Re: [cobalt-users] RaQ vs Something Else

[cobalt-lists <lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

My purchase list does not include a redundant power supply nor does it
include two hard drives.  I believe these two items are optional depending
on your needs.  I believe the redundant power supply is an overkill and is
not needed and a better solution would be to set up two separate servers
into a cluster if you wanted a fail over solution on your servers.  But this
is in part a preference based on your needs.

The $800 estimate is based on a good 800 MHZ server which will meet most
users needs.  If we increase hardware, cpu, and memory the price goes up,
but in that case we certainly 1) would not be creating a comparable server,
2) we certainly would not be making anything even remotely close to the
hardware of any cobalt on the market today - which is what this Linux server
is meant in comparison to.


$275     1U Rackmount Case with 200W power supply - I use cases that make
the cobalts look like tin foil, in fact I use these cases to help support
the cobalts as the cobalts tend to droop in the rack due to the poor quality
cases (ie the ears bend).

$151.65     Tyan Tomcat Flex ATX S2420 Motherboard

$109.62  Seagate 30.6 GB hard Drive

$188.79     Pentium III 800 MHZ

$95     256 MB RAM (PC133 SDRAM) from Micron

$820.06 (not including shipping - most merchants do not charge taxes on the
internet)

There is a reason why I selected the Pentium III instead of the AMD chips.
My personal preference is the use of an AMD chip, however, in a server there
is a drawback.  Finding an all in one board which includes built in video,
sound, and lan is much easier to locate for a Pentium chip.  By using the
Tyan board you avoid the need of having to purchase a video card, Ethernet,
sound cards etc.  Also, you will notice I did not include a CD Rom as this
is not required for a server.

Typically the pitfall most run into when creating a server is that they
think of it as a desktop system.  The requirements for a server are not the
same as that of your desktop computer.  We do not need to be concerned with
the video card or the sound quality as these are rarely used and therefore
an all in one is a great and effective cost saving measure.

As you can see, I have created a good server using name brand parts without
any cutting back on quality!  It is simply a matter of planning, knowing
your parts, and knowing what you need to create a server.  If you think of
the requirements, write down your needs, and plan you can create a great
server that has hardware well in excess of those of the cobalt servers.  If
you have no clue what you are doing, do not take time to plan your needs and
the parts, and think of the server as a desktop computer requiring a
monitor, mouse, video cards, sound cards and everything else you will have a
nice working desktop computer server which I would not recommend to anyone.

Thank you,

Michael T. Ross