11 Jun
2009
11 Jun
'09
1:17 p.m.
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Ethan Dicks wrote:
On Wed, Jun 10, 2009 at 11:55 AM, Dave
McGuire<mcguire at neurotica.com> wrote:
In my experience, the difference between "workstation" and
"server" is
how you use it. A "server" is a computer running various daemons that
make the "server" machine the central point for activity of network
clients. Web server, FTP server, mail server, NIS server, NFS server,
Samba server, etc. A "workstation" is everything else. Web browsing
(MySpace), Solitaire, and Minesweeper.
For me, "server" hardware (that meant to be used as a server and not a
workstation) is just specialized workstation hardware designed to
maximize processor and data throughput. Geneally, these machines are
also undesirable to be used as workstations (nonstandard disk options
[RAID arrays and lack of CD-ROM], lack of a local console, graphics
that go no further than 2D hardware accel, or even standard VGA), but
can seriously outperform most workstations and some gaming rigs.
A "blade" server is a good idea of a "server" system. A blade server
is about 1.5 inches thick, contains a disk or two, and electrical
connections are generally limited to a hot-swappable disk bay,
Ethernet, mains power, a RS-232 port for a serial console, and USB if
you're lucky.
This attitude is common... ... the only thing
they see in for
sale in WalMart is PCs running Windows. Do these people really
believe PCs running Windows process their bank transactions,
maintain hospital databases, or run railroads?
Common indeed - an example from just this week: I was volunteering
at FreeGeek Columbus, sifting through a pile of donated 2U servers,
when one of the other volunteers _who uses Linux_ asked me what
they were (because he honestly didn't recognize a boxy slab as a
computer). Upon hearing the answer, he asked what a server does and
where you'd use one. It's a bit tough to explain to someone the
difference between a rackable server-class machine and a desktop
machine when there's little common conceptual ground or vocabulary.
I don't know how much of I was saying was starting to make sense
because the last question was, "I'm thinking of starting a business
with some friends. Do we need a server?"
Besides the cop-out answer of "probably, at some point", I really
didn't have a good answer for him. It's a good thing I'm not in
Sales.
-ethan -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
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