Server switch this weekend

Danny Stewart · #1 August 24, 2006, 12:49 PM

Hello everyone,

I'm pleased to announce that I was finally able to take some time and put together a brand new top-of-the-line Linux web server for all of the web sites that I run, including DannyStewart.com. Our current server is an ailing Windows 2000 Server model that is very unstable and hard to recover when it goes down. The new server is much nicer and a lot more stable, and I stayed up all night last night installing and configuring Ubuntu Linux to act as a web server. Already it's working so much better than the Windows one we're on now, and in the span of a few hours, I configured the Apache web server, PHP, MySQL, FTP, outgoing e-mail, and more (which took me nearly two days straight to configure on the Windows server, and it doesn't even do e-mail). I've got a couple of test web sites on there at the moment and it's running very fast and without a hitch.

This weekend, I am hoping to move the server back into place at my dad's office and begin transferring all of my web sites to the new server. This will mean we'll be down for a few hours at some point this weekend (I'm not exactly sure when yet), but once we're back up, you all should notice a lot fewer problems and a substantial increase in speed. I will keep you posted on the details of the switch as soon as I am able.

Hope you all are looking forward to getting the new server in place as much as I am!

Thanks everyone!

Ross Hendrie · #2 August 25, 2006, 11:20 AM

Excellent, Windows die!

Danny Stewart · #3 August 26, 2006, 12:03 PM

Hehe. Yup. Also, an update on this front... things have changed a bit, and instead of reformatting an older server and putting Linux on it (as was originally the plan), I have forked out $700 and bought a new server completely (I know I mentioned that above but it was a hope and not a reality). This server will come in in about a week's time, and then it will become the first official PODS server (the "company" that Pete and I run). So wait until next weekend, and then you guys will really have something to look forward to.

Ross Hendrie · #4 August 27, 2006, 12:33 PM

*collapses*

Danny Stewart · #5 August 27, 2006, 8:02 PM

Sorry, Ross. Is the anticipation killing you?

#6 September 2, 2006, 12:37 PM

What is the specs on the servers?

Ross Hendrie · #7 September 2, 2006, 2:24 PM

Has the change occured yet?

Danny Stewart · #8 September 3, 2006, 3:39 AM

You'll know when the change occurs, Ross, I'll make a big announcement and I have some special plans for when it does.

David, thanks for asking. The server specs are as follows: AMD64 3500+ / 1MB Cache / 1GB DDR400 / Dual 160GB SATA-II HDDs / RAID 0,1 / Gigabit LAN / Sony CD-ROM / 64-bit / 2U Rackmount Server.

Ben Dawson · #9 September 4, 2006, 2:29 AM

I can hardly wait, the anticipation's running high.

Danny Stewart · #10 September 10, 2006, 9:10 PM

Just a little while longer. It's taking longer than expected getting the initial configuration up and running.

#11 September 13, 2006, 6:04 PM

Originally Posted by Danny Stewart

You'll know when the change occurs, Ross, I'll make a big announcement and I have some special plans for when it does.

David, thanks for asking. The server specs are as follows: AMD64 3500+ / 1MB Cache / 1GB DDR400 / Dual 160GB SATA-II HDDs / RAID 0,1 / Gigabit LAN / Sony CD-ROM / 64-bit / 2U Rackmount Server.

Nice. Two remarks:

No dual core!
Why not use RAID 5 since 0 and 1 will basiclly amount to that?

Danny Stewart · #12 September 13, 2006, 10:28 PM

As far as dual core, yeah, I probably could have found one, but it was a really good deal (I didn't have too much money to spend on it) and I already trust the processor because it's the same one I use in my desktop computer.

As far as RAID goes, I think that meant it natively supports RAID 0 and 1 if you use the hardware RAID controller. I'm actually having some major problems with the RAID configuration at the moment. After installing Linux, the system refuses to boot. The bootloader stops working at "stage 1.5" if the bootloader is only installed on the first hard drive, and "stage 2" if it's installed on both, but either way the OS won't actually boot. I need to resolve that, and fast, if I want to get the server up and running any time soon.

#13 September 16, 2006, 8:28 PM

My suggestion:

w2k3 (any version but web) and use a RAID 5 disk set. You will get fault tolerance and speed.

Danny Stewart · #14 September 17, 2006, 1:02 PM

I was rather desperately trying to set up a Linux server...

Ross Hendrie · #15 September 18, 2006, 11:41 AM

How's the server going anyway? Is it working yet or are you still working your genius?

Danny Stewart · #16 September 19, 2006, 12:24 PM

I emailed the tech support people and they said Linux stopped support for onboard RAID as of kernel revision 2.6. He recommended I disable the RAID and set it up via software -- I have done so, and the server works perfectly! I've started setting it up, so not long now... hopefully this weekend, if all goes well.

Chris Britton · #17 September 25, 2006, 8:06 AM

The Forums seem to be responding better at least

Ross Hendrie · #18 September 25, 2006, 1:50 PM

Absolutely, Im not sick of waiting for pages to load anymore!

Danny Stewart · #19 September 25, 2006, 8:56 PM

Haha! Glad the speed increase has been so noticeable.

Chris Britton · #20 September 27, 2006, 7:19 AM

very noticeable.