Hardware configuration for debian server

[TheRudy]

Hey!

First off, sorry is this is wrong topic, hope its not cause i coudn't fit it into any other category.

I'm in process of buying/building a custom server, not high end but something to start with, something that costs around $1200. Was thinking of some version of AMD Athlon 64 with 2 gigs of ram and 2 SATA drives for RAID 1 with either Debian or Ubuntu for server.

I'm not an expert or anything when it comes to hardware so putting this server together with the right components is hard for me. Anyone here who can suggest me a builded custom server for that price or even list me all the important components (MB, CPU, what kind of ram,...). Oh, buying Dell, HP or anyother branded server is not an option so don't suggest that please

Also important is that Debian supports all the hardware in case i go with Debian cause well, Ubuntu is not really server based distro yet..

Any suggestions?

[falko]

We have a server with an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual Core, 2GB memory and 2 160GB SATA drives from Samsung which is configured for software RAID. This server is running Debian, and it's quite fast.

[TheRudy]

Great, what kind of motherboard do you have?

[Hans]

My server is maybe a little out of your budget but you will have value for money: Dell SC1425 dual Xeon 1 GB memory and 2 SATA drives 250 GB each. Debian Sarge works nice on this system. I tried Ubuntu 5.10 too but i had problems with the partitioning and RAID 1 configuration.

Hint: when you start setting up Debian use the command "linux26" because the default 2.4 kernel does not support SATA drives.

This how to: http://www.howtoforge.com/linux_software_raid works for my system.

Use, Debian on the server & Ubuntu on a desktop if you ask me.


Hans

[TheRudy]

Thanks for server config and hint! Was also looking at Dell PowerEdge but decided that for first server i'll just build my own.

Well the biggest problem i'm facing is SATA stuff. I don't have desktop that has SATA nor have i ever used it on server. So thank for that link, somehow i have missed it!! That uses software to do RAID stuff.. What if i have hardware SATA controller also? Do i still need software for RAID? Sorry for off topic

[Hans]

The software you need depends on your hardware (of course)
The Dell SC1425 SC has no hardware RAID, it is software RAID.
Dell officially supports Red Hat, Windows and Suse.
Dell delivers this server with RAID software for MS Server 2003 or for Red Hat. I did not buy anything, i used the software RAID software included in Debian

[TheRudy]

Ah ok, so if i don't have hardware RAID, i simply use that tutorial to install it. If i have hardware RAID, i use their drivers/software to install it. Got it

Mucho thanks guys!

[bluegrass]

Originally Posted by falko

We have a server with an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual Core, 2GB memory and 2 160GB SATA drives from Samsung which is configured for software RAID. This server is running Debian, and it's quite fast.

I am having trouble installing my Debian Sarge 3.1 Stable on an Intel Pentium 4 HTT Extreme Edition 3.73GHz and 3 SATA 160GB HDD which will be configured for software RAID 5. Even I boot the CD Installer as "linux26", the installer can't find any hard disk for partitioning. Why is this so? I have also tried installing the Debian Sarge Beta Test 4, but when I used the RAID tool of the installer, the error will be on the GRUB, it can't find any masterboot record wherein to place the GRUB, I also tried typing manually "/dev/md0" it would still not accept.

Am I missing something or what?

[falko]

I think you need a newer kernel, e.g. the kernel from Debian unstable, because newer kernels have the necessary support for SATA drives. Have a look at this guide: http://debiandox.barties.de/howtos/1...8/schritt1.htm (unfortunately it's in German...).