cbs@cs.cmu.edu (Clauss Strauch) (06/07/91)
We are planning on upgrading our ancient Appletalk fileserver setup.
This server would be the central fileserver for a small(~30) network of Macs,
supporting ~70 users. We think we need:
-- Reliability and reasonable speed(who doesn't?).
-- Lots of space(~1 GB).
-- Some form of backup device.
Configurations we're considering are:
-- An SE/30 or IIsi as a server(using Appleshare or Sys 7 filesharing).
-- An HP 97549 or Fujitsu 1 GB drive(we've had very good experiences
with the HP's on our unix systems). Both come with a 5 year warranty.
A Seagate Wren might be another possibility.
-- An Archive 1.3 GB DAT drive.
Both the tape and the disk would be hooked up to the server.
Questions:
-- Any obvious bogosities in any of these configurations? Suggestions
for improvement?
-- Any SCSI issues to watch out for? Will both the tape and disk
work well daisy-chained off the same Mac SCSI port? Should we buy
an add-on SCSI card?
-- Recommendations(positive or negative) as to vendors for this
stuff?
-- Clauss Strauch
Engineering Design Research Center
Carnegie Mellon University
cbs@edrc.cmu.edumlbarrow@mit.edu (Michael Barrow) (06/08/91)
In article <1991Jun6.171402.21371@cs.cmu.edu>, cbs@cs.cmu.edu (Clauss Strauch) writes: > > > We are planning on upgrading our ancient Appletalk fileserver setup. > This server would be the central fileserver for a small(~30) network of Macs, > supporting ~70 users. We think we need: > > -- Reliability and reasonable speed(who doesn't?). > -- Lots of space(~1 GB). > -- Some form of backup device. > > Configurations we're considering are: > > -- An SE/30 or IIsi as a server(using Appleshare or Sys 7 filesharing). That's good for speed. I don't think that you'd need the IIsi. It's got color and sound and that would be a waste of hardware maybe... The only thing that it does have over the SE/30 is that it's faster (a good reason) and it can have more memory since the SE/30 has broken ROMs (oh well!). The System 7 filesharing ain't gonna work as it is limited to something like 10 simultaneous users. The AppleShare Server 2.0 software is more what you want. Eventually, AppleShare 3.0 will be released and this will be the answer to all of our AShare problems (I hope!). > -- An HP 97549 or Fujitsu 1 GB drive(we've had very good experiences > with the HP's on our unix systems). Both come with a 5 year warranty. > A Seagate Wren might be another possibility. I haven't used one of these, so I can't tell you much. We have two Quantum 210 drives on ours -- an SE/30, by the way. They work well. > -- An Archive 1.3 GB DAT drive. You should use RetroSpect. It's the best that I have seen. In addition, you can get its cousin, RetroSpect Remote to back up the Macs' local disks over the network. > -- Any SCSI issues to watch out for? Will both the tape and disk > work well daisy-chained off the same Mac SCSI port? Should we buy > an add-on SCSI card? I don't think you'll need an extra SCSI card, but I am not sure. I don't know anyone that uses one. Basically, if you want the server to be more responsive, I suggest getting 1) a fast CPU, 2) gobs o' memory (within reason), and 3) an ethernet network. When I copy things over Ethernet, it's just like a hard disk to hard disk copy --- FAST! > -- Recommendations(positive or negative) as to vendors for this > stuff? For hard disk vendors, I love APS (Alliance Peripheral Systems). They have a 3-4 page ad in MacWeek every week. They may be a little more expensive than some of the other "dirt-cheap" companies advertised, but I think it's worth every darn penny! They have a great return policy and AWESOME tech- support. I give them the thumbs up. My department of 6 full time people has bought about 8 of their drives....and counting! > > -- Clauss Strauch > Engineering Design Research Center > Carnegie Mellon University > cbs@edrc.cmu.edu > > -- Michael Barrow