classiccmp server hardware

[Jay West]

I said I'd look at what is in there, here's the scoop.

Boom 1U case, room for MB, PS, many fans, two HD's, slimline floppy and 
slimline CD, and a single PCI card
ASUS TUSI-M motherboard
Intel Celeron 1.2ghz, 256K cache, 100mhz FSB
(2) 512mb low profile SDR DIMMS
Mitsumi SR243T1 slim cd
Citizen OSDA-39D floppy drive (heavily modified with a dremel tool to fit 
right)
20gb PATA drive for OS
160gb PATA drive for data, list, websites, etc.

The motherboard ide controller is ATA100 or 133, I forget which. Before you 
snivel at the hardware... the classiccmp server doesn't NEED to be extremely 
fast and seems to do just fine with the horsepower it has. Of course that's 
because it runs FreeBSD (trolling).

The end-goal here is reliability in case of drive failure. I see two 
options. I could get an additional 160HD, a Promise raid 1 card, and a riser 
card (think I already have one). Then the OS & data would be on one 160gb 
drive and we'd mirror to the other 160gb. This is the cheapest option.

The other option would be using a motherboard with built-in raid. This would 
involve replacing the motherboard, the memory, and the cpu. Perhaps the 
power supply too, which may or may not mean a new case.... I would still 
need to buy another 160gb drive. Definitely a lot more expensive. Plus since 
it's an older 1U case, trying to find a motherboard that fit it just right 
may be troublesome with boards being sent back cause they dont fit, etc. 
Plus the frustration of trying to make sure the newer/faster processor 
heatsink and fan would fit into the 1U case, which can sometimes be 
impossible.

In the event that the server runs out of horsepower, if we go the first 
route, we wouldn't have lost any investment cause we'd still be able to use 
the two 160gb PATA drives. The only money wasted would be on the promise 
RAID controller.

So, my vote would be to go with another 160gb, riser card, and promise raid 
1 card. But I'm open to any and all options. Theres about $200 or so in the 
kitty right now for the server. I'd love some input, mayber there's options 
I haven't thought of.

Regards,

Jay West