Another New ILX Server

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Aaarghh.

The company that gives us free colocation has decided that - since we're moving to a smaller server room - my machines are too big. (ILX currently uses two medium-sized desktop tower boxes) In order to continue to make use of the free bandwidth and rack space we'll need to get a machine which only utilises 1 or 2 rack units. We have around 30-60 days to make new arrangements or lose our connectivity altogether.

Plan A: Buy a new machine.

Minimum specs are:
Around 2ghz of single or combined CPU power
1gig of ram
>40gb hard drive space
Standard 19" rackmount case (1u or 2u)

I've been having a look on eBay, and it looks as though second-hand machines of this calibre tend to sell for a little over USD$1,000. (in Australia, anyway - overseas shipping would be nightmarish) There's one ideal machine whose auction closes next Wednesday.

I'm prepared to contribute AUD$500 of my own cash towards this machine. (Something I can't really afford to do, but will do anyway) To afford buying something like this I'd need another USD$700-800.

Pros: A machine I can get at and play with if it breaks. Offsite backup would be a lot easier, as I'd have a high-speed link to the machine every day. I like hardware.

Cons: I'll have to foot the bill in the case of hardware failure. The corporate sponsorship could be cancelled at short notice. (Although I believe this to be unlikely, due to the fact they are happily moving us to the new datacentre - provided we take up less space.)

Plan B: Lease a dedicated machine.

http://www.servermatrix.com/ has what we need for USD$300 setup, and USD$60/month recurring.

Pros: Less upfront costs. Managed (so if it breaks they'll fix it).

Cons: We'd have to continuously raise money. After 8 months we'd have spent as much as it would cost to get a new machine.

Plan C: Somebody gives us a new machine and/or colocation space.

Is there anybody out there who can offer something better than I can? It would make me sad to lose ILX, as I feel a strong emotional connection to it. I also feel I've gained the trust of the ilxors, and kinda enjoy my status as custodian of our little community.

Is there anybody out there who works for a hardware vendor (like Dell, IBM, HP, Apple, etc) and who might be able to cut us some sort of deal?

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 06:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Obviously I prefer Plan A.

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 06:55 (twenty-one years ago)

I'd be happy to contribute some cash but apart from that I have nothing else I can offer.

― ipsofacto (ipsofacto), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 06:58 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah time to reopen the contributions drive i reckon

― the surface noise made by people (electricsound), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 07:18 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm glad someone else noticed this. I was starting to feel very embarassed of us all.

― ipsofacto (ipsofacto), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 07:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Right now is the quietest time of day for ILX, so I'm not discouraged by the lack of responses.

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 07:21 (twenty-one years ago)

ah good.

― ipsofacto (ipsofacto), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 07:22 (twenty-one years ago)

(just posting to bump the thread up. sorry. nothing more i can do, my income's about to be cut by fifty percent or more :(

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 07:26 (twenty-one years ago)

I have a dual Pentium 3 motherboard knocking around and may be able to lay my hands on some more bits through work. Either free or at cost.

I won't be able to say for certain what I'll be able to lay my hands on and at what it might cost as the guy in charge of our manufacturing department is away this week.

(part of the business is building dual xeon or pentium 4 video playout or capture servers)

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 07:27 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm for another fundraiser too - we've seen that we can get the money that way and I'm sure everyone will pitch in.

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 07:32 (twenty-one years ago)

Appreciated, Ed. Would the board fit in a 19" rackmount case? That's the crux of the issue here...

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 07:33 (twenty-one years ago)

It came out of a 19" rackmount case. Might struggle with 2u though as it is a slot 1 board.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 07:34 (twenty-one years ago)

Hrmm. Well, we'd also need to get a case for it. Let's see if anybody else can come up with some bits 'n' pieces.

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 07:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Unfortunately we tend to hang on to rackmount cases. A witnessed by the number of upended rack mount boxes under people's desks here.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 07:38 (twenty-one years ago)

i didnt contribute last time, i will this time though.

― charltonlido (gareth), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:05 (twenty-one years ago)

oh bollox. Plan B is right out I think. so it's either (preferably) scrape together a 1u server or, less likely, find new (free!) colocation. damn.

I don't think I can help at all, but I'll obviously make some efforts.

