Building a Webserver

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Once upon a time, I built my own webserver and had it stored to a remote housing location. This is a report of what I did – back then, in 2004…

What I wanted: Hardware

  • 19″ rack-mount Case, 1 Height Unit (1 HU = ca. 4.5cm), as some housing companies charge per HU
  • Cheap but brand mainboard, graphics and lan onboard
  • P4@2GHz minimum
  • 1 GB RAM minimum
  • 2 Harddisks with raid 1
  • Power source with 300 Watts minimum
  • Good ventilation

What I got: Hardware

  • Mainboard Gigabyte GA-8LS533
  • Processor P4 2GHz, 512kB, “Northwood”
  • Special-Heatsink for P4 in 1HU Case
  • 1 GB (2×512 MB) PC133 SD-RAM
  • Case 1HU “Dämo” = Ci Rack Server RS1100
  • Power Source FSP 300 Watts
  • Raid Controller 3ware 7000-2B PCI
  • 2x Harddisk Maxtor Diamond Max 120 GB (Raid 1)
  • DVD/CD-Laufwerk

Assembly

To get a new connector backplate that fits with the mainboard, I had to order one at http://www.schaeffer-ag.de

To reduce noise while setting up the server at my home, I reduced fan power somewhat. See here: http://www.cpemma.co.uk/diodes.html.

What I wanted: Software

  • Linux (Debian Sarge with Kernel 2.6)
  • Own Kernel
  • A free/cheap admin-tool for managing customer accounts
  • Prepare an image CD for easy re-install of the ínitial SW-buildup

What I got: Software

  • PD-Admin Server tool (http://www.pd-admin.de)
  • Debian Sarge, ISO-Image/Netinstall
  • Partitions:
    / 2 GB
    /swap 2 GB
    /tmp 1 GB
    /var 20 GB
    /usr 10 GB
    /mailpartition 5 GB
    /home ca. 80 GB
  • There is an own mail partition, so remember to chown/chmod and link it correctly.
  • Creating an image CD: I chose Mkcdrec

Pictures

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