Hi all,

I'm replacing our aging network server here (Corel Netwinder) with a Mini-ITX system using the Via EPIA 6000CL fanless mainboard. This board, like most other Via Mini-ITX boards, uses DDR266 (PC2100) 184-pin DIMM SDRAM.

My question is, does anyone there know if these will work with faster SDRAM .. eg. PC2700 or PC3200 ? I don't care about the speed, just local availability.

Thanks

Ooohh! Two posts for the price of one!

I just found this thread (external BBS) where a very similar question got asked and answered, so I'm probably okay with faster DRAM.

Cheers

Ack, I own an EPIA 10000 and am using 3200's. The 6000 should be able to be using the same RAM.

BTW: My decision was against the 6000 because of the poor CPU. Could you tell me how well this is working as a server (maybe you will use Linux?).

Rolf

Well, I don't have it yet so I cannot comment on the actual performance.

But the CPU is a 600Mhz Via, and I know Via bought the old Cyrix CPU cores from NatSemi, so I'm hoping it will be very similar (if not identical) to the Cyrix Geode cores. My OpenBrick box here has a 300Mhz Geode, and performance as a server is not limited by it's CPU (but it is limited by the slow rtl8139C network interface and the slow SDRAM interface).

With the 6000CL board, the CPU is double the Mhz, and the memory is 3-4X the bandwidth, so performance should be at least double that of the OpenBrick, which will be way more than adequate for my needs.

The Netwinder it replaces is a 275Mhz StrongArm CPU, with a very efficient (and very buggy) Tulip network interface. I think it's CPU is likely equivalent to about a 400Mhz Geode core, but again, the memory bandwidth ain't that great on the Netwinder. Depsite that, the Newinder is great here, but lacks a third NIC and the means to add one.

Power consumption ought to be very similar between the Netwinder (advertised at 15W, 20-25W more likely), and the 6000CL system (calculated at about 17-20W steady state).

EDIT: And yes, I use (only) Linux for these. The server runs a huge list of stuff for me (everything, basically): sendmail (in/out, plus reflector for some small lists), POP3, fetchmail, apache (4 virtual hosts, plus my geocaching WAP portal), SMB master, firewall/router, DNS master/caching, SSH, ftp/rlogin/telnet/vnc (inside only), vtund (switching to OpenVPN on new setup).

Cheers

The server runs a huge list of stuff for me (everything, basically)

Heh. I run less than that on a 1.3GHz Celeron....

Well, I have my EPIA 6000CL here today, with 512MB of DDR333 memory. Some simple NFS file copies I've tried show that it moves large files at about 80mb/sec over NFS, without breaking much of a sweat. Seems adequate, performance wise. For my needs, anyway.

The best the Netwinder ever achieved was around 44mb/sec, but nowadays anything sustained chokes it right up at the driver level.

Cheers

Well, after a few minor tweaks (mostly a new custom kernel), this system is now achieving 100mb/sec data transfer over NFS! Wow!

I'll post pics eventually -- really cool case I've made for it from a cookie tin.

Cheers

...cookie tin???

Here are three pics of my new everything-including-the-kitchen-sink server. Well, server-to-be, once I configure everything and decommission the Netwinder that has filled the same role for us since the late 90s.

The cabinet measures about 8.5"x9"x3.5", and until recently was used to hold chocolate-chip cookies!

It draws 0.17amperes at 120VAC at idle, which should keep the monthly electric bills reasonable.

Cheers

pic#2

pic#3

Here are three pics of my new everything-including-the-kitchen-sink server.

You've out done yourself!

-jk

Very cool. And I can almost make out the credit card number in that first pic

Well, my AC power meter proves me wrong about the Netwinder:

Power consumption ought to be very similar between the Netwinder (advertised at 15W, 20-25W more likely), and the 6000CL system (calculated at about 17-20W steady state).

The faithful old Netwinder, minus it's noisy fan (which got removed when I made a replacement fanless enclosure for it), draws only around 0.11 amps at 120VAC, or about 13W power consumption. Some of that is loss from the very warm power brick it uses.

Overall, the new 20W machine is going to cost me 50% extra to run 24/7. Barely acceptable, but not too bad in the grand scheme of things, I suppose. EDIT: The ADSL modem it connects to uses 12W just by itself!

Cheers

And while we're on the subject, one of my single drive Mk2a players measures between 7W (playing mp3) and 10W (reading from HD while playing), using the compact 120VAC power adapter, with ethernet connected.

-ml

Well, this machine now has PC3200 memory installed, and it still works just fine. So I guess even MUCH faster SDRAM still works slowly!

As for software, I've struggled for a week with Fedora Core2 on it, and eventually gave up (db4 was just too much trouble), and am now ditching the works in favour of Debian Sid ("unstable"). We'll see how that goes..

The problem with Fedora Core2 is that the Via C3 CPU is missing the "CMOV" instruction -- otherwise it implements a full i686 style core. But too many glitches in Fedora due to packages compiled for the full i686 instruction set.. Actually, I fixed most of them, but then got totally hung up on DB4 (needed for email servers and the like..).

Cheers

now ditching the works in favour of Debian Sid ("unstable"). We'll see how that goes..

I now remember why I've never before stuck with Debian on anything else:

It's UGLY. Bog UGLY. I really don't know how Knoppix (a bootable debian-based CD) can look so beautiful when it's parents are so very, very, VERY ugly.

And all appeared to be going well (after dumping the insanely stupid GRUB loader in favour of LILO), but then all of a sudden it grew zits. BIG ZITS. The fonts became so ugly as to be unreadable.

Back to the installation disk for another square one attempt..

The fonts became so ugly as to be unreadable.

Fonts?

Gentoo?

Oh yeah, follow-up time here..

I eventually ditched debian "Sid" (unstable) and installed debian "Sarge" (testing) and all has been suprisingly wonderful. I even *like* debian now, so much that I just put the same release onto my main laptop machine.

Cheers