Re: [cobalt-users] Cobalt Alternative

[Kris Dahl <krislists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

on 4/11/00 1:40 AM, Randall Clark at wz297@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Because the board has it built in.
> Check out this link and tell me if it looks familiar
> http://www.pcchips.com/741lmrt.html
> You can get a case, with removable disk drive, 52X CD, Floppy, Motherboard,
> with built in sound, video, 10/100MB Nic, 56K Modem for $199.99 Just look
> for base systems.  On the RedRaq, I see a port called Future or (Super
> Secret port)
> all this is, is a GAME port that they dont know what to do with. Why dont
> you hook up a joystick and play Quake!! With the VGA port, they say that it
> will only support 800 by 600, well I will send you the drivers if you need
> to enable the 16MB SVGA card that is built in. What a joke. It may be worth
> it just to get one of these things and get the CD and make a few copies and
> send the machine BACK!! I will build you one of these for Far less.
> 
> Sorry for the ranting, I just couldnt help it.

It does look like this is a standard Celeron SBC type motherboard with a <2u
case.  I just don't see enough value added.  I do applaud them for using the
superior Celeron processor over the K6 one.  I notice they say that you can
do RAID 0 on that machine.  How?  Adding a RAID card to it and some external
drives?  Software mode?  You can do that with any machine.  It it had a
hot-swap carrier, etc., and was *built* for RAID in mind I would see some
value in that.

One way that cobalt has added value is the LCD screen--you can configure
quite a bit of stuff with this interface.  The RedRak has no such features,
and I how you go about configuring it out of the box--I bet you need a
monitor.  Or it may default to DHCP or a 192.168.1.100 type address.  I am
concerned that this is a headed workstation that is being shoehorned into a
headless environment.

What about availability and reliability?  These are two key features I look
for in a server.  We've discussed the availability issue--no real RAID
ability, etc.  Reliability?  I don't know about that either--sounds like
these are all standard white box components--and there is nothing wrong with
that, you've just got to take it with a grain of salt and realize that they
are in the same class (or lower) than Cobalt.  This isn't going to provide a
high availability, highly reliable system.

Personally I am not impressed with the company--I require professionally of
my vendors.  I think the homepage is amateurish at best--there is a
contortionist with the product on her *ass*.  They are trying to use the
metaphor of 'flexible', but I am concerned.

Many of the complaints (mainly the value adding, availability features,
etc.) can be applied towards Cobalt as well.  And for me a web management
interface simply doesn't add enough value for us to consider using them for
our higher end applications.  I still help administer some Raq2's, and I
think they are great for what they were designed for /what we're using them
for (high density, low cost, low maintenance web & email hosting).  But for
serious large-scale hosting I can't see them being practical.