Difference Between Rackmount and Stand alone Server!!!

Evil Genius · 01-26-2006, 05:33 PM

First off I Just want to Say that although Im pretty computer savy, and that im able to build and configure computers rather easily, I am a total noob when it comes to running a server and using linux, so please bare with me as I Struggle to learn all of this.

So to begin with, I had the idea of starting up small company and wanted to start serving my own webpages using my home computer.

Yes I know there are services out there such as godaddy that will help me do this rather easily...but really my main objective is to learn about building and configuring servers. Im pretty much familar with building a standalone server...but im seeing more and more of these rackmount servers around.

Im not sure if there is any advantage to rackmount servers over standalone servers. My preception of rackmount is that they are easily scalable. (i.e need more hard drive space or computing power just plug another rackmount unit in) Is that right!

Also If I have a standalone server can I string those togther in the same way as a rackmount server to give me more HD space and Computing Power. And what exactly is used to create this server array, is it typical ethernet cable and a hub? Possibly Software? Im totally clueless on this!

If Anyone can help me start understanding all of this stuff or at least point me in the right direction at least, it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Skie · 01-26-2006, 09:41 PM

You're probably thinking of a Cluster. Normally, rack servers aren't connected to each other to work together. For hosting, either one will work. However, rack servers are ment to be in an actual rack. They don't really offer any advantages as far as disk space or power. Unless they're clustered or you have a storage solution attached to them. But then you can do this with mini towers or desktops.

Basically, a 1U rackmountable server is 1 1/2 inches tall and about 40 some inches long. You can stick about 30 or more of these in a rack. The main advantage to them is space savings over regular computer/server cases. A 2U is twice as tall as a 1U. A 3U is 3 1U's in size. 2, 3 and 4U servers can hold much more in terms of hard drives. 1U's are limited to about 3 or 4 hard drives (some as little as 2).

Some Data Centers use rack servers, other DC's use mini-towers sitting on shelves. I guess it really depeneds on the direction the DC wishes to go in.

For starting out, I'd just use a spare PC if you have one and learn how to administer it properly. Once you're ready to move up, look at your options and either lease/rent one from a DC or buy/build a server and have it colocated at a DC.

For clustering, you can look at BeoWulf which is Linux clustering software.

Evil Genius · 01-26-2006, 10:01 PM

Thanks for the comprehensive info !! Much appreciated !!!

Fortunatly i do have a spare computer on hand...so my only question now is what server software do i install on it. Possibly Apache, (not sure if its a stand alone server software) or Linux with Apache on it, or windows server 2003 !!

Im leaning towards Linux with apache on it along with the BeoWulf clustering software...just to fool around with it!

Any suggestions on which would be the best solution for me would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks Again !!

Skie · 01-27-2006, 10:09 AM

Apache (and just about any other software application out there) still needs an OS, whether it's Linux, Windows, Mac OS, etc. Apache will work on any of the 3 I just listed. Idealy, if you're going to go live with a hosting server, stick with Windows since I assume that's what you already know. If you're going to play around with it for some time before going live, then go ahead and try Linux. DO NOT deploy a hosting server on the internet with actual customer account if you're not familiar with the OS and software being used. You'll run into various problems with setup and security. Your customers won't like you at that point.

Also, as far as clustering software, there is other software available, but BeoWulf is the only one that I can remember at this time. Another thing is, clustering for hosting servers is a bit much really. There's really no need for something like this when hosting simple websites. You're probably better off using Load Balanceing which distributes the load between several servers (if you need something this high end). Otherwise, if you're just doing normal sites or small message boards, you're just wasting your time and money for clustering. A site like TSF only needs 1 server. The next step for TSF would be to have 2 servers, 1 would be the Apache server, the other would be the MySQL server. This would help distribute the load between the 2 so that one doesn't get overloaded. Generally, clustering is only used for super computers (the new age in mainframes) or for people that need lots of processing power for calculations, simulations and what not.

Evil Genius · 01-29-2006, 05:20 PM

Thanks again Skie!!

I agree with your suggestion about hosting customer accounts. For now i think doing something like that would be way over my head as im only familiar with simple HTML coding and have no experience with runner a server. For now i think ill just stick to hosting simple webpages featuring products and other things like that. As for clustering and load balancing, again i agree it may be overkill, but its still something that i would like to learn nonetheless, but for right now 1 server should be more than enough for my needs, and until i get more familar with the software and get better at configuring and administering the server i dont think that a cluster server would be a good place to start.

Your help is greatly appreciated....Thanks again ! and wish me luck !!

ebackhus · 01-30-2006, 09:55 AM

I run a home server that I threw together myself. It has two Pentium 3 processors running at 550Mhz each. I chose Windows 2000 Pro as the OS (I'm not that good with Linux yet) and Apache for the webserver software. I run three sites off of that machine and the only bottleneck is my outgoing connection which is capped at 40KBps. Other than that, Windows is the only problem I've had because, well, it's Windows. I try to reboot it nightly in order to fix any memory leaks and to keep things fresh.

Skie · 01-30-2006, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebackhus

I run a home server that I threw together myself. It has two Pentium 3 processors running at 550Mhz each. I chose Windows 2000 Pro as the OS (I'm not that good with Linux yet) and Apache for the webserver software. I run three sites off of that machine and the only bottleneck is my outgoing connection which is capped at 40KBps. Other than that, Windows is the only problem I've had because, well, it's Windows. I try to reboot it nightly in order to fix any memory leaks and to keep things fresh.

If daily memory leaks are that big of a problem, I suggest upgrading Apache and any other software you may be using. That seems a little excessive even for Windows 2000.

