From: <John.Reynolds_at_email.protected>
Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2005 11:37:40 +1000 (EST)

Chris,

Bear in mind we run a Mk3/Mk4/Mk5 at Parkes on the same machine. At
present we use one serial port which is manually changed between the DAS
and the Mk3/4/5. This arrangement is OK, but a 2nd serial port would be
useful to avoid this. (Existing machine has two ports but Simone couldn't
make this work).

Cheers,
john R

 On Fri, 3 Jun 2005, Chris Phillips wrote:

>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- Craig has seen a newer version of the motherboard is now available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 11:37:58