[mythtv-users] Questions about new hardware purchase
Brian Wood
beww at beww.org
Sat Mar 29 18:51:32 UTC 2008
On Mar 29, 2008, at 12:08 PM, Billy Macdonald wrote:
>
> I see a bunch of others already warned you of the downfalls, and
> therefore you've canceled your order. One more thing I wanted to
> point out for anyone else that may be interested. Anything sold as a
> "server" is likely going to be LOUD. Fans roaring and making a ton of
> noise. That's been the case on every server I've seen. Loud fans
> aren't ideal for the MythTV croud. Just a thought.
Good point. A summary of machines classed as "servers" is:
No audio of any type
Limited "business class" or even less video. Normally you need to
drive a local monitor only to get the system installed, further
configuration and management is usually done over the network from a
management machine.
Noise and appearance are generally not a big factor.
Power consumption was not a big factor with most older machines,
though this is changing.
Features included in a lot of "servers" that are probably not worth
paying a lot extra for with MythTV machines are:
PIX network booting
SCSI or SAS drive controllers
Hardware RAID controllers
The ability to use a serial terminal as the main console.
A serial "management" port
Redundant power supplies
Tape backup devices
100 or 133Mhz. 64-bit PCI slots
HotSwap capability
A lot of server class machines make good closet or garage located
backends, but they are not generally good frontends or combined
machines.
To put it in a nutshell: A "desktop" is designed to interact with a
local user. A "server" is designed to interact with users over a
network. Most servers are designed for fast I/O and reliability,
rather than glitzy local video and sound (ie: games).
Of course the marketing types will try and blur these lines if it
benefits them.
beww
More information about the mythtv-users
mailing list