low power linux server

On Sat, 24 Oct 2009 09:30:50 GMT, notbob <notbob.TakeThisOut@nothome.com> wrote:

>I'm looking for cheap low power linux server solution. I guess I
>could hook up an old desktop, but I have nothing below 200W PS. I've
>been looking at the sheevaplug wall wart thing and mini-ITX systems
>and other options like the waysmall, but they all seen pretty pricey.
>I only need something to serve as a dedicated irc server that would
>draw no more than 10-20W and use a flash drive and be ethernet
>capable. What else should I be looking at? Seems there should be
>something out there in the $50 range.

An old lappy with a pair of pcmcia slots for the ethernet cards?

A linux based modem/router you could retask?

ARM based CPU cards -- more than $50 though.

Grant.
--
http://bugsplatter.id.au

Joe wrote:

> And I think that you are cmoking crack...

No he isn't.

Hint to the OP: Get a Foneara or some el-ceapo plastic router running Linux.
Put something like OpenWRT on it. That would be the cheapest solution. You
can get a Foneara for ~$5 at eBay.

If you don't want to tinker, then you'd probably interested in something
like PCEngines ALIX, though they come at about $100.


Wolfgang

On 10/24/2009 2:30 AM, notbob wrote:
> I'm looking for cheap low power linux server solution. I guess I
> could hook up an old desktop, but I have nothing below 200W PS. I've
> been looking at the sheevaplug wall wart thing and mini-ITX systems
> and other options like the waysmall, but they all seen pretty pricey.
> I only need something to serve as a dedicated irc server that would
> draw no more than 10-20W and use a flash drive and be ethernet
> capable. What else should I be looking at? Seems there should be
> something out there in the $50 range.

Sheevaplug is US$100, draws 5 Watts, GigE, USB 2.0, 1.2GHz ARM cpu, etc.
A few pix of one of mine:

<http://thadlabs.com/PIX/SheevaPlug_first.jpg>
<http://thadlabs.com/PIX/SheevaPlug_labelled.jpg>
<http://thadlabs.com/PIX/SheevaPlug_underside.jpg>
<http://thadlabs.com/PIX/SheevaPlug_ext_HD.jpg>

If you want a complete system with a bazillion ports (incl. 2 GiGE) and
also very low power in operation using the same ARM CPU, check this out:

<http://www.globalscaletechnologies.com/t-openrdcdetails.aspx>

notbob wrote:
> I'm looking for cheap low power linux server solution. I guess I
> could hook up an old desktop, but I have nothing below 200W PS. I've
> been looking at the sheevaplug wall wart thing and mini-ITX systems
> and other options like the waysmall, but they all seen pretty pricey.
> I only need something to serve as a dedicated irc server that would
> draw no more than 10-20W and use a flash drive and be ethernet
> capable. What else should I be looking at? Seems there should be
> something out there in the $50 range.
>
> nb


Just use one of your old desktop machines...it will be fine.

just because it has a 200 watt power supply does not mean the thing will
consume 200 watts...that's simply it's maximum rating.

Though the machine will probably draw a bit more power than your desired
10 - 20 watts...It will be well below 200 watts

Just a rough guess 30 watts idle 45 watts peak.

The few dollars a year you will pay for your electric power is going a
be cheaper than just going out and purchasing a new machine that might
possibly save you a few cents a year on your electric bill

On 24/10/09 16:41, Thad Floryan wrote:
> If you want a complete system with a bazillion ports (incl. 2 GiGE) and
> also very low power in operation using the same ARM CPU, check this out:

I really like these devices. The only thing missing from the plug that i
would like is a built in slot for a 2.5" disk. Having an extra cable can
be a pain to manage, and looks unsightly. I suppose it wouldn't take
much to construct a new enclosure from scratch.

On 10/27/2009 9:30 AM, Chris Hills wrote:
> On 24/10/09 16:41, Thad Floryan wrote:
>> If you want a complete system with a bazillion ports (incl. 2 GiGE) and
>> also very low power in operation using the same ARM CPU, check this out:
>
> I really like these devices. The only thing missing from the plug that i
> would like is a built in slot for a 2.5" disk. Having an extra cable can
> be a pain to manage, and looks unsightly. I suppose it wouldn't take
> much to construct a new enclosure from scratch.

Actually, the OpenRD clientclient has a spot onboard for a 2.5" HD, but it's
not visible in the picture(s) here:

<http://www.globalscaletechnologies.com/t-openrdcdetails.aspx>

The SheevaPlug is physically too small to accomodate an internal 2.5" HD;
the insides of a pre-production model can be seen here:

<http://www.cyrius.com/debian/kirkwood/sheevaplug/gallery.html>

I should put up a page with more pictures including the insides of the
production models.

