Gossamer Forum
Home : Products : Gossamer Links : Version 1.x :

Dedicated server enough power?

Quote Reply
Dedicated server enough power?
Hello,

We are going to make a database with sqllinks with articles in it.
At the start it will have 1000 articles and it will be growing.

We think a virtual server won't be quick enough at some time (or at the start?), but
we are not sure. We want to make a good start so we think going
to use a dedicated server (low-end?).

Now we have found a solution for a dedicated server (low-end?) and want to know
if it's any good:

Server: Intel P233 (processor)
32MB (memory)
4 Gig (disk space for 1 site, that's more then enough)
5 Gig (Transfer data/month)
ip: 1 (that's enough for 1 site:))
FreeBSD Stable Unix, Red Hat Linux, Apache (httpd), Ftpd, DNS (Named)
Telnet - SSH (encryptie telnet), Pop3 (QPopper), SMTP (sendmail), PHP3
MySQL, WAP, Perl5, SSI, Webmin, Stats.

We think that the processor and memory can be the main problem with sqllinks, but are the above spec. enough power to get sqllinks working without problems?

We can have 1000 links in 1 category, will that be a problem with above server specs?
We are thinking to build 1 database with many different layouts ?

What is the max. connections to mysql (standard 100?) at the same time without getting problems ?

The mysql database is only beeing used in search mode if we build the pages static right?

Allready many thanks.

Regard,

Startpoint.

Quote Reply
Re: Dedicated server enough power? In reply to
In Reply To:
We can have 1000 links in 1 category, will that be a problem with above server specs?
This will slow down your building process. I would recommend increasing your Memory to at least 128 MG. The rest of the server specs should work fine.

Also, I would recommend breaking up your articles into sub-categories to make the build process faster and also to help people browse through articles easier.

Regards,

Eliot

Quote Reply
Re: Dedicated server enough power? In reply to
I agree! Don't try to run a server, especially with MySQL and other cgi programs, in a box with less than 128 meg of ram.

On a Sun/Sparc that can be significantly more expensive, but on an Intel box it should be a few hundred one-time fee, or a $20 a month on a lease.

FWIW, an Intel box, a 233 processor and 32 meg of ram is a 2 year old machine. My kids machine bought two Christmases ago for under $1000 has more power than that, and I find it PAINFUL.

If you are anticipating a low load, and only a few thousand hits a day, it might be sufficient for your needs.

But, you _do_ need AT LEAST 128 meg of ram on an Intel box, 256 meg is _much_ better.

256 on an Intel box is almost as good as 128 on a Sun/Sparc.

It's just a completely different archetecture.

I don't know what your budget is, but there are virtual/shared hosts that probably can offer more in the way of power and features than that. If you do go with that solution, don't lock yourself into _any_ long term contract (anything more than 3 months). If you have any success, you'll be breaking it quickly.



http://www.postcards.com
FAQ: http://www.postcards.com/FAQ/LinkSQL/

Quote Reply
Re: Dedicated server enough power? In reply to
As Pugdog said before; forget these offer! I would never done anything on a machine with 32MB (maybe it could work under win3.11 as a clock :-)

You must think about:

1. Server: We have bought last week a new one:

2 * P700; 256 Megs, 2*18 Gigs SCSI Hardware-Raid
Our costs about 2500 $ - Doing all the linux stuff for ourselves.


2. A good connection is needed; forget all the things like traffic for free blablabla ...

Under 300$ a month you cant get a good connection and some basic traffic.

3. If you cant do linux-administration for yourselve, you need someone keeping your server going on ...

4. You should know, that the company you host your server is big enough not to close their company in the next month ...


If you are interested in a dedicated or own server, write me directly via mail, and i will tell you our ISP in US (or germany); then you could trace the connection and watch their pricelist.

Robert

Quote Reply
Re: Dedicated server enough power? In reply to
Hi,

Memory is king. gossamer-threads.com used to be on a p233 with 256 mb of memory, and it was fine, loads were low, everything was great, even with all the cgi.

You run into problems if you are low on memory and start having to go to the disk drive.

Cheers,

Alex

--
Gossamer Threads Inc.
Quote Reply
Re: Dedicated server enough power? In reply to
You'll find you want to get a faster processor as well. 233Mhz isn't too bad - but now a days you want to get about 400Mhz or a bit faster.

The Pentium 4 was announced the other day, which will be released at 1.4Ghz :)

Michael Bray
Quote Reply
Re: Dedicated server enough power? In reply to
Oddly, the faster the processor, the better it does graphics, but at some point, the bus, and the rest of the system can't keep up.

I think 233 mhz for an Intel/clone processor is slow by today's standards (but our Sparc chip is about that, again, different archetecture).

If you are investing in any hardware, consider at _least_ a 400+, even 600 machine (since the 700's, 800's and higher have come out now).

Don't skimp on the memory! If your machine will handle it, put in 512 meg of ram, and you won't be sorry. 256k should be your minimum.

Go with SCSI hard drives and a _fast_ SCSI controller card, RAID optional.

Divide the _load_ on the physical hard drives up. You could even get better performance by putting each hard drive on a different SCSI card, and having one do system/logging and the other do web _serving_. (your situation may vary).

Those are the major bottlenecks. Before "first" is CPU (you have to have a reasonable chip). The First is RAM -- the more, the better, without exceeding your system's ability to manage the Ram. The next is Disk I/0. SCSI and dual drives (and dual cards) can help that.

If you have a networked situation, two network cards can speed performance, if you have one doing "local" calls and one connected to your Internet switch (rather than putting everything through the main switch).

System tuning/performance is a fine art.

Like all fine art, if you throw enough money at it, it doesn't seem to matter. It only matters if you are trying to allocate scarce dollars to the best resources.

http://www.postcards.com
FAQ: http://www.postcards.com/FAQ/LinkSQL/

Quote Reply
Re: Dedicated server enough power? In reply to
In Reply To:
I think 233 mhz for an Intel/clone processor is slow by today's standards (but our Sparc chip is about that, again, different archetecture).
Oh definately, if you are getting a machine, I'd doubt you could even find a 233. We bought a few new systems and the lowest we could find was a celeron 450.

Cheers,

Alex

--
Gossamer Threads Inc.