Spec me a tiny server!

BusError · 8 Nov 2008 at 12:51

I'm looking to offload some server tasks onto an external box, so I can turn out the 'main; biggy when I don't need it.

I used to use an old thinkpad to do that, but the hardware died on me and I have to move pretty basic services on the main workstation, where they don't really belong.

Basicaly I need a machine:
+ Micro/Pico/FemtoATX (yeah, the Femto is my own invention, no need to google

)
+ Linux. I'll use Debian Stable or Unstable on it, no thrill stability
+ Headless. I don't need a screen at all; maybe for the initial install
+ One or two LAN, Gb a plus
+ ia32 architecture
+ 1GB ram will be plenty
+ Fanless, if possible ! The machine will be idle 99% of the time.
+ USB
+ No need for a CD drive, as long as it boots from USB sticks
+ One ATA for a 2.5" disk
+ One parallel port, or accessible GPIOs to drive a small LCD.

I just want the machine to run my DNS, DHCP, SlimServer (mp3 stream) and also receive, filter and serve my email with IMAP (dovecot). Possibly run apache with a very small set of services. Possibly also do my tunneling, if there's two LAN ports.
It doesn't need a lot of CPU grunt, it still needs to be able to serve email reasonably fast tho.

Oh, yes I'd love an eeebox, but it's windoze and I don't want to pay that tax. So the price point has to be LOWER than a ibox of course

I've looked at various boards, VIA or Atom, but just can't seem to find 'the' one...

BusError · 8 Nov 2008 at 16:52

Having scavenged for parts, I realized I have a whole load of crap lying around that is far from worthless:
+ A core 2 duo E4300
+ Various DDR2 sticks, up to 1GB
+ A 120GB 2.5" disk

I so far I found the Jetway JNC91-230-LF -- Almost fits the bill completely, but it has only 100Mb/s ethernet.. I wonder if I could survive with that

You can find it in a chassis for about £120... I'd reuse the disk and memory in there...

Second option is the Shuttle K45 mini-PC, I already have the memory, disk, and even have that old E4300 that would fit -- or I could buy a Celeron 440 for £10. My problem is that it'd be far from fanless.. But would give more options to reuse bits I have here...

Anyone for more ideas?

Col_M · 8 Nov 2008 at 23:56

I know how you feel, I spent what felt like an age deciding on what I wanted for my server.

If you could find it anywhere the MSI IM-945GC could be interesting, it has a Gbit LAN x2, an Atom processor, fanless, mini-ITX but no parallel port (lots of serial though). It's an "industrial" board as opposed to a commercial one so I'm not sure how easy it would be to get hold of one unit.

nightmare99 · 9 Nov 2008 at 13:35

It's an "industrial" board as opposed to a commercial one so I'm not sure how easy it would be to get hold of one unit.

Good luck is all I can say

BusError · 10 Nov 2008 at 22:34

Ok, I decided myself on the Jetway JNC91-230-LF Barebone System (google)

+ CPU: INTEL® Atom N230 1.6GHz
+ 1 * 240-pin DIMM Slot, DDR2 533MHz Max. 2GB
+ 2 * Serial ATA2 3Gb/s connectors
+ 1 * ultra DMA 133/100 / 66 IDE connector
+ 1 * Realtek RTL8102E PCI-E 10/100 Ethernet LAN

Comes with the case, PSU, mobo etc etc. It had a small PCI slot, parallel, 8 USB etc etc.

To make it resilient and silent, I will install s 160Gb PATA disk I have, but it will only be a 'backup' disk. The main system and data is:

2 * SATA to CF card adapter = £10
2 * 8GB Transcend x133 CF cards = £33
(from the auction site)

As a RAID 1 array, PLUS a daily mirror on the IDE disk. That will give me a good mix between security, and silence.

The case and CPU have fans but I expect them to be very quiet since the machine will be idle. The IDE disk will be powered off most of the time...

If the 100baseT is too slow. I will add a cheap Gb pci card to it...

Stuff is all on order, I'll post pics when I get it...

Biffa · 10 Nov 2008 at 23:39

Same place I get my itx stuff.

Col_M · 11 Nov 2008 at 11:36

Good luck with it mate

I finally built my Atom 330 server at the weekend and it's doing the job perfectly, the Atom 230 should do the job equally as well. Not sure what the fan is like but hopefully Jetway use a better fan than Intel as the one on mine is a bit of a howler, I've got a silent one on the way though to replace it.

Let us know how you get on.

BusError · 13 Nov 2008 at 20:42

I received the box; added ram and a disk, and installed debian. That was the 15 minutes easy bit.
Since then tho, I've been trying to turn the fans off, or to scale down the frequency etc. Truns out that either the Atom 230 doesn't support it, or the bios from Jetway is crap. I think there is a combination of both.

In any case, the little box is cute, but it's twice as noisy as my overclocked quad core full fat workstation, so that won't do.

I asked for support to see if someone knows of a solution, otherwise I'll return the box...

:/

cokecan · 13 Nov 2008 at 21:08

could you not connect the fan to the PSU directly using a molex converter and then maybe connect up a POT or somethin to vary the fan speed manually?

