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From: smann@praline.no.NeoSoft.com (Scott Mann)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.os.386bsd.questions
Subject: Re: Best platform for INN server?
Followup-To: comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.os.386bsd.questions
Date: 3 Mar 1995 21:51:26 GMT
Organization: NeoSoft Internet Services +1 713 968 5800
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Message-ID: <3j830u$7fg@uuneo.neosoft.com>
References: <1995Mar1.140817@wittenberg.edu> <MICHAELV.95Mar2214421@MindBender.HeadCandy.com>
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Michael L. VanLoon (michaelv@MindBender.HeadCandy.com) wrote:
: In article <1995Mar1.140817@wittenberg.edu> mandrews@wittenberg.edu (Mike Andrews, Comp Ctr) writes:
: I'm going to be setting up a dedicated NNTP server, running INN 1.4sec,
: on a VLbus 486/66 with an Adaptec VLB SCSI controller and a 3com 3c509
: ISA ethernet card. This machine won't be used for anything else, except
: maybe a backup DNS server. Things like X, binary compatibility, etc
: aren't important, but speed and stability are.
: I run a news server with INN 1.4 at work, getting almost a full feed,
: hundreds of megabytes a day. I run NetBSD-1.0 on DELL OmniPlex P66
: with 32MB of RAM, an NCR 53c810 SCSI controller (built-in), a DEC
: 500MB drive and two Seagate 1GB Hawk drives. I don't run X (I rarely
: even turn on the monitor).
: The machine just runs. It never does anything bad. I rarely even
: have to look at it, though I do log in daily to collect the diagnostic
: mail (from daily scripts). I've only had it running for a little over
: a month, but I've had over 27 days of uptime on it. It has never
: crashed after I got a patched NCR SCSI driver (the one in 1.0 is a
: very early version with a bug or two in it).
: NetBSD works so well they're talking about setting up several more
: internal news servers on NetBSD where I work, which will get used by
: thousands of people. They're not real impressed with their current
: commercial unix of choice.
: I still *strongly* encourage people to avoid Adaptec controllers.
: First, because of their hostile attitude to the free software crowd.
: And, second, because BusLogic controllers work just as well, and tend
: to cost a little less. If you have the option of running PCI, then
: the NCR controllers are even more attractive, since they're
: substantially less than either the Adaptec or BusLogic cards.
: Basically, it boils down to disk and network performance while running one
: particular application -- INN.
: If you're looking for networking speed and stability, both NetBSD and
: FreeBSD can deliver that. That is not Linux's area of strength.
Wait a second, Linux is getting better and better in this area...
Since FreeBSD supports so little in the way of hardware (scsi controllers
for instance), you either have to use Linux or buy all new hardware which
most of us cannot do. From what I can gather from friends who are into
the free BSD's, there is no progress on this front. This is the main
reason Linux is the top dog in the comp.os.* group in terms of popularity.
Support for the free bsd's is lacking also; try going into irc sometime
and asking a question in the bsd rooms (if there are any), chances are
you will get no replies or a nasty one if you are lucky :^). If you go
into the #Linux channel (always there) or LinuxNet (better), you usually
get help immediately. This seems to apply to the newsgroups as well. Well,
you asked for it by posting to a Linux newsgroup <grin>.
Scott Mann