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World Community Grid Forums
Category: Support
Forum: BOINC Agent Support
Thread: Rack/Blade server advice needed |
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Thread Status: Active Total posts in this thread: 7
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Hey guys,
----------------------------------------I've been running the Clean Energy Project 2 on my home computers for quite a while now, and I think I'm about ready to take things to the next level and invest in some rack servers to run it on and start crunching serious amounts of WUs. Only problem is I'm not computer savvy enough to know exactly what kind of servers would fit my needs, so I'm hoping some of the more technically inclined among us can give me a little guidance. :) What I would need is a line of devices that can comfortably meet the minimum 1 GB RAM and 2 GB disk space requirements of the Clean Energy Project (most any blade these days can do this. So my main concern is that they are not too much unnecessarily powerful, because power=expense without aiding the completion of a project like this that uses a fixed amount of memory at a given time.) And a middle of the road processor, 2.0 to 3.0 Ghz is fine. I don't mind them being used. Preferably Windows based, as even though Linux or other OS's might be better suited for this, that would be negated by my complete illiteracy with them. Ideally each device would run for $350 or under. Now, I also would like a good rack/tower system to base this on with lots of room for expanding, as I plan to be buying new devices to add to my setup every couple weeks as I get the money rather than making a one-time purchase of the entire home server. Finally, I was wondering how I'd be able to manage the system. Could I plug a screen into the server and download WCG and have it go into effect for all the blades in the system, or would I have to download and manage WCG on each blade as if they were each autonomous computers? Would WCG recognize each blade as a separate device and thus give them unique work units? Finally, if you think I'm taking the wrong approach and there would be a more effective setup that would do the job better, please let me know. Thanks for reading this and giving me some input, and once again I apologize for my computer ignorance. [Edit 1 times, last edit by Former Member at Dec 10, 2011 9:20:58 AM] |
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KerSamson
Master Cruncher Switzerland Joined: Jan 29, 2007 Post Count: 1684 Status: Offline Project Badges: 
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I too am not a "blade expert" but I can maybe give you some recommendations and remarks:
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Even if it looks interesting, regarding the blade costs, I would not use such systems for crunching. Additionally, blades are very noisy since they use a lot of electricity for a small volume. Enjoy, Yves |
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Hypernova
Master Cruncher Audaces Fortuna Juvat ! Vaud - Switzerland Joined: Dec 16, 2008 Post Count: 1908 Status: Offline Project Badges: 
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I am not sure the server solution is the right one if you are on your own and not computer savvy.
----------------------------------------Your budget of 350 US$ per blade (new, and devoted to crunching) is unrealistic. Blade servers are over a thousand dollars for a new and basic equipment .You would also need a blade server enclosure with power supply and I/O interconnect, all this means additional costs in the thousand dollars range. Looking at your budget and the fact that you have no computer skills then building your own rig is not an option. The solution I would advise is to buy a rig from vendors like Dell or others. For about 600 US$ you can have a mini-tower solution (to reduce space and volume) like the Dell Vostro 460. It has a Intel i5 2500 CPU, 4GB DDR3, a 16X DVD reader, Windows 7 Professional 64 bit, 500 GB SATA HDD, mouse and keyboard. Then you can buy as your finances allow additional identical units so that when you have many of them, knowing well the problems of one you will be able to use the same solution for all. To me this is the only solution that is appropriate for you.  [Edit 1 times, last edit by Hypernova at Dec 10, 2011 11:11:42 AM] |
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sk..
Master Cruncher http://s17.rimg.info/ccb5d62bd3e856cc0d1df9b0ee2f7f6a.gif Joined: Mar 22, 2007 Post Count: 2324 Status: Offline Project Badges:
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I agree with the above posts. To move from one bronze CEP2 badge to getting a rack of blade servers is too enthusiastic, and not the way to go.
