Topic: Hardware for SME

[del]

I was going to build a micro ITX for my SAIL/Asterisk SME box and a regular socket AM3 box for my SME file server, but in searching around the internet and Contribs it seems that almost all motherboards are using a Realtek LAN that's not supported by Centos 4 (or 5 in some cases) and looking here: http://wiki.contribs.org/KnownProblems it also states that

SATA II drives are not fully supported

Is this still the case?
Would anyone care to share their recommendations for a new SME box?

Thanks
Del

[paradigm]

Is this setup for production or for home use ?

If it is for the first i would recommend going for a brand name server , (i have just tested sme 7.4 on a dell T100

And it works great.)

For the second option ( home use) you can plug in an intel network card which should work.

[arne]

I use sme 7.4 tunnung under vmware server at Centos 5 64 host. This means that the SME  server will not "see" the physical hardware. Works perfect for iptelephony and server purposes.  Full backups and "spare servers" and "experimental servers" is made very easy and in a minute by just making a copy of the virtual installation file. As long as hardware is supported by the host system, everything will work.

[del]

It is for my small office, but I don't like Dell, I've had problems with them before and their support was useless. I prefer to build my own hardware. At the moment it seems like I'm going to struggle with any new hardware, searching Centos forums shows that even some Intel NICs have problems.
I've always used redundant PCs in the past so I've never encountered problems. I don't really want to use old stuff this time. I'll keep searching and see what I find. Anyone used the ASUS P5BV-E/SAS with the Broadcom BCM5721 LAN. Or the Intel EXPI9301CTBLK PCI-Express LAN card? Thanks again.

Del

[Stefano]

do you hate Dell? ok.. and what about HP or IBM or Fuijtsu or....?

my 2c: if you are going to build a server for your WORK, use only linux certified hw with nbd onsite 3 year support

[paradigm]

i hate HP (bad service in my experience) ,

Back to the point , invest in server grade gear which is built to run 24/7 ,  has better compatibility , better support,

and in the long run will save you money if it breaks down and you need to replace it ASAP .

Dead server = no work can be done = the business is loosing money

[del]

i hate HP (bad service in my experience) ,

Back to the point , invest in server grade gear which is built to run 24/7 ,  has better compatibility , better support,

and in the long run will save you money if it breaks down and you need to replace it ASAP .

Dead server = no work can be done = the business is loosing money

I don't mind investing in server grade gear, I just want to put it together myself  But nothing I find seems to be supported by Centos, especially modern NICs 

[Stefano]

But nothing I find seems to be supported by Centos, especially modern NICs

another reason to buy only linux certified hw, like an entry level server

trying to save 50$ and spend 2 days to find a supported nic it's not, IMVHO, a smart choice

[paradigm]

I don't mind investing in server grade gear, I just want to put it together myself  :smile

Building the server yourself will not give you nbd warranty , and in the case of a fault in the server replacing part

By part your self will cost time and money

But nothing I find seems to be supported by Centos, especially modern NICs 

Red hat and centos are server os meant mostly for pre built servers which easier to test for compatibility ,

Think about red hat trying to test hundreds of motherboards , until the finish testing a new os version comes

Out 

[del]

OK, I have been repairing and building PCs for 17 plus years and in my experience mine have always been higher spec and outlasted any Dell or HP that I've ever worked on. I have a SME server that I built for my CPA's office in 2003 and it's still running  I don't understand what the problem is with building my own, unless Dell etc. are using older parts then I should at least be able to use whatever NIC their using  I'm just trying to find out what is able to work with SME/Centos as every motherboard from a $50 MSI to a $300 Tayan seems to have a LAN that is not supported  So you see I don't get NBD service I get same business day service and not just for 3 years

[janet]

del

Intel JOE m/bds are certified for Centos 5 & the onboard NIC works OK ie both run sme 8.x OK
Intel PCIe (I think it's called copper) NICs work OK with sme 7.x or 8.x.

While not certified for Centos 4.7 they do run sme 7.4 OK with a boot switch, Search the forums for details.

I have my servers & workstations built by a no name supplier, but using good name/quality parts. Cost, reliability & speedy support are provided by a combination of my and his efforts.

Whenever Linux is mentioned, we tend to use Intel products so as to avoid compatibility issues.

Having said the above I don't know if the JOE motherboards are "new" enough for you.

[sal1504]

 i have built systems going on 24 years. started with 8088 machines and dos.
for a good reliable motherboard that works with sme7.4 and 8.x i have been using Supermicro X7sbl series boards for the a couple of years. Approximately
90 servers. see this site.

http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon3000/3200/X7SBL-LN1.cfm

You can use several different Intel CPU's with it. For Hard drives i typically use a raid rated drive from either Western Digital or Seagate.  the motherboard has six sata ports on board. downside you can only put 8gb's of ram on the board. Would like more but 8 is good.


Sal

[del]

i have built systems going on 24 years. started with 8088 machines and dos.
for a good reliable motherboard that works with sme7.4 and 8.x i have been using Supermicro X7sbl series boards for the a couple of years. Approximately
90 servers. see this site.

http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon3000/3200/X7SBL-LN1.cfm

You can use several different Intel CPU's with it. For Hard drives i typically use a raid rated drive from either Western Digital or Seagate.  the motherboard has six sata ports on board. downside you can only put 8gb's of ram on the board. Would like more but 8 is good.


Sal

That looks like a nice board, I came across this one on their site

http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon3000/3200/X7SBL-LN2.cfm

Essentially the same board but with dual LAN, I usually use my SME in server/gateway. Thanks for the heads up.

Del

[alejandro]

My 2c
Realtek NICs are "generically" supported by sme 7.4 using generic realtek driver from the installation CD... even if the NIC release two last numbers doesn't match 100%
anyway in case of more reliability needed, you can buy a pair of better nics to add-on to your box and bios and disable your on-board NIC.....
or follow more expensive advices as being told.

that's my experience. (many time running sme without so many money)
Regards
Ale

[del]

My 2c
Realtek NICs are "generically" supported by sme 7.4 using generic realtek driver from the installation CD... even if the NIC release two last numbers doesn't match 100%
anyway in case of more reliability needed, you can buy a pair of better nics to add-on to your box and bios and disable your on-board NIC.....
or follow more expensive advices as being told.

that's my experience. (many time running sme without so many money)
Regards
Ale

I know that they can use the R1869 driver instead of the R1868, but they become very flakey and you lose the connection from time to time. All this started in the Asterisk/VoIP forum here on contribs because I wanted to build a miniITX with dual LAN for my PBX and then I would have just put my file server behind it, so you can see that the option to disable and install another LAN card becomes a problem with the mini ITX format. I tried in vain to get help on compiling the r8168 drivers and have tried a few ways without success, keep getting told that I don't have the kernel source file, when in fact I do have it, or at least I think I have it

Thanks for your input though,
Del