[K12OSN] Cheap Cluster Server

[Robert Arkiletian]

Would this idea work?

After reading this article
http://www.anandtech.com/linux/showdoc.aspx?i=2271
on Anandtech. I thought why not use this idea for an LTSP server. Why 
not make a MONSTER LTSP server with say a 6 node cluster of AMD Sempron 
3100+. They have built in memory controller so RAM latency is low. They 
are 754 pin cpu and most of these MB come with Gigabit lan and SATA 
built in. Here is the specs for each node:

CPU AMD Sempron 3100+ (32bit cpu) $150
MB ASUS K8V-X VIA K8T800  Gigabit LAN, SATA $120
Ram 2 sticks of 512MB= 1GB DDR400  $200
HD 1 Seagate SATA 120GB   $120
case with quality 350W PS $100

Total cost of 1 node approx. $700
Cluster price approx. $4200 + Plus Switch for cluster: 8 port gigabit 
switch $200 = $4400 total
(approx. same price as a dual Xeon 2.8Ghz with 4Gb of RAM)

But this 6 node cluster would be at least 10x more powerful.
720 GB disk storage
6GB RAM (easily expandable to 9GB)

The only problem is I have never built a linux cluster before! Is my  
excitement unjustified????


Robert Arkiletian
Eric Hamber Secondary School