HEC's Technical Dept (personnel & assignments)
System Specifications: (Under design)
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Hellenic Electronic Centre (HEC) Systems Specification
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Draft 0.2
June 12, 1995
written by: Angelo Haritsis
[ substantially revised an original proposal by Thanos Voudouris ]
[ Contributors: ]
[ Thanos Voudouris, Ioannis Tambouras, Ariel Glenn ]
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Contents:
A - DISCUSSION
B - SYSTEMS DESCRIPTION
C - SYSTEMS SPECIFICATION
C-1 SYMBOL INDEX
C-2 SPECIFICATION FOR HEC-1
C-3 SPECIFICATION FOR HEC-2
C-4 SPECIFICATION FOR HEC-3
C-5 EXTRAS
C-6 DETAILED PARTS LIST - COMMENTS
D - BUDGET
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A - INTRODUCTION
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The Hellenic Electronic Centre (HEC) is going to be the "home" for Greek
non-profit projects on the Internet. One of these projects is Poseidon.
The HEC will be a live presence of Hellas in the world of the widely
expanding Internet network.
In this document, we attempt to specify the systems that will be
appropriate to serve the HEC objectives in the next few years.
Our first immediate expectation is support the work for the Poseidon
project. However, more similar projects will be able to run in parallel
without problems.
Larger scale projects might also arise in the future during the operation
of the HEC. It is believed that the people who give rise to such projects
will be in the position to fund or solict funding for further enhancement
of our services.
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B - SYSTEMS DESCRIPTION
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We expect to install 2 main server machines. The 2 servers, HEC-1 and
HEC-2, will be connected to a local FAST ethernet network, the
HEC-subnet. One of them will also be connected to another Ethernet
and act as the Internet gateway.
| |
|g--HEC1-----G| outside <--> (Internet)
| | subnet
HEC-subnet | |
| |
|g--HEC2
|
The servers will be ideally located at a well ventilated computer room
environment and will also be physically locked with access allowed
only to authorised people.
In the case we need to have some local development, a third machine,
HEC-3, is also proposed. This will be a powerful X-terminal for
development and graphics/sound work to be done locally.
For various reasons extensively discussed we chose to use Intel Pentium
platforms runing the now very stable and freely available Linux OS.
A wide variety of high quality and freely available software in
full source form exists to support the HEC projects.
Each one of the servers will be dedicated to different tasks, as follows:
* HEC-1: Network Services Server
------------------------------
This is the machine that all USERS of our services/project results will
be accessing. Login accounts for ONLY a few administrators will be
created on HEC-1.
All network services will run on this machine. Among them the following:
- HTTP server(s) (eg NCSA httpd or similar)
- anonymoys ftp server
- gopher server
- mailing lists manager(s) - listproc
- mail delivery
- name server
- gateway HEC-subnet to Internet
* HEC-2: Development Server
-------------------------
This is the machine that all DEVELOPERS working on HEC projects will be using.
This server will support:
- All developers login accounts: 200 or so for 1st year. 50 / year for next
2 years. Developers' home space will live here.
- Development work related to projects. Most freely available tools for
the work we need should be installed on HEC-2. Editors, compilers,
debuggers, sw configuraition tools, graphics and audio utilities, html
support tools, etc should live here.
- System s/w develoment work (eg new kernels, special system sw etc)
- Sysadmin work
- Dialup + fax + voice mail
* HEC-3: Development Station (optional)
-------------------------------------
The HEC-3 is a powerful X terminal aimed for local development work. It
must be relatively transportble in the department where the servers will
be installed. It must be isolated from the operation of the servers and
pose no danger to their reliability, security or performance. HEC-1,
HEC-2 being servers, should NOT be used as X-terminals for local
development. Their local accessibility will quickly prove a compromise of
their security, performance and reliability.
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C - HEC SYSTEMS SPECIFICATION
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C-1 SYMBOL INDEX
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SYSTEM
a - Motherboard and CPU
b - MEMORY
c - SCSI-2 DISK
d - SCSI/PCI controller
e - 1.4 FLOPPY DRIVE
f - VIDEO Card
g - E-net Interface card (for our own subnet - preferably high speed)
G - E-net card to interface to the subnet we will hook on
h - MONITOR
i - 28.8 MODEM/FAX (preferably with VOICE CTI support)
j - CD-ROM Drive
k - SOUND card
m - Speakers
n - Case/PSU
o - Other ?
PERIPHERALS
p - UPS
q - TAPE Backup system
SOFTWARE
r - Operating System
s - Licences
t - Maintenance Contracts
u - Other ???
