Web Server Spec

[My220x]

What spec would you reccomend for a web server which will run Linux?

[SYNACK]

How many clients are you expecting and what kind of software do you want to run on it, database, php interpreter etc ?

[My220x]

I will be running Linux, Apache, PHP and MySQL and maybe also have Exim on it aswell. By Clients do you mean visitors?

[SYNACK]

Yes it is dependent on how may simultaneous visitors you are expecting and the complexity of the code that you are running. If it is just a test box, one client and speed it not really an issue then anything around a p3 with enough ram will suffice. If you are wanting to run a complexly coded database heavy application to a couple of hundred users simultaneously one server may not be enough.

[My220x]

If I was to run say a site which would get say 500 visitors each month then would a Core 2 Duo be to much?

[SYNACK]

So long as they did not all show up at the same time a time tested AMD Athlon or crusty old p4 would probably do the trick. What you use is up to your requirements, a C2D will give you greater room for expansion and probably consume less power than one of the older systems. Its all about how much you want to invest, where you think the site is going and what your other requirements are - power consumption, heat dissipation, noise...

[dhicks]

What spec would you reccomend for a web server which will run Linux?

 

A few more details here would probably be good - are you making an application that will just run inside a school or other network, or something that will be open to the general public? If the latter, actually buying a physical web server is probably not the way to go about it - buy a dedicated server (or more likely a virtual server), or for 500 visitors a month probably most any basic shell account on a shared server would do nicely.

 

--

David Hicks

[My220x]

Would RAID 1 be the best to use?

[kmount]

If its hardware raid1 then sure, thats not a bad choice.

 

I think given you're looking at just starting out, it might be a bit cost ineffective but hey if you can afford it, sure.

[contink]

Yes it is dependent on how may simultaneous visitors you are expecting and the complexity of the code that you are running. If it is just a test box, one client and speed it not really an issue then anything around a p3 with enough ram will suffice. If you are wanting to run a complexly coded database heavy application to a couple of hundred users simultaneously one server may not be enough.

 

I have a PHP and mySQL database heavy set of sites on a linux server on the big wide web and found that RAM is usually the kicker... Your CPU can be relatively (I say relatively) low spec but you want to have plenty of RAM in there. If it's a local machine I'd recommend sticking at least 1gb, preferably 2 if you can.

 

As to RAID, just make sure you have backups to a separate hard drive but striping isn't going to make much difference at this sort of level.

 

A Core Duo should more than do what you need for 500 users a month but it depends on how often or long they're likely to be connected.. If you're talking about a Zimbra server that folks will be connected to and checking email every 5 minutes it's going to have a harder time than a forum site for example (unless you have iSpy enabled and everyone using it).

[SYNACK]

I have a PHP and mySQL database heavy set of sites on a linux server on the big wide web and found that RAM is usually the kicker... Your CPU can be relatively (I say relatively) low spec but you want to have plenty of RAM in there. If it's a local machine I'd recommend sticking at least 1gb, preferably 2 if you can.

 

Agreed, RAM is probably more important than the CPU but you still need something slightly decent, a fast p3 maybe, but a p4 or above is more likely to give you good service. Also if it is expecting lots of hits dual core pays off hugely, at least in the windows world.

[powdarrmonkey]

$0.02: ram, ram, ram.

[tmcd35]

Cheap Ram? What size are these $0.02 ram chips?

[powdarrmonkey]

 

Although in all seriousness, budget memory is getting ridiculously cheap now.

[contink]

 

Although in all seriousness, budget memory is getting ridiculously cheap now.

 

Yep... but that is only ever the case if you are hosting your own server in-house or co-locating (which is probably the case here).. If you're using a dedicated system that's provided by a webhost they charge the earth in monthly fees for extra RAM... Quite the rip off now!