Very Computer

We would like to use NT for ease of system admin, but not if there are
any horror stories about WWW servers on NT. We have educational discounts
for Solaris, but the hardware/software add- ons can kill a budget. We
think SCO or BSDI or Linux might allow for more options (for less), but
do not want to sell ourselves short if these are not the best choices.

Anyone supplying sound advice which we end up using will forever be
honored on one of our Web pages--what more could one want from life
anyway?

Thanks in advance,

Naples Freenet Tech Committee

We had been leaning toward Win NT/AS on a dual Pentium, but the net wisdom so
far has been to steer clear. (No disk quota, unfriendly to term based dialups,
etc.) Now we need to decide which flavor of UNIX to use and what kind of
processor power will be needed.

We're looking at a Sparc20, but that may be more processor than we need for this
server, since we'll be heavily promoting SLIP/PPP connections across the dialups
and WWW across the T1. We anticipate very little in the way of interactive shell
accesses.

I suspect that a commercial UNIX will be better for us in terms of ease of setup
and support.

Will the dual Pentium we've been qouted serve well in a UNIX environment? Does
it take advantage of SMP?

Inquiring minds.......

i needed a somewhat similar machine, looked at intel and various unix
vendors. i was surprised to find out that, given discounts from unix
vendors, that intel-based solutions weren't any cheaper (well, hp was
higher but they're pricey anyway)

ended up ordering a sparc 20 612mp

 thomas

Quote:>We are setting up a WWW-based free-net and are looking at various
>operating systems to play host to our server, which include: Solaris, SCO
>Unix, BSDI Unix, Linux, and Windows NTAS. Does anyone have information
>and/or experience as to which OS might best serve a WWW- based free-net?

Why not also consider OS/2?  Web support is good in OS/2 -- several WWW
sites run under OS/2 on our campus.

--
Eric Larson                  | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
USDA/Agronomy                | 190 PABL; 1201 W. Gregory; Urbana, IL 61801

Fidonet: 1:233/4.1           | My opinions are my own, but correct :-)

Quote:>>>We are setting up a WWW-based free-net and are looking at various
>>>operating systems to play host to our server, which include: Solaris, SCO
>>>Unix, BSDI Unix, Linux, and Windows NTAS. Does anyone have information
>>>and/or experience as to which OS might best serve a WWW- based free-net?
>>===========

>>Why not also consider OS/2?  Web support is good in OS/2 -- several WWW
>>sites run under OS/2 on our campus.
>Well, we're not just talking about a Web server. We'll be supporting approx.
>20,000 users via dialup and T1 access. We'll need the capability to provide all
>internet related processes regardless of whether the connection is Telnet from
>across the T1, or SLIP/PPP, or term-based dialup from the modem pool.

Quote:>We had been leaning toward Win NT/AS on a dual Pentium, but the net wisdom so
>far has been to steer clear. (No disk quota, unfriendly to term based dialups,
>etc.) Now we need to decide which flavor of UNIX to use and what kind of
>processor power will be needed.
>We're looking at a Sparc20, but that may be more processor than we need for this
>server, since we'll be heavily promoting SLIP/PPP connections across the dialups
>and WWW across the T1. We anticipate very little in the way of interactive shell
>accesses.
>Will the dual Pentium we've been qouted serve well in a UNIX environment?

I don't know about the other nix's but Linux will not be supporting SMP
anytime soon.  You might consider running several Linux systems.  Set one up
as a test and see how it goes.  You can't go too wrong with an operating
system that costs $0.

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http://inorganic5.chem.ufl.edu

Quote:>>Well, we're not just talking about a Web server. We'll be supporting approx.
>>20,000 users via dialup and T1 access. We'll need the capability to provide all
>>internet related processes regardless of whether the connection is Telnet from
>>across the T1, or SLIP/PPP, or term-based dialup from the modem pool.

>How many dialup lines will you have, and what hardware do you intend to use to
>control all the modems?  20,000 is alot of users for any system.

We are planning 64 dialup lines using consumer grade USR V.34's. These will be
connected via some Annex chipset based terminal servers. We have a Cisco
router/terminal server, which will support 16 asynch dialups, and we're looking at
Xyplex or Equinox as we expand beyond the first bank of 16 modems.

Yes, 20,000 users is a lot, but the vast majority will be across the T1 link instead
of the dialup side. This number is based on experiences of other Free-Nets in other
areas, and includes inactive accounts I'm sure. My guess is that the number of dialup
lines we make available will be directly proportional to the number of busy signal
complaints received. :)

I'm positive that Linux will be a part of the Napes Free-Net system....just not sure
in what capacity yet. My gut feeling is that the heart of the system will be based on
some commercial flavor UNIX on a Sparc20. Then we could hang a cheap Linux box off
the system to handle a specific chore like serving the SMTP or NNTP server.

I'm not sure if a Sparc20 (or even a dual P5) would be overkill for what we're
planning, but I like the idea of tech support for a commercial flavor unix.

We're gathering info as fast as we can, since our organizing committee chair is
anxious to cut a check for a system. (Donors wondering what we're waiting for,
y'know.)

More input is needed.....horror and success stories welcomed.

--

Disclaimer:  It was another country, and besides, the wench is dead.

Quote:>I would say for this many users, the limiting factor is going to be
>I/O and memory more then anything else, and I'm afraid that while I love
>Linux, I/O is one place where PC's just suck, swallow and chew.  You'll
>really be better off with a real computer.   They are all about equal,
>see who will give you the best $/mip.

We intend to focus on WWW services, so a well planned cache system should help
keep the thrashing down.

        - Kevin

: We're looking hard at a Pentium 90 or 100. PCI bus
: architecture seems to relieve a lot of the old
: bottleneck problems

Has PCI support been added to Linux or FreeBSD?

How about BSDI?

        mike

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