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Replacing a Personal Rack-Mounted Server?

Posted by timothy on from the microsourcing dept.

Starky writes "Many moons ago, I cobbled together a 1U rack mount from parts which has since been diligently serving up my homepage and web sites for family and friends. It's a truly "Mom and Pop Shop" setup, running on a rack secluded in a closet at home over a DSL line. At the time, I was able to piggyback my order on a large order placed by a company for which I was working, allowing me to get a substantial discount. Now, the time has come to consider a replacement. However, I no longer work at a company that orders chassis and chips by the dozen. I would like to get a rack-mountable chassis, but don't know where to go as a lowly individual consumer looking for a box with minimal specifications (1 processor, dual drives, and 1G RAM is about all I need) at a reasonable price. Any recommendation from Slashdotters who maintain their own rigs?"

4 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. Dude, by MoOsEb0y · · Score: 2, Interesting

    You're getting a Dell! Srsly tho, you can get rackmount servers from them for cheaper than you can build them yourself.

  2. Heat issues in the closet? by initself · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I am also in the market, but I am worried about heat issues in the closet. Are there servers that are more heat tolerant than others? I tried looking at some military grade stuff, but a lot of these vendors are hard to place orders with. Is there a way to build a machine that is very tolerant of heat?

  3. Hey! Me too! Help me pick a CPU by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm replacing a dying server, and for various reasons I'm getting a Dell, probably the PowerEdge 840. My questions:

    • AMD or Intel? It seems like the ball's back in Intel's court these days, but I don't track hardware news so closely anymore.
    • Pentium E2180 @2.0GHz (free), Core 2 Duo @2.2GHz ($50), or dual core Xeon at 1.86GHz ($100)? Cycles aren't everything, but I'm guessing that the Core 2 Duo at 18% higher clock speed ought to be the sweet spot.
    • For RAM: 1GBx2 or 512MBx4? In some systems, more sticks == more interleaving == faster. In others, more sticks == more latency. What's the current thinking?
    • Why doesn't Slashdot display bulleted lists correctly anymore?

    To those who would tell me (and this story's poster) to Google it: I'd rather get today's recommendations from an interactive forum than try to find a website with the same information from the last year or so. Besides, what geek doesn't want to talk about hardware?

    --
    Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
  4. Re:Why use 1U? Use a Mac mini by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Dead on. I used to have a whole server room in my house, and replaced it with two Mac Mini's that quietly sit in my living room. I've given away anything bigger, noisier, and more power-consuming.

    Really, for the size, noise, and economy of the Mac Mini... its not worth having a server room/closet at home anymore.