Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 07:49:40 -0400
Reply-To: Michael Sullivan <sullivan@OPENMARKET.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Michael Sullivan <sullivan@OPENMARKET.COM>
Subject: Re: Gerry is ill - suggestions for a server upgrade
In-Reply-To: <3.0.3.32.19990520230426.006df2ac@mail.abccom.bc.ca>
Content-Type: text/enriched; charset="iso-8859-1"
Dear David,
The reason NT Server runs out of virtual memory is that IIS and other services have known memory leaks -- no amount of memory upgrades will eliminate these kind of crashes -- only delay them. I believe IIS4 is better than IIS3, but much of it depends upon careful "tweaking" of the system and not just adding more/better hardware. One way to "tweak" is to eliminate/reduce any unnessary services (such as FTP, gopher, etc.).
I agree with a second drive. However, I'm always skeptical when some "expert" (and every company is full of them) recommends a complete new system to solve a problem. And please don't explain to me his credentials -- I'm sure they are extraordinary. It just that if you ask ten "experts" you'll get ten different answers.
And clearly one of the (many) solutions is simply to add another hard disk, tweak the sytem to eliminate the memory leaks, and keep the costs down.
Cheers,
MJS
At 11:04 PM 5/20/99 -0700, David Marshall wrote:
>Vanagon List Members
>As you know from time to time our beloved server we call Gerry takes a
>nosedive and crashes with an "Out of virtual memory" error. We have also
>noted that every time we do a web based search it takes a long time to come
>up with results and sometimes times out. Not enough RAM causes these
>problems. Currently Gerry has 64MB and a virtual swap file minimum of 75MB
>with a maximum of 512MB.
>
>Another problem with Gerry is there is only 1 hard drive in the system.
>Although I do backups of the server this should not be considered good
>enough in the event of a fatal drive error. We need disk mirroring so one
>drive can fail and the system will keep on ticking until we can get a
>replacement. I have worked closely with Marshall Ruskin who is also a
>Windows NT expert and we both agree that Gerry needs a lot more RAM to be
>happy and RAID1 hard drive array are common practice in today's servers.
>
>I work at a computer store by day where I design all sorts of networks and
>various types of computer systems. I am a firm believer that quality
>should not be an after thought. Using my staff discount I have come up
>with the following pricing for a new server. This server uses very good
>quality components that leave plenty of room for future upgrades if we need
>them (unlike the current HP Vectra that we are using).
>
>Touch Server System - http://www.touch-systems.ca
>· En-Light mid tower case with 230W power supply
>· Asus P2B-DS ATX style mainboard (Intel 440 BX, Adaptec 2890 Chipsets)
>· Built in Ultra 2 Wide SCSI controller
>· Pentium II 350MHz CPU (upgradeable to dual CPU for $325)
>· Qty 4 - 128MBMB (total of 512MB) of PC-100 SDRAM
>· Qty 2 - Fujitsu 4.55GB Ultra Wide SCSI Hard Drives in RAID 1 array
>· Mitsumi 1.44MB (3.5") Floppy Drive
>· Asus 40X IDE CD-ROM Drive
>· S3 Trio 3D 2X AGP Video Adapter with 4MB
>· D-Link 10/100Mbps Network Adapter
>· 3 Year Hardware
>System price: $2650 CAD or aprox $1800 USD
>
>Please ponder over the above specs and let's "vote" on a good solution to
>our not so reliable current server. I look forward to your comments and
>suggestions.
>
>PS. If Gerry goes down again - someone please email me at
>david@abccom.bc.ca so I can reboot the damn thing that same day!
>
>
>-- David Marshall - Vanagon List Admin - Quesnel, BC, Canada --
>-- 78 VW Rabbit, 80 VW Caddy, 84 VW Westie, 85 VW Cabriolet --
>-- 87 Audi 5000 Quattro, 88 2.0L VW Syncro Double Cab --
>-- David's Volkswagen Home Page http://www.volkswagen.org --
>-- Fast Forward Autobahn Sport Tuning http://www.fastforward.ca --
>-- david@volkswagen.org (pmail) or vanagon@volkswagen.org (list) --
>
<bold>
Michael J. Sullivan
</bold><italic>Director of Catalog Design
Open Market, Inc.
</italic>
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