----------------------------------------Get yourself a modern, reasonably energy efficient system. Buy one, or if you’re up for a challenge build it. Using Linux would save on the cost, and allow you to do more work. In a few months, or a year, when 22nm CPU’s are available and affordable, get a second system if you want to do more. Then in a year or two replace the first, and so on. With an Intel i5 2500 CPU you would be able to run 4 CEP2 tasks concurrently. If you upped the processor to an i7-2600 you could run around 5 or 6 threads with reasonable efficiency, and use the other threads to crunch other projects. Unless you have a RAID0 setup or use an SSD your relative returns would diminish by using more threads for CEP2. The best CPU is open for argument, but an i5-2500K would allow you to overclock, keep the purchase price realistic, and run 4 CEP2 tasks on 4 full cores. An i7-2600 has 4 cores with HT, so can run 8 tasks, but HT is not the same as a full core, so the i7-2600 cannot do twice the work of an i5-2500K (perhaps around 15 to 30% more depending on the app). ...and mrpatriot1776, welcome to the forums. [Edit 1 times, last edit by skgiven at Dec 10, 2011 12:52:04 PM] |
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mikey
Veteran Cruncher Joined: May 10, 2009 Post Count: 826 Status: Offline Project Badges:
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I am not sure the server solution is the right one if you are on your own and not computer savvy. Your budget of 350 US$ per blade (new, and devoted to crunching) is unrealistic. Blade servers are over a thousand dollars for a new and basic equipment .You would also need a blade server enclosure with power supply and I/O interconnect, all this means additional costs in the thousand dollars range. Looking at your budget and the fact that you have no computer skills then building your own rig is not an option. The solution I would advise is to buy a rig from vendors like Dell or others. For about 600 US$ you can have a mini-tower solution (to reduce space and volume) like the Dell Vostro 460. It has a Intel i5 2500 CPU, 4GB DDR3, a 16X DVD reader, Windows 7 Professional 64 bit, 500 GB SATA HDD, mouse and keyboard. Then you can buy as your finances allow additional identical units so that when you have many of them, knowing well the problems of one you will be able to use the same solution for all. To me this is the only solution that is appropriate for you. I TOTALLY agree with the above but if you are willing to lean Linux you can get cheaper units by getting them without the Operating System. Yes you can get them thru Dell or your local mom and pop computer store. My local computer store can build a pc in less than a day, with no OS, and it can be out the door for under $400.00 depending on the specs. In fact I often buy the case, motherboard, cpu and memory from them and let them put it together then I take it home and install the rest to get it up and running, it is under warranty that way. No you won't get a top of the line cd/dvd but a good external one will solve that problem, you can get a 250 to 350 gb hard drive fairly cheaply, and some stores have 160gb drives for $40.00. Motherboards are as low as $60.00, with the cpu going from $100.00 and up. Two gig memory sticks are $25.00 a stick for DDR3. The case is of course not free but a nice generic one, with power supply, can be $60.00. IMO this is a much better option than a Blade Server, the EMPTY rack alone for one is not cheap! I have 14 pc's here at my home crunching 24/7 and my electric bill is double what my neighbors is!! I am spending between $500 and $600 a MONTH for electricity, I have an all electric home. The double cost is basically from my pc's alone, all other factors are similar. 11 of those pc's are desktops and each DOES have a gpu crunching in it which does add to the electricity costs!   |
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Coleslaw
Veteran Cruncher USA Joined: Mar 29, 2007 Post Count: 1343 Status: Offline Project Badges: 
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http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Searc...pNo=1706769&CatId=332 I would recommend replacing the power supply, but this unit is more then affordable and a good starter.
----------------------------------------Edit: If you are not comfortable hooking it all up, you can usually find someone competent really cheap to do it for you.     [Edit 2 times, last edit by Coleslaw at Dec 10, 2011 4:14:30 PM] |
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Bearcat
Master Cruncher USA Joined: Jan 6, 2007 Post Count: 2803 Status: Offline Project Badges:
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Newegg sells complete systems for you to put together. Every day another deal comes out until xmas. Building a PC saves you some cash. Find someone to help you on your 1st one. Not really that hard.
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Crunching for humanity since 2007!
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