Business PC Server

[Chris]

CentOS is a red hat clone would'nt this be the next best thing to red hat? If they say that red hat is so stable then CentOS should also be stable for the same thing, Plus there is support for it as well as it being a free OS you dont have to change much. I myself use debian and its very stable it has been up since i loaded it now going on 67 days, Where my Xp system crashed 10 times( Now i know why i hate XP) I am a debian user for my server and desktop.

I own a pharmacy. Our dispensing software is linux based and uses diskless workstations to operate. I have the specifications for hardware thats required. I'm looking for suggestions on actual mobo, CPU, ram configs that would work the best. Here's the information from the company on requirements for the server:

You say you have your dispensing software running on that machine are you upgrading the machine? If you are i believe that the software might have been coded for RedHat specifically. With CentOS being a clone of redhat you would probally have better luck with that software being compatible.

PS: I have software that i have to use XP for that is why i spoke of it and it was used in reference to the stability of my debian... I am also using on an internal network CentOS, run DSL on an old notebook, and have Mandrake as my second computer OS.
*edited*

[nsmoller]

Here's where i'm leaning...

CentOS as OS for now - i can have red hat AND centOS right?

SUPERMICRO MBD-P4SCT+II-O Socket 478 Intel 875P ATX Server Motherboardl
Model #: MBD-P4SCT+II-O
Item #: N82E16813182030
$259.99

Intel Pentium 4 3.0E Prescott 800MHz FSB Socket 478 Processor
Model #: RK80546PG0801M
Item #: N82E16819116175
107.99

People seem to be fans of the supermicro board... how do i know if CentOS or RH8 will work with these?
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Comparison of hybrids

[Chris]

On the same machine are you going to try a dual boot? CentOS is the name of the Operating System which is a Clone of RedHat Which Most Likely will run all your RedHat softaware. The other guy that posted here uses CentOS and has turned me on to CentOS as a redhat clone. I know debian fairly well i am still learning CentOS. My recommendation would be to get the latest stable release of CentOS and load that up on your new machine and keep your old RedHat 8 going untill you get all the software switched over. If i understood you right you have business specific software designed to do one thing, "Depensing Software" Is this the Med Despenser or is a Database Program that you are using to keep track of the paitents

I know the med despensor requires specific software if you are running it on redhat then the next best choice would be CentOS without spending the money for RedHat

[nsmoller]

dispensing software tracks patients and submits claims to insurance and prints off labels for the bottles, etc.

again, we have no existing system, this is all new.
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Silver surfer vaporizer

[Chris]

Ok now i fully understand what you are doing here. I think since you have no existing system , I recommend that you look around and find a software that you like.. There are several linux distros on the market (or net) and right now i use debian 3.1 r2 with KDE 3.2 which i like alot. I am personally using an unstable version (etch) for my Desktop Enviroment but my server is using Sarge a stable system and i have no problems at all. There are several diffrent choices you can make SuSe, RedHat, Mandrivia, Unbuntoo, Debian, Cent, Fedora, i can keep going its all on personall preference I will recommemnd what i use because i like it. others will recommend what they use because they like i

One more question for you: The software you are going to use to keep track and print lables is this software for RedHat?

Becausse if it is then Cent OS would be your best choice, as for hardware that will be a great system something that powerfull mixed with linux will be a great choice, if you use something new you won't have an issue with security as long as you keep it updated. Since linux could be repaired with linux it is much safer to use in case of a failure with the Operating System (You can recover the data using a live cd which have even done for windows)

And back tio your original Question

I'm looking for suggestions on actual mobo, CPU,

MSI and ASUS are the mobo that i prefer to use. I personally use a Pentium 4 3.6 Processor on one machine and an AMD 64 on the other both my machine have 3 gig ram one is windows the other is linux and the linux is much faster then the windows [OS Wise] but i think the processors have about the same speed. Whn you buy this system look for specific name brands that are know well, this will help linux find the right drivers for your system i use nVidia Video, Creative Audio, Gigabit Ethernet Adapters.

Basically what i caould say for that is you pay for what you get, don't buy cheap most cheap you have to compile you own drivers, stick with brands you trust.

I hope that this answered your question.

[nsmoller]

it did answer my question.

pentium seems to be where i'm leaning due to the business applications i will be running.

I think > 3ghz is overkill for us. The software developers use a 800 mhz FSB and 1mb L2 cache. The chip & mobo i'm looking at are Supermicro & Pentium 4 3.0ghz, and they exceed the requirements.

i'm gonna go with 512mb memory. It's a simple Borland and SQL server respectively. If anything i might go for a gig, but i'm sure 512 is more than enough.
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Honda B Engine Specifications

[John]

Originally Posted by nsmoller

People seem to be fans of the supermicro board... how do i know if CentOS or RH8 will work with these?

I believe Supermicro only makes server type boards, and I have heard from many that Supermicro is really the top dog when it comes to that type of hardware. Supermicro, Tyan & Intel I've read are generally the best when it comes to server motherboards.

As you already mentioned, you might not actually need a server class board. More than likely not, but you do get what you pay for when it comes to this type of stuff.

I'm not sure if RH8 would have any issue with drivers for everything on the motherboard. For example, the NIC drivers... gigabit ethernet cards were pretty much unheard of when RH8 was released. Unless the Intel NIC drivers haven't changed since 2002... you would probably have trouble with this. RH8 may not even detect the NIC at all until you install the drivers... could turn in to a major pain. CentOS would more than likely have full support for the hardware, although that's not a 100% certainty. But is a lot more likely to support all the hardware as compared to RH8.

Something else to think about... how important will the data on the server be? If the hard disk crashed and was unrecoverable, would that be a problem? If so, it would probably be best to spend more of your budget on that side of things.

I noticed the Newegg format item numbers right away. Great place to shop. I buy most of my computer hardware from there.