____________________________________________________________________________
C-2 SPECIFICATION for HEC1
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Primary selection Secondary Selection
----------------- -------------------
a1 - Intel premiere II/P90 ($1,000) a2 - faster? 512+ cache? ($ ???)
b1 - MEMORY 64MB ($2,240) b2 - 32MB ($1,120)
c1 - Seagate Barracuda 4.2GB ($1,400) c2 - same ($1,400)
d1 - DPT PM2124 ($ ???) d2 - DPT PM2024 ($ 260)
e1 - TEAC 1.4 Floppy ($ 50) e2 - same ($ 50)
f1 - 1M Dram Stealth Trio64 ($ ???) f2 - plain old ET4000/S3 ($ ???)
g1 - 3C595TX 100MB/s ($ 220) g2 - TNC5048 20MB/s ??? ($ 74)
G1 - 3com PCI / 3C590 ($ 120) G2 - (TBD) ($ )
h1 - 14" Monitor CRX 1451 ($ 220) h2 - gray VGA ($ ???)
n1 - Full Tower Case 250-300W($ 100) n2 - same ($ 100)
PERIPHERALS
p1 - APC smart (???) ($ ) p2 - (TBD) ($ )
SOFTWARE
r1 - Linux (Slackware 4-cd) ($ 40) r2 - same ($ 40)
TOTAL COST: $______ $_____
____________________________________________________________________________
C-3 SPECIFICATION for HEC2
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Primary selection Secondary Selection
----------------- -------------------
a1 - Intel premiere II/P90 ($1,000) a2 - faster? 512+ cache? ($ ???)
b1 - MEMORY 96MB ($3,360) b2 - 64MB ($2,240)
c1 - 2 x Seagate cuda 4.2GB ($2,800) c2 - Seagate cuda 4.2GB ($1,400)
d1 - DPT PM2124 ($ ???) d2 - DPT PM2024 ($ 260)
e1 - TEAC 1.4 Floppy ($ 50) e2 - same ($ 50)
f1 - 1M Dram Stealth Trio64 ($ ???) f2 - plain old ET4000/S3 ($ )
g1 - 3C595TX 100MB/s ($ 220) g2 - TNC5048 20MB/s ??? ($ 74)
h1 - 14" Monitor CRX 1451 ($ 220) h2 - gray VGA ($ ???)
i1 - Zyxel ($ ???) i2 - (TBD) ($ )
j1 - IDE ATAPI ($ ) j2 - (TBD) ($ )
n1 - Full Tower Case 250-300W($ 100) n2 - same ($ 100)
PERIPHERALS
p1 - APC smart (???) ($ ) p1 - (TBD) ($ )
q1 - DAT 8GB = HP jetstore???($ ???) q2 - DAT HP C1533 (4GB) ($1,200)
TOTAL COST: $______ $_____
____________________________________________________________________________
C-4 SPECIFICATION for HEC3
----------------------------
Primary selection Secondary Selection
----------------- -------------------
a1 - AMD 486/100 PCI ($ 320 ) a2 - 486/100 HIPPO VLB ($ 270)
b1 - MEMORY 16MB ($ 550) b2 - MEMORY 16 MB EDRAM ($ 620)
c1 - EIDE 540Mb ($ 180) c2 - EIDE 250Mb ($ 150)
e1 - TEAC 1.4 Floppy ($ 50) e2 - same ($ 50)
f1 - ATI Grph Pro Turbo 4MB ($ 499) f2 - ATI GFX 2MB VRAM ($ 200)
f3 - STB VELOCITY 64V, S3 968 (2MB EDO VRAM)
g1 - 3C595TX 100MB/s ($ 220) g2 - TNC5048 20MB/s ??? ($ 74)
G1 - 3com PCI / 3C590 ($ 120) G2 - (TBD) ($ )
The latter as spare and if we get this machine on the HEC-subnet.
h1 - 17" SONY 17SE ($ 960) h2 - (TBD) ($ )
j1 - NONE. Will use the one for HEC-2
k1 - Adv Gravis Ultrasound ($ ???) k2 - GUS MAX ($ )
m1 - Labteck CS800 ($ 40) m2 - same ($ 40)
n1 - Mini Tower Case 250-300W($ 60) n2 - same ($ 60)
SOFTWARE
r1 - Linux (Slackware 4-cd) ($ 40) r1 - (TBD)_____________ ($-----)
s1 - LICENCES/Maintenance ($ 0) s1 - (TBD)_____________ ($-----)
TOTAL COST: $______ $_____
___________________________________________________________________________
C-5 EXTRAS
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PART PRICE
Etherrnet Cabling TBD
Serial Cables (inc UPS) ???
Keyboard x 3, mouse x 1 + spares ???
SCSI internal cables/extensions ???
___________________________________________________________________________
C-6 DETAILED PARTS LIST - COMMENTS
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a.
* Intel Premiere II motherboard (aka Plato), Intel Neptune chipset,
256k cache and P90 CPU. (Current Street Price (CSP) $1,000)
MAKE SURE we get the LATEST BIOS with it. It is also nice if it includes
the NCR SCSI bios in the main BIOS (almost always the case) so that
we can potentially use an extra NCR SCSI controller later on.
The plato is the best and most reliable P90 motherboard (at least until
March 95) and has worked ok with many diverse scsi configurations.
SUPPLIER/QUOTE:
* Other motherboard: either the new Intel Triton or SiS or ? HAVE TO VERIFY
they work OK with Linux. Prefer a high cache, eg 512/1024k. Latest
EDO and SDRAM designs will offer almost 50% increase on memroy
performance and will need NO external cache. RAM IS A BOTTLENECK
on current Pentium motherboards.
