Low Powered, Cheap, *Small* Webservers?

EverCode asks: "I have seen the nano-servers in a few stories here on Slashdot, and in a way, the idea of those little things are part of my question. I need a server that does not suck electricity like a full blown computer does. It would run 24/7, not need to be very fast, quiet, and be CHEAP. 10baseT is all I need for NIC speed. Operating system is not an issue here. I figure one option may be to use my Windows 98 PC with some power management options turned on, but I imagine that would create slow response time and a lot of other problems, obviously. Ideally, the power savings would come from the hardware, not from the software. I am not against building something from scratch myself if necessary. Would it be possible for me to build a little/power saving server? Thanks. "

Well, not terribly cheap, but...

[Spectre]

There are two popular units out that are low power internet servers, but they may not fit your definition of cheap (although any corporation of more than two people would consider them practically free).

rebel.com's NetWinder line of StrongArm machines (15 watts power) . . .

Cobalt's Qube/RaQ series of machines . . .

Remote configuration/administration and already set up to be used in both cases. I use a NetWinder daily, nice little piece of kit.

Re:for a *webserver*??

[draziw]

You can large format if you want to, you can also run LRP ( http://www.linuxrouter.org/ ) off a zip drive, or LS120. Or, a IDE solid state disk such as a Sandisk - which is what I do. Very low power, very fast access time. 20 meg Sandisk with IDE interface is $100.

Can do it off a floppy with no hard drive

[draziw]

http://www.linuxrouter.org/ floppy disk Linux distro based on debian. No hard drive, use a 486 with a big heat sink and you don't need a CPU fan. Fewer moving parts = less power draw. Use the boa package to serve your web pages. Works great.

for a *webserver*??

[delmoi]

can't put to much content on a floppa
"Subtle mind control? Why do all these HTML buttons say 'Submit' ?"

duh.

[Zurk]

wont any simple cyrix box running linux with all power management turned on do ? I have a cyrix MII with a bios that can do everything from reduce the cpu speed when idle, switch off fans, shut down the hdd, power off the monitor and even has WOL/remote poweroff capability. the only thing you have to do in linux is set the delayed sync patch on and run a secured distro (redhat 5.1 with solar designers securelinux patches and stack protection compiled in) and switch off unnecessary services (use ssh instead of telnet). Alternatively you could just build a StrongARM based machine or use a coldfire board to route packets (both have linux ported to em and can survive on battery power). BTW, cyrix chips run really cool with no fan needed (normal heatsink is good enough)..

Re:Look into pc104 or biscuit pc's

[Zurk]

MY cyrix has an uptime of 153 days and still going strong. It's never crashed. period. and the only reason for a reboot was to upgrade from 2.0 kernels....YMMV depending on your cyrix motherboard manufacturer.

Look into pc104 or biscuit pc's

[Dr.Claw]

If you REALLY want low power look to industrial embedded pc catalogs/websites. Some can be quite expensive, but if size/electricity drain is more important than speed, this could be the thing for you. I would personally stay VERY far away from cyrix though, I had a 6x86 once... it was the most unstable piece of... it's in my parent's basement now running windows ;P If you want x86 I'd say go for an AMD 5x86 133. A company called advantech makes 'biscuit pc's' one version has a 5x86 with built in ethernet, vidcard, ide, serial, is the size of a 3.5" hd and consumes 10 watts. The whole deal goes for under 300 dollars I believe. I was just reading a site a friend referred me to (we're more interested in wearables) called pc104.com. It has links to (you guessed it) anything that involves support for pc104, including a 50mhz(slow) older arm processor pc with built in ehternet/video that runs on 1.5 watts!!! My friend ventured that it would be about the speed of a 486dx33 though, which is unfortunate, but I could run this thing for an hour on a single NiMH AA battery!!! Anyway, not sure this has helped much but best of luck.

notebook

[emmons]

I would suggest running the server on a notebook. Linux supports alot of notebooks, so using a stable os isn't a problem. Also, if you run it with the screen off you are pulling nearly no power. The thing is as simple as a pc for running the server (if you call that simple) and you have low power drain because notebooks are designed with that as their first priority. Plus it isn't all that expensive either!

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