Which OS should I choose with this server?

FIREF0X · #1 08-09-2006, 09:53 PM

Hello

Intel P4 2.8
80GB HD
2GB Ram
CP: Plesk

OS?

FreeBSD
OpenBSD
CentOS
Debian
NetBSD
Fedora

and which drive controller is better?

IDE/SCSI or SATA

PixelManual · #2 08-09-2006, 09:55 PM

What are you trying to do with the server?

Plesk is lighter on the load, so if it's simply for your own site I'd go for it. CentOS is easy to use and a nice OS. SCSI is overkill unless you are doing something quite intensive, so SATA should suffice.

More information helps!

rob5 · #3 08-09-2006, 09:55 PM

the best.. FreeBSD

SCSI > SATA > IDE

Orien · #4 08-09-2006, 09:56 PM

The OS is really up to you. I myself prefer Red Hat Enterprise or Fedora because I'm most familiar with them.

Kaumil · #5 08-09-2006, 10:10 PM

We have used CentOS for approximately 3 years now, and have found it to be a great OS. I think you'll be pleased with it.

ZL6net · #6 08-09-2006, 10:46 PM

any flavor of *nix will get the job done.

As most stated, OS is a matter or preference.

IDE will suffice for most general duty applications.

For true speed SCSI and SATA are the way to go.

SATA is usually cheaper than scsi and performormance is as good or better.

... again it all boils down to what your application will be.

If SATA is available at the same price point as IDE, go SATA. With basic server specs, you shouldnt need scsi in the config with the added cost.

KarlZimmer · #7 08-09-2006, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZL6net

any flavor of *nix will get the job done.

As most stated, OS is a matter or preference.

IDE will suffice for most general duty applications.

For true speed SCSI and SATA are the way to go.

SATA is usually cheaper than scsi and performormance is as good or better.

Wait, did you say SATA performance is as good or better than SCSI? The two can't even compare, SCSI has much better perfromance, especially if you go with SAS. True, most people may never see the difference, but when there are just a ton of IO requests you'll see a huge difference, in favor of SCSI. Whether that advantage is worth it or not for you, I couldn't really say...

marcgo15 · #8 08-10-2006, 01:31 PM

I would personally use CentOS on the server.

AvailNetworks · #9 08-10-2006, 03:11 PM

whichever one you are most familiar with I would choose. EXCEPT fedora.

fedora is not a server o/s, it is a desktop o/s

ZL6net · #10 08-10-2006, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarlZimmer

Wait, did you say SATA performance is as good or better than SCSI? The two can't even compare, SCSI has much better perfromance, especially if you go with SAS. True, most people may never see the difference, but when there are just a ton of IO requests you'll see a huge difference, in favor of SCSI. Whether that advantage is worth it or not for you, I couldn't really say...

My statement was based on what I remember reading in a Western Digital Press Release some time ago, which can be found here

INDEPENDENT TESTING SHOWS WESTERN DIGITAL 10K SATA WITH TCQ BEATS 10K SCSI IN SERVERS
http://www.westerndigital.com/en/com...DEE97C5E911%7D

--

KarlZimmer · #11 08-10-2006, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZL6net

My statement was based on what I remember reading in a Western Digital Press Release some time ago, which can be found here

INDEPENDENT TESTING SHOWS WESTERN DIGITAL 10K SATA WITH TCQ BEATS 10K SCSI IN SERVERS
http://www.westerndigital.com/en/com...DEE97C5E911%7D

--

As you see, they don't even consider comparing them to 15k RPM SCSI drives...

Also, that URL only shows the Raptor drives being able to compete with the 10k RPM drives in RAID arrays, which is a case where the RAID controller can make as much of a difference as the drives themselves. In the single drive test, the SCSI drive shows 16% more IOs per second. According to the same site, the IO performance of a 15k RPM Maxtor drive is twice that of a 150GB Raptor on the file server tests...

True, for many people a SCSI drive isn't worth it, but in many cases they are necessary, as they will prevent you from needing to go into a more expensive route, such as MySQL clusters, etc. as the disk IO is generally the first bottleneck seen in many web hosting and database situations. If spending $800 to upgrade the disks saves you $2500 upfront along with the additional management time required to manage two boxs instead of one, the SCSI drives are definitely worth it.