From: <Chris.Phillips_at_email.protected>
Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2005 11:19:27 +1000 (EST)

Hi All,

Sorry for the continued spam. Giving everyone the opportunity to take part
in this if they want to. As Tasso is calling from overseas on his mobile,
we want to try and keep the meeting focused and as brief as needed. I feel
the following will be the discussion points. But please feel free to bring
up other issues you feel need to be discussed before we start purchasing
machines.

*******************************************************************

 - Comments on recommended hardware from anyone
 - Does everyone want 2 CPU
        o I think this is worthwhile as it may allow us to do some nice
          stuff like have a simple autocorrelator running during recording
          (I actually think running the PCFS may not warrant a second
           CPU)
 - Amount of RAM
        I think 1 GB per CPU is reasonable and there is still two slots
        per CPU (DIMMS go in pairs these days for speed) to allow us
        to add more later if we need it when we connect to the network.
        We don't know how much we need for this so best to add it later I
        think
 - IDE disk housings.
        I have chosen a rackmount case with enough external 5.25" bays
        for simple removable IDE (PATA) disks. We could add special
          hotswap bays which may be nicer and need less space. This this
        are probably not standard size so we may lock ourselves in doing
        this. The IDE drives are not the main recording medium anyhow.
 - Rackmount case
        The chosen rackmount case is good quality, but does not have a
        huge amount of space for lots of fixed disks (in the future).
        Is this a problem?
 - Serial ports
        These boards may only have one serial port (possibly two, not
        clear). One is needed for the DAS. We can use USB->serial. Might
        this be an issue anywhere?

 - Craig has seen a newer version of the motherboard is now available
   it looks a little bit better
        o Two IDE (PATA) controllers (rather than one)
          This means we do not have to add a PATA controller card
        o On board video (no need to add video card)
        o Extra 100 Mbps NIC (so three in total).
        o No firewire, so need to add firewire card
        o $100 more expensive, but changed cards needed means we end
          up needing one less card and cost is about the same
        o Will take two weeks to order (adds time to whole procedure)

 - What to do about screens. The options are (and will vary with
   observatory)
        o Normal screen
        o Rackmount fold-down screen
        o IP video ($700 adapter which sends copy of VGA onto network
          and can be viewed with Java based web browser. Nice approach
          (and would allow very remote admin including reboots) but it
          probably not warranted
        o No screen
  - Do I order screens for those who want them (maybe e.g. UTAS can handle
    this themselves, unless they want rackmount screens).

 - We still need to double check both motherboards are supported by Linux
  2.4.

 - Should we spend time porting the system to Linux 2.6?

Cheers
Chris
Received on 2005-06-03 11:19:45