The SheevaPlug does have an SD slot and a JTAG connector, too, for debug
purposes. I only use the external 2.5" HD in the USB enclosure for doing
compiles (that I don't care to do on another Linux box using the cross-
development software). The SheevaPlug has onboard FLASH; here's what it
looks like with only its internal FLASH memory:

root@debian:~# df
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
rootfs 519168 194220 324948 38% /
tmpfs 257816 0 257816 0% /lib/init/rw
varrun 257816 268 257548 1% /var/run
varlock 257816 0 257816 0% /var/lock
udev 257816 4 257812 1% /dev
tmpfs 257816 0 257816 0% /dev/shm
tmpfs 257816 0 257816 0% /var/cache/apt

and here it is when I connect the external WD USB drive (from Costco):

root@debian:~# df
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
rootfs 519168 194244 324924 38% /
tmpfs 257816 0 257816 0% /lib/init/rw
varrun 257816 268 257548 1% /var/run
varlock 257816 0 257816 0% /var/lock
udev 257816 12 257804 1% /dev
tmpfs 257816 0 257816 0% /dev/shm
tmpfs 257816 0 257816 0% /var/cache/apt
/dev/sda1 244136352 119008 244017344 1% /media/usbhd

and FWIW:

root@debian:~# date
Tue Oct 27 16:57:32 UTC 2009
root@debian:~# uptime
16:57:35 up 6 days, 3:03, 1 user, load average: 0.30, 0.23, 0.13
root@debian:~# uname -a
Linux debian 2.6.22.18 #1 Thu Mar 19 14:46:22 IST 2009 armv5tejl GNU/Linux
root@debian:~# cat /proc/version
Linux version 2.6.22.18 (dhaval@devbox) (gcc version 4.2.1) #1 Thu Mar 19
14:46:22 IST 2009
root@debian:~# cat /etc/issue
Ubuntu 9.04 \n \l

it had been up since late August, but two recent area power failures (2h45m
and 5h45m) were longer than any of my UPSs could keep my LAN and systems up.

On 10/27/2009 10:02 AM, Thad Floryan wrote:
> [...]
> The SheevaPlug does have an SD slot and a JTAG connector, too, for debug
> purposes. I only use the external 2.5" HD in the USB enclosure for doing
> compiles (that I don't care to do on another Linux box using the cross-
> development software).

You may get a kick out of seeing this:

root@debian:~# pwd
/root
root@debian:~# ed hw.c
hw.c: No such file or directory
a
#include <stdio.h>
main(){printf("Hello world!\n");}
..
w
53
q
root@debian:~# make hw
cc hw.c -o hw
root@debian:~# file hw
hw: ELF 32-bit LSB executable, ARM, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked (uses
shared libs), for GNU/Linux 2.6.16, not stripped
root@debian:~# gcc --version
gcc (Ubuntu 4.3.3-5ubuntu4) 4.3.3
Copyright (C) 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

root@debian:~# ./hw
Hello world!
root@debian:~# ll hw*
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 9554 Oct 27 17:21 hw*
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 53 Oct 27 17:21 hw.c

On Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:26:00 -0700, Thad Floryan <thad.DeleteThis@thadlabs.com> wrote:

>On 10/27/2009 10:02 AM, Thad Floryan wrote:
>> [...]
>> The SheevaPlug does have an SD slot and a JTAG connector, too, for debug
>> purposes. I only use the external 2.5" HD in the USB enclosure for doing
>> compiles (that I don't care to do on another Linux box using the cross-
>> development software).
>
>You may get a kick out of seeing this:
>
>root@debian:~# pwd
>/root
>root@debian:~# ed hw.c

ed! I haven't seen that since late '70s They didn't give you vi?

>hw.c: No such file or directory
>a
>#include <stdio.h>
>main(){printf("Hello world!\n");}
>.
>w
>53
>q
>root@debian:~# make hw
>cc hw.c -o hw
>root@debian:~# file hw
>hw: ELF 32-bit LSB executable, ARM, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked (uses
>shared libs), for GNU/Linux 2.6.16, not stripped
>root@debian:~# gcc --version
>gcc (Ubuntu 4.3.3-5ubuntu4) 4.3.3
>Copyright (C) 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
>This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO
>warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
>
>root@debian:~# ./hw
>Hello world!
>root@debian:~# ll hw*
>-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 9554 Oct 27 17:21 hw*
>-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 53 Oct 27 17:21 hw.c

Now I want one

Grant.
--
http://bugsplatter.id.au

Grant schreef:
>
> ed! I haven't seen that since late '70s They didn't give you vi?
>

I remember working in a place where vi was reserved for senior
sysadmins. To even mention vim was a no-no, deadly to carreers. Ah, them
good old days of ed...

On 10/27/2009 12:11 PM, Grant wrote:
> On Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:26:00 -0700, Thad Floryan <thad.RemoveThis@thadlabs.com> wrote:
>
>> On 10/27/2009 10:02 AM, Thad Floryan wrote:
>>> [...]
>>> The SheevaPlug does have an SD slot and a JTAG connector, too, for debug
>>> purposes. I only use the external 2.5" HD in the USB enclosure for doing
>>> compiles (that I don't care to do on another Linux box using the cross-
>>> development software).
>> You may get a kick out of seeing this:
>>
>> root@debian:~# pwd
>> /root
>> root@debian:~# ed hw.c
>
> ed! I haven't seen that since late '70s They didn't give you vi?
> [...]

