Even newer OCMS server

[Alan]

The new OCMS server has been installed and is being configured. I ordered a Rackform iServ R100 from siliconMechanics.com. I will be writing a review on this server, but I can tell you it is built like a tank and the hardware layout is extremely professional.
It has the following features:

• 1U form factor
• 64-bit Intel Pentium 4 3.0 Ghz 800FSB LGA775 with Hyper-Threading (2MB cache)
• 2 GB interleaved DDR2-533 RAM
• 64bit PCI-X 3ware 8006-2 SATA RAID controller
• Dual Gigabit Ethernet
• 2x hot-swap Seagate Barracuda 200GB SATA (in RAID 1)
• 8x slim DVD drive
• floppy drive (whoopie!)
• Windows Server 2003
• SQL Server 2000
• Exchange 2003

The server is hosted thru a Seattle datacenter. They are wicked fast (I downloaded a 40MB file in like 10 seconds) and the datacenter is extremely impressive. They have 3 facilities in Washington, all connected by microwave antenna (if one goes down the others take over). The datacenter is essentially a "clean room" with anti-static flooring, air conditioning & filtering, dual generators and security out the ying-yang. It is so loud in the datacenter you have to yell at the person standing next to you!


Isn't this like the 4th OCMS server move?

[Alan]

Yes, dear reader...
As you are reading this, this post is actually hosted a new server! Hopefully you won't notice a thing except that the site is faster! If you notice any problems, please bring it to my attention! Now that the server is up, expect lots of changes very soon, and lots more content!

Here are the specs on the new server:

• 1U form factor
• 64-bit Intel Pentium 4 3.0 Ghz 800FSB LGA775 with Hyper-Threading (2MB cache)
• 2 GB interleaved DDR2-533 RAM
• 64bit PCI-X 3ware 8006-2 SATA RAID controller
• Dual Gigabit Ethernet
• 2x hot-swap Seagate Barracuda 200GB SATA (in RAID 1)
• 8x slim DVD drive
• floppy drive (whoopie!)
• Windows Server 2003
• SQL Server 2000
• Exchange 2003

Within the next month OCMS will be running on 2 servers, a dedicated web server and dedicated SQL server, which should make the site faster still!

[Specter_Sniper]

your missing a little AMD in your server...lol

Amd 64 x2 4400+ Toledo (Naked) ccbwe 0532 upmw 300 HTT*9> 2.700 Ghz 1.56 vcore
DFI Lanparty UT NF4 SLI-DR 704-2BTa BigToe Bios
2 x 512 OCZ PC 4000 OCZ5001024ELDCGEVX-K 333 divider 300/245 @ 2-2-2-7 @ 3.3V
2 x XFX Geforce 6800GT 81.85 drivers - 405/1.2
1 Samsung 40gb ide/ 2 western digital 120gb sata
Enermax Noisetaker(24P) 600W SLI Certified
Lian Li PC-V2000A Silver/ "in mod status"
Danger Den TDX/ Black ice Pro Rad/ Hydor L35

Every thing just went duel.....
Any questions just ask....

[Alan]

I didn't build it myself, I bought a R100 server from Silicon Mechanics, and will be reviewing the server. I looked into building one, but the cost of hosting made a 1U server desireable. Building a 1U is difficult because of the small form factor, and the parts are hard to find.

The server is co-located at a datacenter in Washington. I am buying a 1/4 rack so I can house the firewall, web server and seperate SQL server. I may also host other websites on another server, too.

I will build the SQL server myself because it is a 3U case and I can use off-the-shelf parts.

[gometro33]

Did you build/set it up yourself? Where are you hosting? Colocation hosting perhaps?

[Alan]

It has been a long time since this post was updated, but I have gone through several different servers since the one I bought in 2005.

Right now the entire OCModShop system is running on three different servers.

1. Custom Linux firewall box with 4 network ports (2x 80GB HDDs in RAID 1)
2. 1U Pentium 4 3.0Ghz with 2GB DDR2, 2x 500GB HDDs in RAID 1 (running PHP)
3. 3U Athlon x2-3800 with 4GB DDR2 and 2x 500GB HDD in RAID 1

One of the servers used to host mail, but I had some delivery problems, as other mail systems found my servers to be spam, even after toiling to fix this over many months. I finally moved all of my mail to Google Apps, and everything is honkey dorey.

I am building a new Linux machine that will eventually host all of the websites (Wordpress sites, forums, newsletters, galleries, and the main OCModShop site itself). I now unveil...

The Quad Server.

• Intel Q6600 quad-core CPU
• 4x Western Digital Caviar (black) 500GB HDDs in RAID 10 (1TB total)
• 8GB dual-channel OCZ DDR2-800 (4x 2GB sticks)
• nVidia 8400 video card (I really need a low-power one as this puts out a lot of heat)
• Thermaltake Toughpower 850 Power Supply
• 2x Gigabit network ports
• Ubuntu Linux 10 (64-bit)

I've had a bitch of a time converting stuff from Windows to Linux, primarially in the MS-SQL to MySQL arena. I've had to use my Windows server running PHP as a temporary area before the websites find their final Linux home.

Initial testing of the new Linux server is many many many times faster than the current servers, and the throughput of the new RAID array is around 250 MB/s, which is in the area of solid-state drives. This extra throughput should make the forums and wordpress-based sites almost instantaneous.