----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Ihnat" <ignatz@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 5:00 AM
Subject: Re: [Advice needed] HW for mail server
As others have mentioned, a 1GHz+ machine with 1Gb RAM
is a good idea. But I'd like to suggest that you consider a simple
RAID1 system--you can get something like an Adaptec SATA
1420SA inexpensively and throw a couple of big SATA drives
to give you more reliability.
I would strongly advise against any Adaptec RAID controllers when it comes
to Linux. They just plain suck, and the company is so Windows-centric that
two months after releasing an all new line of (at the time) SCSI RAID
controllers built explicitly for Supermicro servers, they dropped support
for Linux and are no longer offering any drivers for kernel 2.6 and higher.
So, you can stick with old distros running kernel 2.4, or... change your
RAID controller supplier. We spent 2 months talking to both Supermicro and
Adaptec CEOs and executives to see if Adaptec can upgrade drivers for their
*brand new* controllers, and at the end of the day they refused, saying
there's more money to be made on Windows end. They gave us their last beta
source code for drivers they were testing on development kernel 2.5 and said
they would only support Windows OS from that point forward. We will never
buy anything from Adaptec, given the many choices provided by other, more
Linux-friendly companies out there. Adaptec made over $140K worth of new
servers we purchased, less than 2 months old, obsolete virtually overnight -
we can't upgrade them to anything with kernel 2.6
I would strongly recommend 3WARE SATA RAID controllers (if SATA is what you
choose for this system) - they not only work great with Linux, but they are
supported out of the box, and the company is actively supporting Linux. For
a simple 2-drive system all you'd need is an 8006-2LP controller, which is
about $130. Also keep in mind, the Adaptec 1420SA is a software-RAID
controller, which uses your server CPU to do everything. All 3WARE
controllers are true hardware RAID controllers.
Chris
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