01-26-2006, 05:33 PM	#1 (permalink)
Evil Genius Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 37 OS: Windows xp	Difference Between Rackmount and Stand alone Server!!! First off I Just want to Say that although Im pretty computer savy, and that im able to build and configure computers rather easily, I am a total noob when it comes to running a server and using linux, so please bare with me as I Struggle to learn all of this. So to begin with, I had the idea of starting up small company and wanted to start serving my own webpages using my home computer. Yes I know there are services out there such as godaddy that will help me do this rather easily...but really my main objective is to learn about building and configuring servers. Im pretty much familar with building a standalone server...but im seeing more and more of these rackmount servers around. Im not sure if there is any advantage to rackmount servers over standalone servers. My preception of rackmount is that they are easily scalable. (i.e need more hard drive space or computing power just plug another rackmount unit in) Is that right! Also If I have a standalone server can I string those togther in the same way as a rackmount server to give me more HD space and Computing Power. And what exactly is used to create this server array, is it typical ethernet cable and a hub? Possibly Software? Im totally clueless on this! If Anyone can help me start understanding all of this stuff or at least point me in the right direction at least, it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

01-26-2006, 09:41 PM	#2 (permalink)
Skie Manager, Alternative Comp Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Chicago burbs Posts: 2,194 OS: Gentoo Linux, CentOS, OS X My System	You're probably thinking of a Cluster. Normally, rack servers aren't connected to each other to work together. For hosting, either one will work. However, rack servers are ment to be in an actual rack. They don't really offer any advantages as far as disk space or power. Unless they're clustered or you have a storage solution attached to them. But then you can do this with mini towers or desktops. Basically, a 1U rackmountable server is 1 1/2 inches tall and about 40 some inches long. You can stick about 30 or more of these in a rack. The main advantage to them is space savings over regular computer/server cases. A 2U is twice as tall as a 1U. A 3U is 3 1U's in size. 2, 3 and 4U servers can hold much more in terms of hard drives. 1U's are limited to about 3 or 4 hard drives (some as little as 2). Some Data Centers use rack servers, other DC's use mini-towers sitting on shelves. I guess it really depeneds on the direction the DC wishes to go in. For starting out, I'd just use a spare PC if you have one and learn how to administer it properly. Once you're ready to move up, look at your options and either lease/rent one from a DC or buy/build a server and have it colocated at a DC. For clustering, you can look at BeoWulf which is Linux clustering software. __________________

01-27-2006, 10:09 AM	#4 (permalink)
Skie Manager, Alternative Comp Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Chicago burbs Posts: 2,194 OS: Gentoo Linux, CentOS, OS X My System	Apache (and just about any other software application out there) still needs an OS, whether it's Linux, Windows, Mac OS, etc. Apache will work on any of the 3 I just listed. Idealy, if you're going to go live with a hosting server, stick with Windows since I assume that's what you already know. If you're going to play around with it for some time before going live, then go ahead and try Linux. DO NOT deploy a hosting server on the internet with actual customer account if you're not familiar with the OS and software being used. You'll run into various problems with setup and security. Your customers won't like you at that point. Also, as far as clustering software, there is other software available, but BeoWulf is the only one that I can remember at this time. Another thing is, clustering for hosting servers is a bit much really. There's really no need for something like this when hosting simple websites. You're probably better off using Load Balanceing which distributes the load between several servers (if you need something this high end). Otherwise, if you're just doing normal sites or small message boards, you're just wasting your time and money for clustering. A site like TSF only needs 1 server. The next step for TSF would be to have 2 servers, 1 would be the Apache server, the other would be the MySQL server. This would help distribute the load between the 2 so that one doesn't get overloaded. Generally, clustering is only used for super computers (the new age in mainframes) or for people that need lots of processing power for calculations, simulations and what not. __________________

01-29-2006, 05:20 PM	#5 (permalink)
Evil Genius Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 37 OS: Windows xp	Thanks again Skie!! I agree with your suggestion about hosting customer accounts. For now i think doing something like that would be way over my head as im only familiar with simple HTML coding and have no experience with runner a server. For now i think ill just stick to hosting simple webpages featuring products and other things like that. As for clustering and load balancing, again i agree it may be overkill, but its still something that i would like to learn nonetheless, but for right now 1 server should be more than enough for my needs, and until i get more familar with the software and get better at configuring and administering the server i dont think that a cluster server would be a good place to start. Your help is greatly appreciated....Thanks again ! and wish me luck !! Last edited by Evil Genius; 01-29-2006 at 05:21 PM.

01-30-2006, 09:55 AM	#6 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,262 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	I run a home server that I threw together myself. It has two Pentium 3 processors running at 550Mhz each. I chose Windows 2000 Pro as the OS (I'm not that good with Linux yet) and Apache for the webserver software. I run three sites off of that machine and the only bottleneck is my outgoing connection which is capped at 40KBps. Other than that, Windows is the only problem I've had because, well, it's Windows. I try to reboot it nightly in order to fix any memory leaks and to keep things fresh. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

01-26-2006, 10:01 PM	#3 (permalink)
Evil Genius Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 37 OS: Windows xp	Thanks for the comprehensive info !! Much appreciated !!! Fortunatly i do have a spare computer on hand...so my only question now is what server software do i install on it. Possibly Apache, (not sure if its a stand alone server software) or Linux with Apache on it, or windows server 2003 !! Im leaning towards Linux with apache on it along with the BeoWulf clustering software...just to fool around with it! Any suggestions on which would be the best solution for me would be greatly appreciated! Thanks Again !!