RE: power efficient data server

> From: [email protected]=20
> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf=20
> Of Jesse Hammons
> I would like to build a linux server with the following features:
>=20
> * large amounts of data storage (multiple large IDE hard disks)
> * disks spin down when not in use

You can use hdparm for this, I believe. You may also want to investigate
"laptop-mode". I don't know a lot about this but it may help to reduce
intermittent disk accesses, allowing more spindowns.

> * power supply fan turns off when not in use (or at least slow down?)

Don't know if any do this. Certainly would be nice.

> * CPU is power efficient when not in use

This is implemented through processor power states, called C states.
Desktop processors typically do not implement these, because power is
not a primary concern on AC. (It is of course a secondary concern, but
not yet enough to outweigh the small performance degradation that
putting the CPU to sleep entails.)

> * ability to wake up machine with a LAN network event

Wake-on-lan doesn't seem to be widely used for servers. They generally
need to be on all the time.

> The idea is to have 1-2Tb of storage on line, but it is rarely
> accessessed, so I don't want the machine sucking up power when nobody
> is using it.  There will be no keyboard attached to the system, so it
> has to be able to wake up when someone makes a request over=20
> th network.

If you wanted to save maximum power I would use a mobile system that
supported C states. You would need an ACPI-enabled Linux kernel to take
advantage of these. Storage could be attached via 1394, perhaps. That
would be expensive, though.

I would go for an old Pentium 3 motherboard and CPU - perferably one
with heat sink only (no fan). This will dissipate less power than a
superfast Pentium 4, and that, combined with the disks being spun down
most of the time, should give you a system that is relatively power
efficient.

Regards -- Andy

(Not speaking for Intel)


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