― Jaunty Alan (Alan), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:07 (twenty-one years ago)

gareth, what does your work do with redundant computer bits?

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:10 (twenty-one years ago)

hmmm, i may be able to liberate some parts here, tho i would need someone to tell me what to look for!

will definitely contribute some cash

don't think i can match Andrew's specs regarding hosting but will look into it

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:17 (twenty-one years ago)

I can only get my hands on a network card and half a dozen or so hot-swappable hard disks (4.3G) that would suit a 1 (or 2) u server. obv the disks could be unmounted from the swap sledges (or whatever they are called). It's a bit dismal, but there you are. Not sure of network card details...

― Jaunty Alan (Alan), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:19 (twenty-one years ago)

i have one of these - it's dedicated but there are several other sites running on it and i have experienced bandwidth problems in the past (granted this was mostly down to gratutitous mpeg hosting with blatant linkage) but it sounds like it might fit the bill unless something the size of ILX requires true dedicated hosting (it would be the biggest site on there tho) - i think the RAM has been upgraded so is more than 512 but will confirm. i currently pay for this server with my own money.

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:24 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't know if I can contribute money from back here, but I'd be willing to do so if possible. It won't be much though, my current income is very limited.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Andrew is money a good option right now? Just thinking you should start a "help ILX!" thread/link for that asap if you only have 1-2 months to sort this thats all. Im sure as many as can will help :)

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:29 (twenty-one years ago)

stevem, ILX would probably run well on the machine you're colocating, but the bandwidth allowance (40gb) is less than half of ILX's monthly requirements.

Alan, thanks for your offers but I've already got plenty of network cards and hard drives. :) (probably for the same reasons you have them spare)

Trayce, I don't really want to start a donation drive unless I can be reasonably confident we can collect enough. We'll see what happens with this machine I've got my eye on - I may be able to snipe it for AUD$1k, or a bit over that. It's very much a luck thing at this stage.

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:40 (twenty-one years ago)

I may subsequently sell the current servers, if they prove to be worth anything.

Who knows, maybe I could auction them as "The ilxor.com servers circa 2002-2004" and get some decent cash for them. ;)

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:43 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm with Plan A all the way then, some cash on the way asap

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:44 (twenty-one years ago)

I have some other bits salvaged from a compaq proliant skip dive this weekend as well. I see what exactly it was that I got though before I offer up anything. it was all pretty old.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Who owns the current machines? Are they yours Andrew?

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 09:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Yep, they're mine. In the third quarter of last year some ILXors helped me finance the newest one.

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 09:06 (twenty-one years ago)

I know you don't have a solid deadline, but could you make up a target deadline and we could advertise it in a countdown where the "Contributions" link is at the top, i.e. Contribute (X days left) to keep it alive in everyone's mind

― Jaunty Alan (Alan), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 09:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Okay well it looks like it'll most likely be a donation drive again. If you'd be willing to donate please register your intention in this thread. I'll organise this better when I get back from writing-an-essay-land on Friday afternoon. To give you an idea as to how badly I am procrastinating: I actually hacked my university's firewall to post this message.

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 09:19 (twenty-one years ago)

As ever, willing in both kind and money.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 09:20 (twenty-one years ago)

yes

― the surface noise made by people (electricsound), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 09:23 (twenty-one years ago)

I'll throw some money in as well.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 09:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Bump-a-dump.

(And as mentioned offboard, I'm in on the contributions, obv.)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 09:54 (twenty-one years ago)

as upthread, yes

― charltonlido (gareth), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 10:01 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm down with the contribs.

― Chris 'The Velvet Bingo' V (Chris V), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 10:05 (twenty-one years ago)

will be donating.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 10:05 (twenty-one years ago)

We may have to trim the bells and whistles back if we are moving to a weaker box. Though I hope A) is the route to go.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 10:08 (twenty-one years ago)

you can have a bit of my birthday money if i get any.

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 10:19 (twenty-one years ago)

How exactly do you donate?

― Dadaismus (Dada), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 10:21 (twenty-one years ago)

i'll donate. i should probably tithe a portion of my salary, since this is the thing that makes my job enjoyable...

