Server configuration for powering 15/20 thin clients

pguy

Disciple
Hello guys,

We are looking to use Ubuntu based thin-clients and wanted to check what kind of server should be put up. My considerations are as below:

1) RAID 5/10 - to ensure no loss of data
2) Easily swap-able components.

I am considering the RAIDON SafeTANK Series GR5630-WSB3 USB 3.0 for storage. This way the RAID/HDD maintenance part is taken care of, but I still need a solid server that is as modular and swap-able easily as possible.
Q: What is your budget?
40 - 80K
Q: Which hardware component are you looking to buy (component name). If you have already decided on a configuration then please mention the (component brand and model) as well, this will help us in fine tuning your requirement.
The full right, except the monitors. We have em.
Q: Where will you buy this hardware? (Online/City/TE Dealer)
Mumbai
Open to online purchase

Q: Would you consider buying a second hand hardware from the TE market
No

Q: What is your intended use for this PC/hardware
Server for our thin-clients. Server will primarily run Ubuntu LTS
What would be the appropriate case/power supply/RAM/mobo etc is what I'm waiting to hear from you guys.
 
Not sure what solution you are looking for. Will the server be used to process data? Is it a call-center type app or are more crunching-intensive abilities required?

I have a server for 4-5 clients that is used for streaming media and serving internet and files. It runs off an Atom D510, and is pretty much fine with the task as the limits of the network are reached far earlier than processor ability, even with the puny Atom.

Unless you have multiple clients running off two simultaneous gigabit network connections teamed together, or planning to run a remote-controlled render farm, pretty much anything should do. Most desktop hardware is not optimised for parallelism, but then again most of us don't actually need lots of server resources to run a 'server'.
 
Cranky, should have included that info - Primary usage will be browsing and data/document storage. No intensive crunching. Those people get separate boxes.

Big concern is box going down and 20 people with nothing to do. What strategies for that?
 
For the kind of usage you're looking at, even the config I use should be enough unless all 20 decide to check out Youtube simultaneously. For better performance consider a machine that can do 6 or 8 parallel threads, but then you will have to have a very fast connection and a GigE network. Two clients will saturate a 100Mbps connection with simultaneous file read or copy, as real-world disk access will always hover around 50-60Mb/s.

Redundancy cannot be built into a thin client setup at all, AFAIK though I'm sure someone more reliable can weigh in. Assuming it runs even OS off the main system, you cannot reroute as there is no logic built into the client.

If however you are using a disk-based (since you mention the client running an OS) client you can set up the router to provide internet access till the storage system comes back up. In which case a NAS would be a better bet anyway, as it provides redundancy for the data, and you can route the internet connection through the internet router. A good router will also be able to serve the NAS directly.

Not a plug, but Gulbir has been setting up thin clients for years together. You might want to give him a call for some ideas. He's usually cooperative enough, it may be worth a try. Don't hurt to ask.
 
cranky - these issues can be solved easily... also streaming media & running 15-20 thin clients- they are WORLDS APART!

pguy - check ur pm...........
 
cranky said:
For the kind of usage you're looking at, even the config I use should be enough unless all 20 decide to check out Youtube simultaneously. For better performance consider a machine that can do 6 or 8 parallel threads, but then you will have to have a very fast connection and a GigE network. Two clients will saturate a 100Mbps connection with simultaneous file read or copy, as real-world disk access will always hover around 50-60Mb/s.

Redundancy cannot be built into a thin client setup at all, AFAIK though I'm sure someone more reliable can weigh in. Assuming it runs even OS off the main system, you cannot reroute as there is no logic built into the client.

If however you are using a disk-based (since you mention the client running an OS) client you can set up the router to provide internet access till the storage system comes back up. In which case a NAS would be a better bet anyway, as it provides redundancy for the data, and you can route the internet connection through the internet router. A good router will also be able to serve the NAS directly.

Not a plug, but Gulbir has been setting up thin clients for years together. You might want to give him a call for some ideas. He's usually cooperative enough, it may be worth a try. Don't hurt to ask.
The internal network is a GigE so that should do. The server would run Ubuntu, the thin-client boxes are from Ncomputing, don't know what they run, but I doubt its a full blown OS. The files will have to be saved at the server. The NAS makes sense to me because we can monitor all HDDs and be sure that data is A-ok. What worries me is that when the server goes down all thin-clients are stranded and none of the user logins would work. That is a major downtime that I'd prefer to plan for. Some kind of a hot-swap? But even then, how do we keep the user accounts synced etc is something I don't really fully grasp yet.
 
With help/suggestions of JayMathers, Tested/tried;

HP Dual GigLan Motherboard Server [2 x 7 clients connected via 8port Dlink Giga Switch connected to Server]

16GB RAM

2 x 160GB in RAID 0

64 bit Win2008 Server

SERVER Powered with APC SMART UPS (Hardware Failure RATE Will be very Low, only Software problem may occur)

Worked excellent, discard for other reason.

Any how your data is stored on "NETWORK" with "STANDBY SERVER Concept" helpful.

Request Members to Light further required.
 
You can delink the server from the storage by using an external RAID system like the one I pointed out in my first post: RAIDON SafeTANK Series GR5630-WSB3 USB 3.0

The chances of the RAID box going down is minimal. It supports failure of one drive, so you can replace when you are ready without affecting the network. However you need a server to store the OS files. If you are able to sync the server with a stand-by one once a day, all configurations are safe. All user data can be stored on the RAID box anyway.

I am not sure what is an easy way to sync the servers though - anyone with more experience would be able to help
 
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