[BBLISA] Dell/other Linux-raid-NFS-server, ready for primetime?

[Dean Anderson]

On Thu, 9 Nov 2006, Doug Mildram wrote:

> doug>   sigh, it has been years since I tried-and-failed....
> putting a linux-based NFS server into a high-traffic engineering farm.
> (pesky HW engineers and their simulation or design data).
> I ended up putting freeBSD on the $10k IDE-raid box I bought in 2001.
> Can't do the freeBSD thing for a "new requirement" on a LOWER!? 
budget, so:

Just curious, (I don't want to start a linux v freebsd war), but why
can't you do freebsd?  Is there a driver/hw/compatibility problem? Or 
is it you just don't prefer freebsd? [I don't want to argue the latter, 
but the former would be good to know]

> THE QUESTION: Now+again, I wonder who has tried and failed/succeeded 
> with cheap (linux) NFS server... ?

I haven't tried it in a while either, but I don't think anything has
changed.  Judging by the use of files under $HOME in linux desktop apps
(and the desktop), it doesn't seem like linux developers use things like
nfs-mounted home directories very often. [grumble, rant, grumble...]

> Don't need to reminded of obvious BETTER solutions ... I'm trolling
> for "what works great new-and-under-$5k".

Fair enough. Have you considered ebay for used netapp or other filer
boxes? I think would be your best bet. Get the used equipment on support
for short money, and then upgrade/replace it down the road when its
proven its worth.


Also, AFS seems to work pretty good under linux.  with AFS.  There are
going to be some issues with long running simulations and such, but
AFS+Krb5 should handle this---I'd can't say for sure because I haven't
really played with the ticket renewal stuff in AFS...

But I can say that the AFS file caching is usually a big win.  
Administration is usually a big win. Backup is a big win.  Multiple file
servers with readonly copies of key filesets is a big win.  But some see 
it as a lifestyle change....  



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