Upgrade from Atom server

3dcandy · 30 Dec 2010 at 00:23

Hi all,
I've been having some problems with the Atom based server I'm using and feel it could be time to upgrade to some proper server grade hardware. I have just got myself a Poweredge 2500 up and runnijng, RAID 5 SCSI etc. and it's better than the Atom for some stuff, but still not as fast as I'd like. I'd also like to collect all my stuff into a 19" rack....
Soooo the question is, do I get a cheap dual cpu server, possibly an oldish dual zeon or build something into a new(ish) rack mounted case. Anyone reckon that power consumption from an old server would cripple me?

Thoughts please...I like the idea of a rack mounted dually server, but like my Atom cos it's very frugal. However, it's not great for serving php etc. etc. and seems very underpowered at times...

3dcandy · 30 Dec 2010 at 09:12

mikeh501 said:
get the older dual server. building one is madness.

probably right. I'm just interested in getting everything sorted rather than working out silly issues like the network connection dropping!

3dcandy · 30 Dec 2010 at 15:13

right, currently it's serving a mixture of php and static sites. php sites mainly built using wordpress and plugins. the network dropping out seems to be very random, but only a power down will fix it and it happens via dhcp or static addressing. floating point performance/php speed is the main issue, it's an Atom 330 with 2 gig ram and a sats 320 gig hard drive. also as the load increases it slows down even more, just seems the little atom can't keep pace. non production server, used for dev work and then uploaded where needed. noise not really an issue as I have a small room/cupboard for my stuff, power not an issue unless it's a real power hog. all connected via a 24-port 10/100 unmanaged switch which eventually when funds allow will be upgraded to a procure gigabit switch.

The server just doesn't seem very snappy, it's running ubuntu 10.10 64-bit at the moment, does have a gui as my current setup means it gets used to do some browsing for other family members

3dcandy · 6 Jan 2011 at 11:52

I know the power useage might go up a bit....but older Opteron servers are available and surely they're better than Xeon's etc.???

Might just get a rack mountable case and go down that route....