settec+ Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 Hello everybody, once again I'm here asking for some good advice This is the scenario: We have 5 pc working mainly with autocad 3dsmax and photoshop. I'd like to implement some sort of file server (maybe linux based), so that everybody can work and save files directly on the server instead than on his own pc. The file server would work as a server for 3dsmax textures for network rendering, too. And, wether possible, it would also be used as a print server. I'm searching around for some infos for this kind of solution, I found a lot of hints, but I don't really know if the performance drop could be a problem. Any help/information (hw wise, too) is much appreciated Thank you in advance. settec+ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Mottle Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 I'm not a guru like Greg and I'm sure he'll have some good solutions, but if you don't have a spare machine kicking around to convert into a file storage server, you could also look into some of the numberous NAS (Network Attached Storage) solutions out there. I think even Linksys has some in their lineup. Not sure how good they are though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
settec+ Posted June 7, 2004 Author Share Posted June 7, 2004 Thank you Jeff for your reply. I'm considering some sort of NAS, but I have some spare machine, and I'd like to go with them, if possible. But I'm not a net guru, so any hints is welcome ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckytohaveher Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 The important thing on a file server is overall speed. With only 5 users you will only have so much capability and demand. I would recommend using a machine you already have and simply upgrade the file sub-system. You can spend a great deal of money quickly if you aren't careful. I am assuming that you already have a network, but here is what I have found: 1. For almost all applications in rendering the network will be the bottleneck not the drives! Make sure everything is Full-duplex gigabit on the networking. Dual Full-duplex gigabit is the best! 2. When you network slave render many of the nodes will be hitting the same files simultaneously and repeatedly. SuperCache XP should be out sometime in the next month or so. 3. Striped drives (Raid-0) with 2, 3, or 4 drives are cheap and easy to setup. Just be sure to use a good hardware based raid card. I hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 I would argue very strongly AGAINST RAID 0. This is a server, and although speed is important, data security is more important. You NEED redundancy - RAID 5. This set-up is not as fast as RAID 0, but it allows the failure of a minimum of one drive without any data loss. In a RAID 0 (striped) configuration, failure of any drive in the RAID will cause total data loss. In essence you trade safety for speed - this highly desirable in certain situations. In RAID 5, a series of drives are striped but with redundancy - any drive can be removed. I set up a similar server in October using an older render slave Athlon 2000. Installed WinXP pro and an SATA RAID card from promise (not the best card but it works). I added 4 WD SATA drives (120GB SE models) and configured the RAID. I put extra case fans and fans on each drive. I ended up with 360GB of network storage that hasnt skipped a beat. I rest easier knowing that my data is much more secure. Total cost (not including the Athlon) was approx $1000CDN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckytohaveher Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Sorry for not being clear... Raid-5 is ABSOLUTELY a better way to go! Raid-0 is a minimum for sure. And yes, I have lost drives before. What about Raid-10? Anyone use Supercache before (windows 2000 and NT) ? I love it... What about the network issue? Dual Full-duplex gigabit for each station is 400MB-500MB / sec I think. Combined with Supercache -- that is a killer node feed. You would be feeding all the texture maps and data out of ram at full PCI bus speed... Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serpico Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 We have an office of more than 10 AutoCAD users and our new server (dual AMD 2GHz, I think, can't recall at the moment) slows down abit when we are at full capacity. Get the fastest server you can get especially if you are using more than AutoCAD. If you want to just save files after working on them locally, that's a different story. We work with the files from the network, so packets are zooming back and forth on the network. RAID-5 is a good idea as well as gigabit ethernet. Our 100mb network I believe is a bottleneck in our office. Good luck. By the way, what are your local systems specs that your users use? I need to find something new for home and I use the same applications. thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now