Help me plan my new mini farm.

[magnusvir]

Hey guys,

Finally I have a mini farm by next august when I get back from home. Dad's old Dell will be upgraded to the current A64 cpu and mobo I have and I will be moving to venice. I have never set up a home network so I will need everyone's help in buying equipment. My main rig will be running XP Pro SP2 while the Dell will be running Damn Small Linux.

I have found this KVM and I wanted to hear your experiences. Also can you guys recommend me a good router that will work with both Linux and XP?

Also is Kingston HyperX a good O/Cing ram if I buy the PC3200 one? they have a good deal going.

 

[Crashsector]

So are we looking at 2 nodes total? Are you planning to expand? Are you running these naked or with cases?

If your answers are yes, no, cases, then this would really be a "garden" and that KVM should work just fine. If you were going a little larger-scale I would say skip the cases and KVM and go with fold-server or individual Linux installs.

 

[mikeblas]

I have found this KVM and I wanted to hear your experiences. Also can you guys recommend me a good router that will work with both Linux and XP?

That looks like a really lame KVM. Where do you plug anything in? It's cheap, but there's zero expansion. I'd go for something that you can bring to a four-way, that takes standard cables.

Any router will worth with Linux and XP because the router uses Ethernet.

 

[GameALot]

I have been using a Linksys BEFSR-41 router for a couple of years now. Recently, I added a Linksys SD208 8 port switch in order to support my developing diskless farm. Both of these have been working great with unhappy_mages' fold-server. His documentation mentions having issues with D-Link and setting static ip's. Maybe he will have more info. about that.

I have the USB version of that KVM switch. It works fine with Windows. Now, I want to buy an 8 port KVM for the farm. I will go with the PS2 version for that.

About the RAM... I have no idea.

fake edit: I have had no problems with the Linksys router. It works well with both Linux and Windows. Setting the static ip and forwarding was easy. Mages' docs. explain it well.

Good luck on the farm. I know you've been waiting a long time.

 

[mikeblas]

Here's a better picture that shows the other side, where the rest of the connectors are.

Sheesh!

 

[magnusvir]

more points:

1) Yes I have only 2 comps but maybe can expand to three in a year.

2) My dorm room connection is DHCP and the Linksys router does not specify that. Do I just enable it in XP or Linux or does the router need to have the protocol?

3) If I get a 4 port KVM switch, what kind of cabls do I need?

4) Any comments on the HyperX RAM?

 

[marty9876]

more points:

1) Yes I have only 2 comps but maybe can expand to three in a year.

2) My dorm room connection is DHCP and the Linksys router does not specify that. Do I just enable it in XP or Linux or does the router need to have the protocol?

3) If I get a 4 port KVM switch, what kind of cabls do I need?

4) Any comments on the HyperX RAM?

1. I think my work is using that kvm. For two computers knock yourself out. It's 20 bucks, hard to go wrong. You would be suprised how much you don't need a kvm with XP pro and remote desktop/vnc. It all depends on how you use the computer/

2. Can router should pull a DHCP. If they are dolling out private IP's (192.168..x.x/10.x.x.x) things might get confusing. If it's a private 192.168.1.x, let the router grab this .1 and set the router to issue your network 192.168.2.x. Or a switch might even work just as well, no routing policies and such with a switch.

3. Just buy a kvm which uses "normal" cables. It will make your life much easier. If these are nodes only (computer does nothing but fold) again the vnc deals/remote desktop are free.

4. Ram- no hands on experiance. I'm sure it will OC pretty good, some others better but the price goes up.

Good luck!

 

[PoisonedPawn45]

I have been using a Linksys BEFSR-41 router for a couple of years now. Recently, I added a Linksys SD208 8 port switch in order to support my developing diskless farm. Both of these have been working great with unhappy_mages' fold-server. His documentation mentions having issues with D-Link and setting static ip's. Maybe he will have more info. about that.

I have the USB version of that KVM switch. It works fine with Windows. Now, I want to buy an 8 port KVM for the farm. I will go with the PS2 version for that.

About the RAM... I have no idea.

fake edit: I have had no problems with the Linksys router. It works well with both Linux and Windows. Setting the static ip and forwarding was easy. Mages' docs. explain it well.

Good luck on the farm. I know you've been waiting a long time.

I use the same linksys router, and I have had nothing but good opinions about it.

 

[GameALot]

The Linksys router should play nice with the DHCP server. I'm on cable, and the router picks up the DHCP from COX (My provider.). I would imagine it would work the same at your dorm.

Basically, you need to know if the DHCP server is dynamic or static when it assigns addresses. And whether or not you need a user name/password to connect.

I would suggest a router over a switch to start. It makes setup easier, I think.

You mention using DSL for one of the computers. You may as well go with mages' distro. as it is based on DSL. That will make it easier when you do add a clieet. Just make sure to have 2 NIC's in the server. I don't know how well Fold-Server will handle adding the second NIC later.

While I am sure there are more experienced people here, I am willing to help with the setup of a Linksys router. PM me and I can send you more contact information. Phone, e-mail, PM... I can do any of these. Plus, I have too much time on my hands. Just ask unhappy_mage!