[SunRescue] recommendations: IPX or SS-2?

[bobk]

On Thu, 3 Feb 2000, Matthew Haas wrote:

> Good afternoon.
> 
> I have the opporunity to setup a 24/7 box at my local ISP (mainly for
> personal use), and I have an IPX or SPARCstation 2 to spare.
> 
> I'm leaning towards the IPX as it is more compact, but I was wondering
> about any heating problems by leaving it up 24/7. 

I'd go with the SS2, and here's why:
1) easier to fit on a rack. Its got a low profile. I doesn't have the
standard 19", but I have heard of rack-mounting kits being available.

2) You can fit two drive in it, and it will still run cooler than a
single-drive IPX. This is borne out by experience. I would suggest using
5400 RPM drives instead of 7200 RPM drives for heat reasons, unless you
are at a well-cooled facility. Even then, the speed vs. reliability due to
heat generation comes in to play.

3) the main advantage of the IPX is the built-in video, which you won't be
using when the machine is colocated.

4) I think the SS2 has more hardware contexts, which should give it a
slight performance edge.

Both are good machines though. I have an IPX with a weitek PowerUP
and 32 MB running OpenBSD as a daily-use desktop machine, and it works
pretty well.