EricClaussen.com

 To all the people that say Windows NT can't be reliable,  my servers have never crashed.  I think most problems are hardware, and driver related. 

    I purchased these servers off Ebay for a couple hundred dollars.   They both started out as a single Pentium Pro 200's with 512k cache and 128 MB of ram.  They had 3, 4.3 BG hard drives on Smart 2/DH RAID controller cards. I bought a second processor, and added more RAM.  Then I upgraded the drives to 9.1 GB Barracuda's.   The second processor and RAM made a big difference in performance.  I found a great deal on 333Mhz Overdrive chips for the socket 8.  I bought 2 and installed them into one of the servers.  Huge improvement.  I also installed the maximum amount of ram:  1 GB.   I upgraded the original 4X Cdrom to a trayless 16X.

    Believe it or not, they run Windows 2000 Advanced server with IIS (Internet Information Server), DNS (Domain Name Service), DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), ADS (Active Directory Service), and Exchange 2000.   I also keep two SETI sessions running all the time (why waste all those CPU cycles right?).  It keeps up with the minimal number of users who actually access it quite nicely.   These are still available on Ebay for around $200 (although they cost more fully loaded), and are almost bulletproof.  A little on the slow side, but it's a nice, reliable machine.  I have had the machine up for 6 months at a stretch, without a reboot, but I always end up having to move stuff around.  It has never  crashed.  

    I purchased an external RAID array on Ebay for $30.  I will move my 9.1 GB drives from the current servers to the Array, along with a couple of spares.  I will populate both servers with 4.3 GB drives.  Recently I picked up a second F1 Storage array for a DOLLAR (plus $30 shipping).

    I recently benchmarked the Overdrive chips and was actually happy with the results.  In a Proliant 2500 the dual Socket 8 Overdrive chips run about as fast as a dual PII 350's.  Most of the results were right around the same speed as a PII350, but cache intensive applications are a closer to a PII 400.  The cache on the Overdrive chips runs at full chip speed,  whereas a regular PII's cache runs at half speed.  

   Current Configuration:

Server 1:

Windows 2000 Advanced Server

2 Intel Pentium Pro Overdrive chips at 333 MHZ

1 GB of ECC ram.

5   4.3 GB Barracuda drives in Hot Swap Carriers.

Smart 2/DH RAID controller with 16 MB cache.  Ultra Wide SCSI

LCD Management display.  (It's cool to look at)

Onboard 10/100 Ethernet running at 100Mbps

35/70GB (native/compressed)  DLT 4000 series tape backup.

External Storage Unit F1

7 9.1 GB Barracuda drives,  Raid 5, Connected to Smart 2 channel 2.

Server 2:

FreeBSD 3.x  (never hurts to learn a new OS)

2 Intel Pentium Pro 200's with 512K cache.

1 GB ECC RAM

5    4.3 GB Barracuda drives in Hot Swap Carriers.

Smart 2/DH RAID controller with 16 MB cache.  Ultra Wide SCSI.

LCD Management display.  (it's just as cool on the second one)

Onboard 10/100 Ethernet running at 100Mbps

15/30GB (native/compressed) DLT 2000 XT series tape backup.

From the bottom the devices are APC RM2200 UPS, APC RM2200 UPS, Compaq Proliant External Storage Array F1, Compaq Proliant 2500 (Dual Overdrive Chips), Compaq Proliant 2500 (dual Pentium Pro 200/512K), KVM switch, External port connection to KVM Switch, second external port connection to KVM, Dell Powerconnect 2024 24 port 10/100 switch, rack mount shelf containing: old 4x CDr, Netgear RT 311 router, Fujitsu DSL modem.

Here's a shot of the wiring in the back,  looking from the top of the rack.

Here's a shot with the door closed.

This is the final incarnation.  All finished.