Skeeter · 14 Nov 2008 at 00:02

Can u fit a fanless Atom heatsink?

craptakular · 14 Nov 2008 at 06:40

BusError said:
I received the box; added ram and a disk, and installed debian. That was the 15 minutes easy bit.
Since then tho, I've been trying to turn the fans off, or to scale down the frequency etc. Truns out that either the Atom 230 doesn't support it, or the bios from Jetway is crap. I think there is a combination of both.

In any case, the little box is cute, but it's twice as noisy as my overclocked quad core full fat workstation, so that won't do.

I asked for support to see if someone knows of a solution, otherwise I'll return the box...

:/

On another forum I read; silentpcreview people have attached a zalman fanless chipset replacement, you could consider one if it will fit inside the case.

You could also remove the fan entirely and test chipset temps, should run ok without the fan.

This is the problem with the crappy old intel chipset, and the only reason I'm waiting for future mainboards.

BusError · 15 Nov 2008 at 11:24

Well I made some progress here

+ The only 'controlable' fan header is the "cpu" one that ships with the 40mm fan of the chipset in.
+ the CASE fan is plugged on the sys1 one, and /that/ one id always full speed.
+ The 40mm fan has about 3 speeds I managed to measure : off, 1900, and full 4000+ rpms
+ The bios doesn't know about that and has it full speed all the time

So, I inverted the two fans, and magic, it worked ! The case fan I now run at ~1400rpm, and it's a hell of a lot quieter. The chipset fan is full speed, but it's not as audible being in the case itself..

So it's not /ideal/ and it's still noisy, but it's getting there...

LordSplodge · 15 Nov 2008 at 11:30

BusError said:
So it's not /ideal/ and it's still noisy, but it's getting there...

Where are you installing the server? How quiet is it? The reason I ask in my son and I have a lot of files and I'd like to store them on a server but the router is located in his bedroom.

Currently I have a USB HDD connected to my Airport Extreme that my MacBook connects to but this isn't very big and is useless for the PCs in the house. This drive makes a whirring noise that would keep me awake (not him though!

) so I would like the server to be quiet. Preferably quieter than the USB HDD.

WotDa · 16 Nov 2008 at 14:02

LordSplodge said:
but this isn't very big and is useless for the PCs in the house.

It is?

In the file sharing tab of the Disks menu, mash in the Workgroup that your Windows PC's use and then,

Map a netowrk drive - \\Airport IP\Username. So, for example, to access my share on the Air Disk, I mash in \\192.168.1.100\WotDa.

BusError · 16 Nov 2008 at 16:54

LordSplodge said:
Where are you installing the server? How quiet is it? The reason I ask in my son and I have a lot of files and I'd like to store them on a server but the router is located in his bedroom.

Currently I have a USB HDD connected to my Airport Extreme that my MacBook connects to but this isn't very big and is useless for the PCs in the house. This drive makes a whirring noise that would keep me awake (not him though! ) so I would like the server to be quiet. Preferably quieter than the USB HDD.

It is still audible, but nowhere near as bad as before. The most audible noise now is the 2.5" disk parking (click). That should be solved when I get the CF cards installed.
I also know that there is still a way to make that chassis quieter; the temperatures don't go over 47C during a heavy kernel build -- thats with the case fan running at it's slowest setting of 1500rpms.

Now is it going to be less noisy than your usb disk, I don't know... is there a fan on your disk ?

LordSplodge · 17 Nov 2008 at 13:32

WotDa said:
It is?

In the file sharing tab of the Disks menu, mash in the Workgroup that your Windows PC's use and then,

Map a netowrk drive - \\Airport IP\Username. So, for example, to access my share on the Air Disk, I mash in \\192.168.1.100\WotDa.

Yeah. I can get the PCs to access it but it isn't what I really want. I meant useless as in I want more than just shared disks and I'd rather keep my Time Machine backups separate.

I could have been a little clearer but I was in a hurry!

BusError said:
It is still audible, but nowhere near as bad as before. The most audible noise now is the 2.5" disk parking (click). That should be solved when I get the CF cards installed.
I also know that there is still a way to make that chassis quieter; the temperatures don't go over 47C during a heavy kernel build -- thats with the case fan running at it's slowest setting of 1500rpms.

Now is it going to be less noisy than your usb disk, I don't know... is there a fan on your disk ?

Yes there is a fan in the USB HDD enclosure but it is the idle (and active) drive that seems to be the real noise. It would bother me if I slept in there but I don't. I want a server for other tasks not just disk access so if needs be I'll run CAT5e to the utility room. However if I can make it less noisy or as noisy as the USB HDD then I'll keep it in his room as he doesn't mind the noise.

BusError · 22 Nov 2008 at 09:22

Ok, so returned the original Jetway case/mobo barebone. It was just too noisy in the end, and the case was too small. No room inside for cables, estras and such.

I received the new mobo and new case. The case is the Noah Mini-ITX Case and is far superior ! Good metal case (including front door), roomy but still very small on the shelf. 80W PSU, 80mm fan, room for the PCI slot (with a raiser).

The new mobo is the Jetway JNC92-230-LF -- it's a 'generation 2' atom board, diverging from the Intel design. It has Gigabit to start with, has PWM control over the 3 fan, has a 'daughterboard' where you can add stuff and so on.
It is otherwise equivalent to the previous one, same chipset etc, so I just transplanted my drives and off it booted.

Thats the lesson of the story here, you have to consider the ration space/expandability