― colette (a2lette), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 10:23 (twenty-one years ago)

I would like to donate a bit. Sadly it's not going to be too much, I'm sorry I'm pretty skint at the moment otherwise I'd donate more. :-(

― Pinkpanther (Pinkpanther), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 10:24 (twenty-one years ago)

sounds good. how do i donate?

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 10:28 (twenty-one years ago)

I will also donate what I can. New ILX hardware - hooray! It's so easy to forget the reality of how ILX actually exists on the interweb...

― Rob Bolton (Rob Bolton), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 10:32 (twenty-one years ago)

Okay, donations have been opened. It looks like Noodles has coded a little 'x days left' script for the 'Contribute' link above. It was originally set to 50 days. I think 30 is probably better.

Click the 'Contribute' link (at the top-right of every page) to find the Paypal Donate button.

As with the last endeavour of this sort, I can't accept foreign (non-Australian) cheques as they cost too much to process. Paypal is the only viable option for me, as it lets me handle everything pretty easily online.

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 10:40 (twenty-one years ago)

I'll do my bit too... might need to be cash in hand over a beer tho if thats ok Andrew :)

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 10:41 (twenty-one years ago)

And I'll state now that the goal of this exercise is to raise about USD$700 to go towards the purchase of a new server. I'll stop accepting donations after 30 days.

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 10:42 (twenty-one years ago)

(I changed the link - just so you know)

― Jaunty Alan (Alan), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 10:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Ah, so it was Alan. Yeah, I changed it back to the donate page. Thanks for doing the codework though! :)

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 10:44 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't have a credit card so that's me off the hook

― Dadaismus (Dada), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 10:45 (twenty-one years ago)

Skipping 322 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

That would be a long and hard battle.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 7 June 2004 16:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Build a robot with the extra cash, then have it fight against inferior interweb fora

This is the one plan that I approve of.

― El Diablo Robotico (Nicole), Monday, 7 June 2004 17:00 (twenty-one years ago)

My tank cat plan was killed before it had a chance to breathe.

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 7 June 2004 17:11 (twenty-one years ago)

threw in a symbolic 10$ for all the fun i've had over the times. i have been away for a while and i only became aware of the situation today.

― Jay Kid (Jay K), Tuesday, 8 June 2004 13:00 (twenty-one years ago)

El Diablo, do you still approve of the me buying you chocolate plan that had slipped my mind for the last two months (sorry!)?

― Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 8 June 2004 13:14 (twenty-one years ago)

Is there a way you can keep the donate link open a little longer, Andrew? Two days, maybe? My PayPal account was at $0 when I noticed this thread and it's taking a few days to fund it.

― J (Jay), Thursday, 10 June 2004 19:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Barry -- yes! You can still be my chocolate pimp.

― El Diablo Robotico (Nicole), Thursday, 10 June 2004 20:43 (twenty-one years ago)

J, I don't think you need a paypal account to donate, just a credit or debit card.

― mei (mei), Thursday, 10 June 2004 22:41 (twenty-one years ago)

At this point you don't even need that! Really, J, don't fret about it -- the totals have gone even higher now and we are covered and covered again. If you really want to kick in something here, drop Andrew a line privately, but do not feel obligated.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 10 June 2004 22:45 (twenty-one years ago)

i don't care if you've reached your goal. i owe ILM money for existing, and so i have now paid. bank it for the next fundraising drive if necessary.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Friday, 11 June 2004 03:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Dying to know how this goes, also just curious as to the schedule and the mechanics of it all. Just being a pain in the arse really, as it doesn't actually make ANY difference one way or the other.

― Jaunty Alan (Alan), Friday, 11 June 2004 15:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Okay, I've stopped taking donations. The final total is USD$1821.43. Amazing stuff.

It was fortunate to receive a bit more than I originally expected, as the hardware supplier I'd initially contacted has since told me their quote was "well below their margins" and thus would cost me AUD$200 more than expected. They were idiots, so I placed the order through someone else.

I'm told to expect the new hardware this week, so we're probably looking at having the new server installed and running in a couple of weeks' time.

Once again, thanks to everyone who contributed!

― Andrew (enneff), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 00:11 (twenty-one years ago)

:-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 00:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Also, for you hardware fetishists out there, I'll take photos of the new gear when it comes in.

― Andrew (enneff), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 00:35 (twenty-one years ago)

What do you think we are, a bunch of FREAKS?

