have fun
> >  On Aug 24, 2014 8:07 AM, "Obi-Wan" <obiwan at jedi.com> wrote:
> >
> > > That's absolutely true.  Server class machines were made to live in a
> > > server room where cooling is more important than noise.  The fans are
> > > unbelievably loud and the machines use crazy amounts of electricity.
> I'd
> > > rather buy a new, efficient computer than use a free DL380 because the
> > > total cost of ownership is higher for the latter over two years.  Also
> > > remember that replacement parts are crazy expensive compared to
> > > consumer-grade hardware.
> > >
> > > For context, I was the primary linux sysadmin for the Bryan hospital
> > > system in Lincoln for several years.  I have a full-height rack in my
> > > basement at home, and I've brought home many free servers after the
> > > hospital decommissioned them.  I finally gave up that nonsense and got
> > rid
> > > of all my old dinosaurs.  My last server purchase was a tiny rackmount
> > box
> > > that's fanless, runs an Atom CPU and SSD drives, and costs almost
> nothing
> > > to operate.  From a shell prompt, it's indistinguishable from the big
> > > servers, but it's a lot cheaper to operate and more pleasant to sit
> near.
> > >
> > > On August 24, 2014 7:03:00 AM CDT, Greg Gerke <ggerke at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > > >Something you might want to keep in mind is that server class hardware
> > > >tends to use more electricity and is much noisier than a
> > > >desktop/laptop. If
> > > >you're looking for the server class experience perhaps run a few
> CentOS
> > > >virtual servers on a desktop...?
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Ben "Obi-Wan" Hollingsworth, www.Jedi.com
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > OLUG mailing list
> > > OLUG at olug.org
> > > https://lists.olug.org/mailman/listinfo/olug
> > >
> > _______________________________________________
> > OLUG mailing list
> > OLUG at olug.org
> > https://lists.olug.org/mailman/listinfo/olug
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Greg Gerke
> ggerke at gmail.com
> _______________________________________________
> OLUG mailing list
> OLUG at olug.org
> https://lists.olug.org/mailman/listinfo/olug
>