Re: [tlug] silicon cash eater

[Curt Sampson <cjs@example.com>]

On 2017-06-23 10:58 +0900 (Fri), kts wrote:

> My question is still the same… how much cpu/speed/mem is enough for
> a basic file and web server, lightly used, that is good for 24/7 use
> and cheap on …uhm… everything? 

You don't need much CPU and memory from the sound of it, especially if
you avoid running a graphical console. I'd consider a used
high-quality "desktop replacement" laptop, such as the ThinkPad T400
or T500 series. The fairly old T510, at least, has GigE, so my guess
is that they all do. (Older versions of these can be found for 2-4 man
yen; I have bought close to a dozen from be-stock.com and have been
quite pleased. Just make sure you read the descriptions carefully so
you know what, if anything, is broken on them.)

Typically you'll want to replace the internal 2.5" HDD with an SSD,
which adds another $100 or so to the cost, and you may need to upgrade
the memory as well; a 2 GB model should almost certainly be upgraded
to 4 GB and you may want to bump even a 4 GB model up to 8 GB.

The issue then just becomes getting enough drive space connected to
the host with a reasonably fast connection. (You probably don't want
to be using USB 2.0, though it may be livable if your LAN is only WiFi
or 100 Mbps Ethernet.) I can think of a few options:

1. External RAID controller and case with an E-SATA interface that
   makes all your external storage appear as one SATA drive, plugged
   into the one E-SATA interface on the laptop.

2. External drive case/controller with a USB 3.0 interface (or
   multiple USB 3.0 cases/controllers and a USB 3.0 hub), plugged into
   a PC Card USB 3.0 controller in the PC card slot.

3. Some sort of Network Block Device[1] technology hooked up to the
   one Ethernet port. This has the issue that you need to share your
   file-serving bandwidth and disk bandwidth, and I wouldn't feel too
   comfortable having the disks on the main LAN either, which would
   mean you'd want to invest another $50 in a VLAN-capable switch as
   well, so this idea doesn't really sound worth pursuing to me.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_block_device

cjs
-- 
Curt Sampson         <cjs@example.com>         +81 90 7737 2974

To iterate is human, to recurse divine.
    - L Peter Deutsch