Category: Hardware
Benchmarking hardware RAID vs. Linux kernel software RAID
By Ben Martin In testing both software and hardware RAID performance I employed six 750GB Samsung SATA drives in three RAID configurations — 5, 6, and 10. I measured performance using both Bonnie++ and IOzone benchmarks. I ran the benchmarks using various chunk sizes to see if that had an effect on either hardware or software configurations. For the hardware…
Read MoreSSD vs. SATA RAID: A performance benchmark
By Ben Martin Without going into details, SSDs may use single-level cell (SLC) or multi-level cell storage, with SLC drives typically offering better performance. SSDs offer different read and write speeds, form factors, and capacity. I looked at several models from Mtron. The performance of the 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch form factors is identical, so you might as well get the…
Read MoreUsing Linux Utilities to Avoid Your Next IT Catastrophe
Perhaps this has happened to you–you’re on the phone, your hands have been three feet from your keyboard for the past half hour, and your system is idle, when suddenly the computer reboots or the screen goes black and locks up. You may wiggle the mouse a bit thinking this…
Read MorePlugging Away: DIY File Server Using Samba
“That sounds like something I could have used in my office,” Dad exclaimed. I had just described mating a Plug Computer with a 500 GB Western Digital USB external disk and putting in on my LAN. Servers and support were difficult, back in the days when Dad had his small…
Read MoreVyatta Startup Takes on World
Vyatta, a feisty Linux networking startup with attitude, believes the current economic downturn and a confluence of technological shifts will enable it to overcome normally impossible odds of success. ‚ÄúWe are the Red Hat of networking,‚Äù said Vyatta CEO Kelly Herrell. Vyatta is benefitting from the current economic downturn just as Red…
Read MorePlugging Away: Automated Text Messaging To Your Cell Phone
Suppose you have a Plug Computer (or any other Linux system) serving up Web pages and you want to make sure the thing is up and running. Wouldn’t it be great to get periodic messages about the health of your system, on your cell phone. While there are lots of ways to…
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