[CentOS] Re: how to debug hardware lockups?

Tue Nov 18 07:32:05 UTC 2008
Rudi Ahlers <rudiahlers at gmail.com>

On Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 9:20 AM, Rudi Ahlers <rudiahlers at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 2:52 AM, Scott Silva <ssilva at sgvwater.com> wrote:
>> on 11-15-2008 3:32 PM John R Pierce spake the following:
>>> Rudi Ahlers wrote:
>>>> No, the motherboard doesn't support ECC RAM. The motherboard is a
>>>> Intel DG35EC -
>>>> http://www.intel.com/products/desktop/motherboards/DG35EC/DG35EC-overview.htm
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> midrange business desktop board.     I use a DG33TL as my desktop, same
>>> thing.
>> It just doesn't pay to run critical systems on desktop hardware. Companies
>> think they are saving money, until the downtime eats away any initial savings.
>>
>>
>>
>
> Sure, but it also doesn't pay to purchase a 10Ton truck to move a 1Ton load :)
> Bottom line is, you purchase the hardware for the needs that you have.
> Not every situation warrents a quad XEON on a blade system. The
> problem is, I have another server, with a slower CPU, half the RAM &
> a gigabyte motherboard, yet it can handle the same load.
>
> This server runs 4 XEN VPS's, which I moved to the slower machine, and
> the slower machines handles the load very well. So, where does the
> problem lie? With the "cheap desktop hardware" ? I don't think so.
> Rather, I believe there's a hardware problem - i.e. CPU / RAM /
> motherboard / PSU?
>
> I have reinstalled the OS (CentOS 5.2), and swapped out the HDD's as
> well - so that's not causing the problem.
>
>
>
> --
>
> Kind Regards
> Rudi Ahlers
>


This comes down't to the old question of "what is a server"?

Is a server,
a) the most powerful, reliable, expensive computer equipment on the planet?
b) a machine that serves something to other machines, i.e. a web /
database / email / backup / print / etc server?

And does it mean that if the motherboard is not a Titan / SuperMicro
board, it's not a server? Come on, that is BS! My 15 year old Pentium
I PRO (Socket 8 CPU), still serves very well as a firewall, and will
boudle back as a file server at any given moment. In fact, I think
it's far more stable than many Dell servers I have worked on. Just
cause a company like Dell or SuperMicro builds expensive components
and offer a 4 hour support structure does not make them superior to
other computer components.

-- 

Kind Regards
Rudi Ahlers