[Box Backup] Off topic: Request for server advice

[Jamie Neil]

Chris Wilson wrote:
> Thanks very much for all your advice. I've decided to go with ATX cases
> and standard components to make the boxes easy to repair using local
> components in the field.
> 
> I'm not yet sure whether the motherboard suggested by the assembler
> (Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe with nForce 570 chipset) is well supported by Linux
> or FreeBSD, especially with its hardware RAID, so I might ask for a
> downgrade to something older and more standard. Any suggestions?

I'd avoid on-board RAID like the plague. It's normally just software
raid with BIOS support to make it look like hardware, but the CPU still
has to do all the work and the OS needs drivers to use it. Linux support
for these chips is generally very poor and I've found it better to stick
with the standard software RAID + LVM - fewer problems and easier to
recover when it breaks.

I'd be tempted to go with the cheap Dell SC tower boxes. They are
normally pretty standard in terms of components, and there's not much in
them to go wrong. Just buy a spare one that you can cannibalise for spares!

-- 
Jamie Neil | <jamie at versado.net> | 0870 7777 454
Versado I.T. Services Ltd. | http://versado.net/ | 0845 450 1254