I've been building 32bit servers like this for years... In fact I also deliver SOHO servers built along theese lines. to answer your question: No there is no reason to buy a 64bit system for the purpose you describe. Remeber also that a 64 bit system as almost double the memory requirements, since it needs 2 the space to store it's data! Here some tips... I use Software raid 1 (mirrowed) drives. to protect my data against the inevitable disk crash. I use storebackup to protect my data against the inevitable user error. The storebackup backups to a 3rd disk. In win/Samba, I avoid "Hot seating" unless I can get all workstations ot be the same (usually not the case for home networks). I use the Yast configuration for email fetchmail, which lets the server constantly poll my "local" users email accounts for new mail (24/7). and Use squirrelmail for "backup" mail access... I use SSH and VNC (via xinetd) heavily, for example I only run my email client (evolution) remote on the server either via "SSH -X", or on a vnc so that all my emails are in a single client... Don't forget to look into a "Fax-server", (I use hylafax) as this will give you faxes to email interface, and save (for all eternity) all inconing faxes to a directory... I use fwbuilder to build my firewalls, but I do have additional (and complicated) firewall needs. maybe the new SuSE firewall 2 is enough for you... And last (but not least): I have several servers that have been running like this for many years... (for example my mother 'n law, whoose Celeron 400 has been doing service for 4 years now, or is it 5?) Jerry Westrick. On Mon, 2004-05-03 at 09:10, Lenz Grimmer wrote:
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Hi,
On Mon, 3 May 2004, Koenraad Lelong wrote:
I would like to build my own machine, which is going to serve mail (Postfix, Courier-Imap), web (maybe), files (Samba), proxy (Squid), for my home-network. I hope to have it running for the next 4 to 5 years, if the hardware allows. Since SuSE 9.1 will include 64bit software I'm considering to make the new machine 64bit. Any reason to go (or not) to AMD Athlon64 (or Opteron) ? Comments invited.
A system with a 64bit address space comes in handy, if you need to access very large amounts of memory or need to create extremely big files. So far, I have not hit any of these limits on my current home workstation (Athlon 1.3 GHz, 512MB RAM), and it too is running 7x24, performing as a web and mail server as well as my KDE desktop system. Actually, the desktop applications are much more demanding than the server parts in the background.
Performance-wise, a program running on a 64bit CPU can sometimes actually be slower than on a 32bit CPU (running on the same frequency), as the overhead involved in dealing with 64bit data types and addresses can require more CPU cycles. Your mileage may vary - this depends on the software.
So, for a home network, a 64bit machine will most likely be quite an overkill. For the above mentioned tasks, a current 32bit system (e.g. some fast Athlon XP) should be more than sufficient. Better invest the money that you would need to spend extra for the 64bit CPU into more memory/disk space and high-quality components (better cooling, extra-silent fans, etc).
Bye, LenZ - -- - ------------------------------------------------------------------ Lenz Grimmer
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