Hah hah! vi is there as is emacs, but it would have been difficult to
display its/their output in a Usenet posting. I suppose I could have
just used cat and finished with a ^D, but showing that ed still exists
is/was useful.

ed was important to know how to use back in the early days of UNIX when
booting to single-user mode meant using a 5-1/4" floppy without much else
being on the floppy than a mini-kernel and a few utils from /sbin and /etc

I still have three fully-functional AT&T 3B1 (aka UNIXPC aka PC7300) which
run SysVR2 for which a boot floppy has ed on it. Not sure about my old
Sun 3/60 systems though -- they booted from tape (when not using disks).

On 10/27/2009 12:11 PM, Grant wrote:
> On Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:26:00 -0700, Thad Floryan <thad.DeleteThis@thadlabs.com> wrote:
>
>> On 10/27/2009 10:02 AM, Thad Floryan wrote:
>>> [...]
>>> The SheevaPlug does have an SD slot and a JTAG connector, too, for debug
>>> purposes. I only use the external 2.5" HD in the USB enclosure for doing
>>> compiles (that I don't care to do on another Linux box using the cross-
>>> development software).
>> You may get a kick out of seeing this:
>>
>> root@debian:~# pwd
>> /root
>> root@debian:~# ed hw.c
>
> ed! I haven't seen that since late '70s They didn't give you vi?
> [...]

Hah hah! vi is there as is emacs, but it would have been difficult to
display its/their output in a Usenet posting. I suppose I could have
just used cat and finished with a ^D, but showing that ed still exists
is/was useful.

ed was important to know how to use back in the early days of UNIX when
booting to single-user mode meant using a 5-1/4" floppy without much else
being on the floppy than a mini-kernel and a few utils from /sbin and /etc

I still have three fully-functional AT&T 3B1 (aka UNIXPC aka PC7300) which
run SysVR2 for which a boot floppy has ed on it. Not sure about my old
Sun 3/60 systems though -- they booted from tape (when not using disks).

On Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:00:38 -0700, Thad Floryan <thad.TakeThisOut@thadlabs.com> wrote:

>On 10/27/2009 12:11 PM, Grant wrote:
>> On Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:26:00 -0700, Thad Floryan <thad.TakeThisOut@thadlabs.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On 10/27/2009 10:02 AM, Thad Floryan wrote:
>>>> [...]
>>>> The SheevaPlug does have an SD slot and a JTAG connector, too, for debug
>>>> purposes. I only use the external 2.5" HD in the USB enclosure for doing
>>>> compiles (that I don't care to do on another Linux box using the cross-
>>>> development software).
>>> You may get a kick out of seeing this:
>>>
>>> root@debian:~# pwd
>>> /root
>>> root@debian:~# ed hw.c
>>
>> ed! I haven't seen that since late '70s They didn't give you vi?
>> [...]
>
>Hah hah! vi is there as is emacs, but it would have been difficult to
>display its/their output in a Usenet posting. I suppose I could have
>just used cat and finished with a ^D, but showing that ed still exists
>is/was useful.
>
>ed was important to know how to use back in the early days of UNIX when
>booting to single-user mode meant using a 5-1/4" floppy without much else
>being on the floppy than a mini-kernel and a few utils from /sbin and /etc
>
>I still have three fully-functional AT&T 3B1 (aka UNIXPC aka PC7300) which
>run SysVR2 for which a boot floppy has ed on it. Not sure about my old
>Sun 3/60 systems though -- they booted from tape (when not using disks).

I met ed on cp/m -- was so glad when I found wordstar Me not a big
iron user. Odd thing was I could read and understand your ed stuff so
many decades since seeing it!

Grant.
--
http://bugsplatter.id.au

[[This message is not archived, and is only displayed for one month past post date.]]

notbob schrieb:


> I'm looking for cheap low power linux server solution. I guess I
> could hook up an old desktop, but I have nothing below 200W PS.

Did you measure yours? My 250W BeQuiet draws 1W - 1.5W idle, and nobody
tells you to use all the 200W.


> I've
> been looking at the sheevaplug wall wart thing and mini-ITX systems
> and other options like the waysmall, but they all seen pretty pricey.
> I only need something to serve as a dedicated irc server that would
> draw no more than 10-20W and use a flash drive and be ethernet
> capable. What else should I be looking at? Seems there should be
> something out there in the $50 range.

I would fetch my old 386 board out of the basement, which has served
long years as a mail/news/uucp server. Got rid of it, when its
processing power got overwhelmed with the gzip -d of spam surges, but
normally, such boards happily served 4 uucp ports and more.

Ethernet shouldn't be a problem, I'm not sure about the flash drive.

If you pay more than $ 5, you've made a bad deal.



Hans-Joachim





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für nicht unterwürfigen Journalismus

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