Topic: VIA C3 for sme servers?

[ksc133]

hi folks,

i was thinking of using VIA C3 1ghz CPU for SME server.
i want a low heat system low watt system
is it powerful enuff for 50 users?

do u guys think it will work?

or should i use a Celeron M or Pentium M system?

thanks

[mike_mattos]

I tried to install SME5 on one of them years ago, no luck!

my local entry level component distributor is clearing notebook CPU's at very low prices.  If you are concerned about power and heat, I'd investigate those

or

for a very cheap system, look for an old Compag P3 , they are available for under $100 and with some more memory are great for low load servers and seem to run for ever

[CharlieBrady]

I tried to install SME5 on one of them years ago, no luck!

SME5 is *very* old.

I think various people are running (or have tried) SME7 on Via C3 systems. Some work fine, others have some problems. Check the bug tracker.

I've got a 1G C3 myself - unfortunately none of my motherboards has adequate BIOS support for it

[psoren]

ksc133,

I use the VIA Mini-ITX boards with embedded CPU. I have used both 500MHz and now the 1GHz. They are both working fine with SME. I have not tried SME7 on the 500MHz but i am sure that will work. I think the Pentium M is too expensive and you don't really get that mutch more in my opinion.

Per

[mike_mattos]

Since we're talking low power, any ideas about what to use for low heat low power hard drives?

[psoren]

Since we're talking low power, any ideas about what to use for low heat low power hard drives?

Maybe laptop drives (2.5"), but that adds low performance, low capacity but not low price......

Per

[ksc133]

i got a matsonic CLE266 chipset mobo with a C3 800mhz embeded recently.

to my horror SME7 can't install on it...

the CDROM won't even run the installer program..(anaconda?)
and keeps rebooting itself...

any ideas?

thanks folks

[adamperry]

I have used SME Server 6.0 and 7.x (throughout the beta and rc tests) with an Asus Terminator C3 with no problems.  It is a very tiny microtower that uses little electricity.  I think the entire box was using 60 watts or so last time I checked with my Kill-A-Watt meter.  The processor usually runs in the 90-95 degree F range.  It has more than enough processing power for my use as a personal mail/file/web server.  

I checked and the unit is still available at NewEgg (and probably elsewhere).

ASUS Terminator C3 Intel Socket 370 VIA C3 800MHz VIA CLE266 2x 184Pin VIA UniChrome 2D/3D Barebone - Retail $102.99

It's pretty inexpensive for what's included - basically you just need to add a hard drive and memory.  It even includes a CD-ROM drive.

As a side note.  I have another C3 box I run Windows on to serve MP3s/Photo/Video media to my Tivos and, by using a hardware MPEG TV card, it is more than adequate for even recording TV, which can be pretty processor intensive.  C3s are very energy efficient little processors and real gems for some uses.

[adamperry]

I forgot to mention, if you want low heat hard drives, you would be better off sticking to the 5400 RPM ones instead of 7200 RPM or higher.  You certainly don't see as many of these in a 3.5" form factor these days but if you have one or more around, it's generally a lower heat alternative.

[ksc133]

hi guys,

FYI

i found a bug on centos with c3

http://www.centos.org/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=3982&forum=27&post_id=11699#forumpost11699

[ksc133]

sorry for the alarm

C3 is a i586 cpu

solution

1) Press shift while booting to get the boot menu.
  2) Type "smei586" at the boot prompt.

it rocks

  cheers!

[azche24]

Hi,

i want a low heat system low watt system
is it powerful enuff for 50 users?

C3 will do (it did at home in my SME 6/7 server) with 800 Mhz C3 and 512 MB RAM. But it is slow. Backup2, mail processing, file transfers -> slow. It will NOT do for 50 users even if you do serveronly.

PIII 800 office server with 80 GB IDE drive i just sold at ebay (for< 10 users) did work for that and had power consumption of 54 watt in total. You will not get much below that anyway, so for 50 users you should stick with an old but dedicated compaq P III server as stated here.

If you do not use fast SCSI drives, it will not be to hot and noisy.

[ksc133]

hi thanks for advice.

what if i add the maximum RAM to 2GB DDR 266?

will it help with the C3 speed for 50 users?

thanks

[ksc133]

hi folks

i 've test sme with C3 800mhz and 512mb ram

samba file transfer seems ok ... i did a backup test with 3PC sending 19gb*3 of data and it take 1hr.

but webmail is very slow... when i launch webmail, i can see under TOP the CPU is 69%... very slow man,,,

how do i increase the performance?

how will a "amd sempron 1.8ghz" perform with SME?
i was think of that if c3 really sucks...

thanks

[ksc133]

hi folks,

i just found out that AMD has a embedded low power CPU call AMD Geode.

which CPU and platform is best for embedded SME servers?
assuming all at same CPU speed.

VIA C3
AMD Geode
pentium/celeron M

cheers!