Not sure if Sis chipsets are a good choice.
INVESTIGATE!
SUPPLIER/QUOTE:
b.
* 96MB = 2 x 32MB + 2 x 16MB SIMMs
* 64Mb = 2 x 32MB SIMMs
* 32MB = 2 x 16MB SIMMs
All SIMMs should be 72-pin, 60ns.
Of course, a choice of an EDO RAM (or similar) will require purchasing
different SIMMs. Price of memory will then be about 10% higher.
SUPPLIER/QUOTE: Advanced Micro Solutions 1-800-838-0860 /
$560 per 16MB SIMM
c.
* Seagate Barracuda ST15150N 4290MB 3.5 PCI 5yr Warranty.
SUPPLIER/QUOTE: Drive Outlet Center 1-800-610-1616 / $1,400
d.
A VERY sensitive part of the systems. Must choose crefully.
INVESTIGATE MORE!
* DPT PM2124 FAST SCSI-2 PCI controller (this one is cached, I think)
* DPT PM2024 FAST SCSI-2 PCI controller (same as above, not cached)
I (ah) am collecting becnhmakrs and other info on these.
We will possibly need to collect info/benchmarks on more:
* Buslogic BT946
* Adaptec 2940 (driver in aplha)
* The NCR 53c810 is a cheap and VERY fast controller. The Linux driver
lacks disconnect/reconnect and sync transfer support so we cannot
choose it.
We ALSO need to investigate the possibility of going for Wide scsi.
This will mean that the Disks have to be bought in their Wide version.
The only PCI Wide SCSI-2 controller that works is BT956W.
DPT are to release a wide version of PM2124. No idea if Linux drivers
will support it.
SUPPLIER/QUOTE: DPT PM2024: Dirt Cheap Drives (see CS) / $269
e.
* TEAC 3.5 floppy (CSP $50) - Well, anything would do really.
f.
HEC-1, HEC-2 will really run in console mode. Isolated in a computer room.
So a plain VGA/SVGA card seems the best choice.
For HEC-3:
* ATI Grph Pro Turbo 4MB VRAM (delivers 285 kXstones (!) in 1024x768x256)
* ATI GFX 2MB VRAM
* STB VELOCITY 64V, S3 968 with EDO VRAM, 2MB (Ioannis)
* Diamond Stealth 64, 4MB VRAM (always a good choice)
SUPPLIER/QUOTE: (Ioannis) STB VELOCITY 64V, S3 968 w 2MB EDO VRAM: $440
g.
The following appear to be a good choice for the HEC subnet:
* 3C595 100MB/s (fast ethernet)
* TNC5048 20MB/s
INVESTIGATE THESE AND MORE!
SUPPLIER/QUOTE:
G.
Good choices for 10MB Ethernet are sought. INVESTIGATE!
* 3com 3C590-10Base-T PCI
SUPPLIER/QUOTE: 3C590-10Base-T PCI (5 pack).......$ 530 (Ioannis)
h.
For HEC-1, HEC-2 no real graphics work will be done since they are only
servers. So:
* plain old gray scale VGA monitors should be fine.
If difficult to find (:-) get:
* 14" Monitor CRX 1451
For HEC-3:
* SONY Trintron .26DPI Multiscan 17SE Green Monitor. (Best Buy $960)
SUPPLIER/QUOTE:
i.
Dialup modem/fax/voice.
* 28.8 Zyxel - Zyxels are reputed to run all data/fax/voice services [Need write-up]
with no problems under Linux. INVESTIGATE!
SUPPLIER/QUOTE:
j.
IDE ATAPI since it will be permanently housed in HEC-3 which
will be a non-scsi system. Installs on HEC-1/2 can be done from HEC-3
cdrom via NFS. If no HEC-3 is built, it can still live in HEC-2.
* Mitsumi IDE ATAPI 3x or 4x
* Other INVESTIGATE
SUPPLIER/QUOTE:
k.
GUS cards have good support under Linux and perform most functions in
h/w, requiring less CPU.
* Advanced Gravis UltraSound (GUS)
* GUS MAX (2.9 driver and later)
* SoundBlaster Pro-16
SUPPLIER/QUOTE:
m.
* Labteck CS800 Speakers - Well, any reasonable quality speakers.
SUPPLIER/QUOTE: $40
p.
* Smart APC ++++ (ariel + ioannis)
* INVESTIGATE
SUPPLIER/QUOTE:
q.
A DAT streamer that can do 8GB (uncompressed) is preferable. I believe
that the lates HP JetStore series has an 8GB offering. The drive SHOULD
support h/w compression (not a good idea to run it in sw).
* 8GB HP JetStore ???
* 4GB HP C1533 (hw compression)
SUPPLIER/QUOTE:
r.
MAKE SURE we get the LATEST Slackware distribution.
* InfoMagic's Linux Slackware 4 CD-ROM set
SUPPLIER/QUOTE: The Computer Place 1-301-330-6016 / $40
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D - BUDGET
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[Write the estimated budget for each scenario]
[Running Costs???]
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Copyright © 1996 HEC All Rights Reserved.