That's fantastic Willy!

The new server will keep the site state of the art for years to come!

Sufficiently powered? More than likely.

State of the art? I don't think so ... those CPUs were released by Intel Q1 2009 ... so already two year old technology.

No matter, they should serve Willy well for quite a while.

Tomorrow (= March 24th) I'll be AFK the whole day and to give the server a little more change to make it through the day without locking up I disabled the incremental updates for this day.

Thermaltake Toughpower XT 575W is weak sh*t, buy somethimk more powerfull and better! for etc. Seasonic X-searies or antec gold series or enermax revolution series, not this thermaltake shit!
You need 2 dimms to each CPU => 4 dimms, i see only 2.
and Procase IPC-C3F have shi* airflow.

... buy server case with redundant psu, its better...

OK

KIT consists of two DIMMs x 2 kits = 4 DIMMs

Too late, case is en route.

Willy, can you provide us a actual status for the news server?

Keep up the good work!

Regards

I'm still waiting for the RAID controller to arrive. Once I have that, I can start building.

Daily is running a "bit" late today due to the db server not keeping up. It's due to be finished around 12:30GMT.

A little update for the curious ones.

As I said Intel donated a server but due to some miscommunication the server I got was not the server I expected. It doesn't have room for all the harddisks I had planned. I told Intel about that and told them I would make it work somehow. Intel however came with another solution: they send me another server with the same specs but more drive slots. Now that is what I call excellent service! And to top it of, I could keep the first server.

So now we have two new servers but the story doesn't end there.
Just before Intel offered the server I already order parts for the AMD server I planned to build. Some of the parts were expensive and rare so they don't move off the shelves of stores quickly, so I had to sign a purchase agreement: that means those parts will come in as well.

So now we have three new servers and I plan to use all of them to create a even better and faster BOINCstats/BAM!. In addition to the three new servers I also have the current webserver which is older but still doing well enough. That's four!

I'm currently figuring out how I can best use your donations to get all three new servers up and running. I still have to get all the parts for the AMD server and I need memory for the Intel servers (memory is ordered, 24GB for each server!) and a few extra harddrives. I also ordered (and received already) cabinet rails and a spare PSU for the first Intel server.
I don't want to skimp on parts now because in the end that will bite me in the... well, you know .

So, how will I use all these servers?
One of the new servers will become the update server. It will run all the stats updates.
Two if the new servers will be web/database servers. They will basically both do the same thing: show the webpages. They will share the load and when one of them breaks down or needs to be taken down for updates, the other one will keep going (unless of course Murphy takes them both down).
The old webserver will become the challenge server and run all the challenge updates. In addition, it will be a drop-in replacement for the update server in case it has problems.

I expect the AMD parts to be delivered next week. Delivery time of the memory is probably within two weeks. I expect to be building when the temperature in Holland will be at the highest point of the year

Changed it to a Seasonic M12II-620Bronze (SS-620GM)

Really Really good news Willy - such a donation is long overdue to you with the efforts you put into the Site. Spot on with the parts for all this, defenitely go for broke on them, get them well setup - with the new scenario caused by Intels generosity, I cant imagine for one moment anyone would complain if you came back for a bit more dosh if its needed to get all four set and running. The Site will Rock with that lot behind it

I like good news stories, makes a change from feigned drama and waffle that spins around these days. High fives to you and Intel

Regards
Zy

I just got all the parts needed to build the database server and most parts for the other two servers. BOINCstats' bank account is now as good as empty and I still need to get the harddisks for the web-servers and probably some small parts I forgot about. I can go on the cheap with the HD's but I know we will regret that later.

So: I'll purchase the HD's anyway (unless somebody at OCZ/Kingston/Crucial/Muskin/Samsung reads this and wants to donate some SSD's) and I'll see how it's financed.



I'll be building the new database server in the coming weekend! Thanks to all who made this possible.

Thanks for all the great work on this, Willy. I say re-open donations for the new server gear...I doubt you'll have any problem getting the needed funds.

I reopened the donation drive for the server. As I said I don't want to skimp on the hard disks, they have a very important part in the server performance. Therefor I selected a combination of SSD's (for database) and 2.5" "normal" HD's (for OS/log/webcode) from Intel and WD.

It amounts to approximately €1500 and with what's left of the donations and other income (ads) €1300 is left.

I won't be ordering the drives this week (first I'll build the DB server) so OCZ/Kingston/Crucial/Muskin/Samsung still have a chance .

Willy - dont even think of scimping or going cheap. I am 110% certain people will support you, get quality for these four servers, whatever is needed to make it solid, responsive and easy to manage.

Regards
Zy

Database server pictures (click on them for larger version). I apologize for the quality of the pictures, I expected better from my phone.


On the big box (servercase inside) from left to right: Bay rafters to hold the SSD's, mainboard and on top of that the PSU.
In front of the big box from left to right: SSD's, OS en backup HD's, memory, DVD drive and CPU, Asus PIKE card (RAID controller), Noctua CPU cooler.


SSD's mounted in the rafters. The numbers correspond to the SAS port they will be connected to, which makes it easier to find them when one of them breaks down. Second image are the SSD's and DVD drive mounted in the server bracket

The case, still empty:


Inside the boring mainboard box was a nicer box and in it of course the gigantic mainboard:


The (also huge) CPU and the memory modules:


CPU cooler parts:


Mainboard with CPU, CPU cooler and memory:


PIKE card:


Everything in place except the PSU and cables:

For those paying attention: I had to move two of the SSD's to another location because they tried to occupy the same space as the corner of the mainboard.

Build complete:


It lives!!!

What kind of chocolate do we have in those 8 small boxes on the left?

Intel SSD 80GB.

The two larger boxes on the right are the Asus PIKE card (RAID controller) and the Noctua CPU cooler.

Nice ....

Still hope to be up and running this weekend, or will it go to sometime next week ?

Regards
Zy

I still have to install all the software, put the databases on it and test it. Then it will run all the updates for a week in my attic. When it satisfies me I will move it to the datacenter.

Okie Doke - Thanks Willy - Good Luck with it

Regards
Zy

Sow how hot is it in your attic, given the fact it is at the moment 30 degrees Celcius outside in your part of the Netherlands?
Great pic's by the way, nice to see the build itself!

30.8C outside, living room temp 24.7C. Attic 35C Guess where I am.

Unfortunately the web server ruined my plans with the database server. It's running but I haven't been able to get the update scripts on it yet. This will be delayed till the next weekend.

I'm back working on the new database server again. I'm currently testing the scripts with old data (from last weekend) and when the scripts work I'll transfer the current data from the old database server.

The new database server has now been test running a couple of days with real data. It's doing very well and it's very very fast compared to the current server. For example, the host update completes 4.5x faster!

If nothing goes wrong then I will replace the old server Thursday or Friday.