Build Your Own Linux Test Server, Setting Up Storage

In part one of this series we looked at the basic requirements for building a Linux test server from the motherboard through the case and power supply. This time, we're going to take an in-depth look at storage options and how you might want to configure a machine intended to serve as a test bed for new Linux distributions. Our choices will be constrained somewhat by decisions made in Part 1, but they should be generic enough to cover similar installations.

The biggest question you must answer before buying a bunch of disks is how you plan to use the machine. If you plan on using it as a virtual machine host, you will definitely benefit from having enough hard disks to configure using RAID (redundant array of independent disks) for speed and redundancy. The most efficient configuration for this application is by far RAID 5. You get both speed (data striping) and error correction (distributed parity) benefits while reducing capacity, at least in our particular configuration, down to three drives out of four.

The Thermaltake V9 BlacX case has slots for up to five 3.5-inch hard drives mounted internally. The top-mounted disk caddies require one of the SATA ports. You'll need another if you use a SATA DVD drive. We chose to use an older IDE DVD drive to leave the sixth SATA port available. Deciding which hard drives to use can be a challenge. For rotating disk drives, the key things to look at are interface speed, size (capacity), and spindle RPM. Cost is another consideration, and you'll typically pay more for faster access speeds.

You'll need a minimum of three drives to build a RAID 5 array. For this article, Seagate provided us with four ST2000DL003 drives. These drives have a 6 Gb/s interface and operate at 5900 RPM. They also use less power than other 2 TB drives and support the new 4K sector standard. The other plus for these drives is cost, as you can purchase a brand new drive today from multiple vendors for $79.99. That gives us 6 TB of RAID 5 storage for just over $300.

Many currently available motherboards offer some type of on-board RAID options along with an abundance of SATA connections. For our DIY test server we chose the ASUS M4A89GTD Pro (USB3), which has six SATA connectors plus support for USB 3.0 devices. While this motherboard and many others have an option to configure multiple disks as a single RAID device, it really isn't a true hardware RAID that you might find in a high-end server.

Building a robot without using a machine shop - Hack a Day

We usually avoid the prospect of buying new tools just for one project. In the long run we’re sure we’d use them again, but sometimes even with that outlook you can’t afford it. Case in point is our life-long-lust for a laser cutter; we just can’t justify the upfront cost but we sure would use it constantly if we had one.

If you do find that you’re interested in taking on a project that calls for laser cut parts, [I Heart Robotics] shows you how to do it with a few simple hand tools . The bot seen above is their TurtleBot. You can cut your own parts using a laser cutter, you can buy a kit from them, or you can bust out a ruler, compass, drill, coping saw, printer, and tape to make the pieces by hand.

It’s a simple enough concept. Print out the templates, tape them to your hard board, then start drilling and sawing. You won’t get the precision a machine tool can, but in some cases you don’t need to be all that perfect.

[via Adafruit]

Don’t fret over not having a laser cutter. They are not that impressive. The burns, the rough edges; what they do well is straight lines. Google up some woodworking techniques to calibrate whatever you have be it a tablesaw, bandsaw etc.. and you can get results that only very expensive laser cutters can produce. The parts will even have a better surface finish should you use quality blades and jigs.

The first ‘fine woodworking’ project I took on was making a sharpening jig that required three points of precision to get the perfect mirror edge on plane irons and chisels. With just a digital caliper and some crappy off the shelf stuff (since I needed to make a sharpening jig to make them not crappy) it was totally possible to turn a chunk of hickory into the perfect 1.187 inch tall block.

If you are curious that specific number was needed to have the extension setup to a nice round number on my favorite plane iron, saving quite some effort later.

Posted at 4:19 pm on Jun 24th, 2011 by silvestersillalone

I like that doing it the old way has become a hack. You’d think folks just pop into Best Buy and pick up laser cutters and build CNC mills every other bowel movement here at HaD lol. Good to see some ingenuity still going on out there. Next week, we’ll put a capacitor on an Arduino and make blinking LEDs in 10 lines of code ;)

Kudos to the builder and love the recent Roomba links as I have recently inherited several that will keep me busy this winter with their antics.

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