[KLUG Members] Re: File Server Appliances anyone? (Adam Tauno Williams)

[Robert V. Kanaley]

Adam,

Google and IBM.com didn't have any info on "IBM" "Hoopoe" "xSeries <$1000".
I shot off an email with your post to my IBM Direct rep, but haven't gotten
a response. Would you possibly have any additional information that might
help me find this unit?

TIA.

Bob

Robert V. Kanaley
Manager Information Systems
Agdia, Inc.
rvk@agdia.com
http://www.agdia.com

Adam Tauno Williams <awilliam@whitemice.org> wrote:
>> I need to add file server storage space to start doing nightly
>> backups of mydocs for about 45 winbloz clients.
>> I am looking at file server appliances in the 120-250GB range as
>> opposed to buying something like a low end Compaq DL140 rack mount
>> server, popping in 160GB ATA drive and setting up a Suse 9 Samba
>> server for around a grand. Recommendations?
>
> We have very much the same thing. "Hoopoe" is an IBM x300 (or
> is a x305?
> whatever) 1U rack mount server with a pair of 120GB ATA
> drive.  A small
> OS install is a mirrored logical volume spanning both drives, with the
> bulk of the space being a linear logical volume.  The server has dual
> 100Mbps interfaces.  This cost significantly LESS than $1000.  And the
> drives can always be swapped out for even bigger ones.
>
>> Chastisements?
>
> Depends on what you want to use it for.   Ours is used for storing
> online copies of CDs, large sets of data due to be processed, laptop
> backups, etc... Nothing critical that can't be replaced or
> restored/regenerated from some source.  ATA drives have poor
> reliability and the whole configuration is going to have *BAD* random
> I/O throughput.  But it works very well for swinging around huge
> chunks of sequential data with a low simultaneous user count.
>
>