[ale] Compaq Reliant web server

[Armsby John-G16665]

I 
figured I could have Christmas early.  I know the machine is basically 
sucking electricity.  If Red Hat sees the cpu's it looks like a plug and 
play dual system sucker!
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<SPAN 
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  <FONT face="Times New Roman" 
  size=2>-----Original Message-----From: Jeff Hubbs 
  [mailto:Jhubbs at niit.com]Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2001 10:44 
  AMTo: Armsby John-G16665; 'ale at ale.org'Subject: RE: 
  [ale] Compaq Reliant web server
  John 
  -
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  The 
  strongly-held opinion I have formed over the years is that no multi-processor 
  box should be bought without all CPU sockets fully populated.  You're 
  paying extra (especially if you go with "name" vendors like Compaq) just to 
  have even a 2-CPU system, but every day that it goes with one or more CPU 
  slots empty represents lost value, i.e., you are not getting any returned 
  "power" for the money you spent.  The "you can always add CPUs later" 
  argument is always trotted out but in practice, that's often not possible 
  without also replacing the original CPU(s) simply because duplicates are no 
  longer available.  Even at that, I've encountered people whose 
  newly-SMPed machine never worked quite right again until two CPUs of 
  the same speed, stepping, and revision were used.  The oringinal CPU(s) 
  displaced then go on to represent unreturned value unless and until more money 
  is spent to put a machine around them.  
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  What 
  Joe Knapka said about the 32MB P/133 isn't a joke.  For 2000 hits/day = 
  43.2 seconds/hit, a 486DX would do unless it's too slow for you to do 
  admin-type things like tar/zip a bunch of files.  It surprises me about 
  how miscalibrated people can be about how much machine it takes to do a given 
  thing.  A few months ago, I was testing out a Web server configuration 
  using Rational SiteLoad, and for the heck of it I aimed it at a P/200 running 
  Zope, with a user script that just pulled out a lot of static content (no 
  DB).  The 512MB PIII/667 that I was running SIteLoad on started to get in 
  to the weeds (and therefore into the range of invalidating the test) at about 
  40 simultaneous simulated users, but the target Zope box seemed like it was 
  only just starting to feel it - and that's without recompiling the kernel, the 
  modules, and python for 586.
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  This 
  is why I value "junk" machines so much; they give the Linux/*BSD person great 
  power.
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  I 
  would say that if they are going to even remotely consider a "dualie," they 
  ought to use it as a killer file or DB server.  I'm starting to realize 
  that a fast file server on a good network is one of the coolest things an 
  organization can have.
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  - 
  Jeff
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  <FONT color=#0000ff 
  face=Arial>Â Â -----Original 
  Message-----From: Armsby John-G16665 
  [mailto:John.Armsby at motorola.com]Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2001 
  5:17 PMTo: 'ale at ale.org'Subject: [ale] Compaq Reliant 
  web server
  
    The IT group here is junking an HP box with my 
    web stuff.  I told them I did not want to port to NT, that I preferred 
    to stay with Unix.  I suggested Linux as an alternative on an Intel 
    box.  They accept the idea.  Hooray!  
    They are suggesting a Compact Reliant series 
    server which comes with a RED HAT CD.  They want to know if I need dual 
    processors.  Frankly the box is only getting about 2,000 hits in a 24 
    hour period.  The current HP 9000 workstation has 256 meg of ram and a 
    single 200 megahertz processor.  TOP is usually less than .1 except 
    when I try to tar several thousand files over several days and then it jumps 
    to 1.03 or so.  There is no discernable on the WEB server.
    My question is: Am I correct in assuming that an 
    out of the box installation of Mandrake 8.0/Red Hat 7.0 or equivalent will 
    not by default see two processors?  Don't I have to do a kernel 
    recompile and select multi processor?  
    John 
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