Open Solaris

[Peter Korsten]

Op 21-2-2010 22:23, Mikael Hansson schreef:

> I'm thinking about setting up an old computer as a server and I'm
> thinking about Open Solaris as OS.

Just make sure that the computer isn't too old. On the other hand, I 
have Solaris 10 (more or less the same thing, but not open source) 
running on a 10 year old 550 MHz Sun Ultrasparc IIa (or something like 
that) with 1 GB of memory. Not very fast, but otherwise, works like a charm.

> I'm going to buy some large disks and put in it to store files
> (audio/video/apps...) that are to be accessible from my network and also
> through a remote connection. Other services might be considered later.

Consider getting a dedicated RAID box like those of QNAP. They run 
Linux, use far less electricity than any old computer, and you can do a 
lot of other things with it as well.

> First, is Open Solaris a good choice or would you use anything else?

It's an excellent choice. You may also consider FreeBSD, or the NAS 
solution based on FreeBSD: FreeNAS.

It really depends on the driver support for your chosen hardware. Unless 
you have some esoteric stuff, it should probably work. Then again, I 
tend to buy towards the higher end, which tends to be better supported.

I'd never choose Linux, for the simple reason that I don't like the name.

But again, consider getting something like the QNAP stuff.

> I'm a bit unclear about the capabilities of ZFS, but would it render the
> need for RAID (redundancy) unnecessary?

I don't know ZFS at all, but no software will save you from catastrophic 
hardware failure.

> Anyone (Peter :) ) have a short direction of which steps are needed, to
> achieve such a configuration?

It really depends on your hardware support. I tried re-installing 
Solaris 10 on the Sun box I got last year, but it wouldn't read the 
first CD and I kinda haven't looked at it since. Installing it is a 
breeze, though, even on a virtual machine.

Still, if you want a no-brainer, consider FreeNAS.

> ps. upgraded my internet connection last week, it's really nice
> downloading the entire solaris iso in 1,5 min :)

Ouch. It will be a while before we manage such speeds on this little island.

- Peter