(pssst, Andrew, where's the secret ILX server photo directory??)

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 00:49 (twenty-one years ago)

PISSCUTTER REUNION TOUR

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 00:52 (twenty-one years ago)

I managed to get in under the wire yay!

― J (Jay), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 01:04 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.humankinetics.com/Bookcovs/0736031081.jpg

― Ghostface Threadkillah (calstars), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 02:51 (twenty-one years ago)

What's happening with the current hardware anyways? I assume some of the drives, etc are being used in the new one? Any chance of getting a gigabit interconnect between the web server and the DB?

― Jon in R'lyeh (ex machina), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 11:40 (twenty-one years ago)

actually, that's a point - seeing as there is extra cash, could the new server manage image hosting for logged in regulars to upload images to, keeping the bandwidth in the family basically..?

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 11:43 (twenty-one years ago)

jon will require 2gb on his own

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 11:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Will we be imprisoning him, like in Superman I/II?

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 11:45 (twenty-one years ago)

Animated GIFs are the highest form of wit.

― Jon in R'lyeh (ex machina), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 11:47 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm really sorry I couldn't donate to this. Current cash situation is pretty grim (ie. please don't let the cheque for the water bill bounce). But thanks to everyone who has.

― Anna (Anna), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 11:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Look what just arrived for me at work:

http://nf.wh3rd.net/files/ilx/newserver1.jpg
http://nf.wh3rd.net/files/ilx/newserver2.jpg
http://nf.wh3rd.net/files/ilx/newserver3.jpg

Wheee! Take that as proof that I didn't spend all your money on strippers and cocaine.

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 06:41 (twenty-one years ago)

So you bought a cardboard box, what does that prove?!

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 06:49 (twenty-one years ago)

hp make a damned fine cardboard box

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 07:29 (twenty-one years ago)

I can't believe it, there is that shirt thing again.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 10:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Shirt thing?

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 10:39 (twenty-one years ago)

it's gotta go.

― teeny (teeny), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 10:43 (twenty-one years ago)

how much was the big blue ball? 8)

― koogs (koogs), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 11:05 (twenty-one years ago)

Annoyed by the underwhelmed reaction, Andrew does indeed trade in the new server for hookers and coke. ;-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 11:50 (twenty-one years ago)

There better not be coffee grounds in that box.

― David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 11:57 (twenty-one years ago)

mmmmm coffee.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 12:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Those are full of porn, y'know

― Andrew Blood Thames (Andrew Thames), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 12:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Xeon is a funny name for a hooker

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 12:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Or a nudie mag. Though it might be a nice name for a strain of top BC weed.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 12:21 (twenty-one years ago)

mmmm weed

― Rob Bolton (Rob Bolton), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 12:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Xeon is a great name for a Greek hooker

― C J (C J), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 12:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Hang on, are we talking about sex hookers or rugby hookers here? (and is there a difference)

― C J (C J), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 12:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Now I have an image of some burly, hairy-legged, Aussie baritone plying 'her' trade on a dark side street like some steroid enhanced version of Barbara from The League of Gentlemen and I'm terrified. Thanks CJ. Incidentally, this just shows that, regardless of what Jon feels about it, description more than imagery rules my psyche. Eh, Il en faut de tous les genres.

― Michael White (Hereward), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 14:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Now I'm fucking horrified.

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 14:49 (twenty-one years ago)

I want to see pictures of Andrew and the server NUDE!!

(but, y'know, nothing too full on straight away - build up to the money shot, as it were)

― Markelby (Mark C), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 14:50 (twenty-one years ago)

What would a nude server look like?

― El Diablo Robotico (Nicole), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 14:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Stripped down to the motherboard.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 14:59 (twenty-one years ago)

you could put an ilx thong on it.

― teeny (teeny), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 16:06 (twenty-one years ago)

CLASSIC

― VengaDan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 16:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Andrew or the server?

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 17:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Both, but especially the server if it gets its kit off and sports a thong.

― VengaDan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 17:14 (twenty-one years ago)

unfortunately it then has to be tucked away in it's 1u housing among all the other servers, and they might not appreciate such whacky attire

― Jaunty Alan (Alan), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 17:41 (twenty-one years ago)

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