[TPIN] ADMIN- SERVER ISSUES

[Graham Young]

I think you should go ahead with a new server. It should if possible be the
same technology as those used by the University. I have sold many of these
in the past by. Some of the low end stuff should be avoided as it can be a
headache to maintain. HP, Dell or IBM will have appropriate technology.

Dell is a safe bet buy you need the advice of the Techs who will be managing
it. Most server rooms are set up to have one brand of server. IE All HP or
all Dell. This makes service easier. These also vary in price from hundreds
to thousands of dollars but if it is just a single purpose server an
inexpensive "pizza box" should do. HP, Dell and IBM are very competitive
these days.  IF an old Unix box will run it then the new rack servers will
coast along. You just have to decide what features are important.(RAID,
redundant PS etc) The free maintenance by university techs is worth far more
than the server itself. Your university will likely have a purchasing plan
with educational discounts.

Set up a Paypal account and I'll help. 
We need to share the cost.

Graham J. Young B.Mus B.Ed
 
Hamilton Musician Services
(905) 928-4671 -cell
gjyoung at mountaincable.net
-----Original Message-----
From: tpin-bounces at tpin.okcu.edu [mailto:tpin-bounces at tpin.okcu.edu] On
Behalf Of Michael Anderson
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 11:57 PM
To: tpin at tpin.okcu.edu
Subject: [TPIN] ADMIN- SERVER ISSUES

The server was down most of the day today.

The university is moving the server room and is going through all sorts of
upgrades.

The server we are using is quite old and a bit unstable. Thanks to long-time
list member and Unix guru, Joe Meador and the campus technology guys here we
have kept it up and running most of the time.

The university is going to a bank of servers that are all rack mounted and
in specially cooled racks that will keep everything running smoothly and
well coordinated.

In order to keep the TPIN server as a part of the University system a
dedicated rack-mounted server has to be purchased. Now, I can keep the
current server running, but it will have to be installed elsewhere and will
no longer be supported by the University. This concerns me greatly for a
couple of reasons.. 1. I don't have the expertise to manage the server
myself and 2. When I am not around, gone traveling, the server may go down
and not be able to be rebooted for several days and maybe even weeks.

SO - to make a long story longer, I am looking to purchase a low-end rack
mounted server that can go into our stable of servers and still be
maintained by our guys. The thing will be much more stable than what we have
now and will server us better than anything we've had in the past 12 years
of the TPIN's existence.

TPIN has always been free to the users and always will be as long as I'm
running it. However, we have raised money for special reasons in the past
... I think 3 times in 12 years. I don't take this lightly and wouldn't even
consider it if I didn't think it would be a really positive thing for us to
do.

I would like to know what the members think of think of this idea. If you
feel like you could contribute to this fund raising effort and would make a
pledge to me, please send me a private email. I will collect no money until
I'm sure it will work and that we can raise the money without burdening any
individual too much. I am donating $200 and the ITG will contribute a bit
more than that because the TPIN server provides email forwarding to the ITG.
So, we are already part way there.

Please let me know what you think.

MA


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