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20020620: IDD ingestion machine

>From: Lodovica Illari <address@hidden>
>Organization: MIT
>Keywords: 200206201727.g5KHRxa15668 PC LDM GEMPAK

Lodovica,

>we are in the process of upgrading our synoptic lab and we have decided to
>buy few more PC. At present we have a mixture of Alphas and Linux PCs and
>we are running the ingestion on an Alpha workstation (Alpha 433). We would
>like to move the ingestion to one of the new PCs and would like your
>advice on the specs required. This is what we are thinking to buy:
>
>         1 Dell Dimension 8200 for ingestion
>
>         This features:
>         1 X 2.5GHZ Pentium 4 processor
>         2GB memory
>         120GB hard drive
>         DVD-ROM
>         CD-DVD Burner
>         21" monitor
>         next day response time for service
>
>We would like to keep it dedicated to run the LDM ingestion and
>GEMPAK plotting programs.                                                     
>                                  
>Please let us know what you think. Keep in mind that we could afford more
>and would like to buy a machine which will serve us well in the future.

The machine you list is well configured for the Unidata applications you
want to run.  The only suggestions we might have are:

o consider using 10000 rpm Ultra SCSI disks instead of IDE disks.  If
  you intend this machine to be a high volume IDD node (i.e., perhaps
  you will eventually want to get all data from all feeds offered), you
  may want to consider getting a hardware RAID card.  We have found
  that using RAID in a PC we have ingesting all feeds works much better
  than not using RAID.

o consider running Solaris x86 on the machine running the LDM; we find
  that Solaris x86 is much more robust than Linux for the constant
  hammering that the machine will be put through when ingesting, decoding,
  analyzing, and displaying data

o if the machine will not be used for an analysis/display platform, there
  is no need to spend extra money for a large monitor

o make sure that whatever system you get is certified to run the OS
  you settle on.  Hardware can easily be newer that what is supported
  by either Solaris x86 and Linux

o make sure that you have a properly "sized" ethernet connection.  What
  I have in mind is the purchase of a Gb ethernet card if your lab supports
  Gb networking

o if you want the machine to be "operational", you may want to consider
  getting redundant power supplies

o if the machine is ever to do a lot more processing, you might want to
  consider getting a dual 2.5 Ghz processor box.  This would be overkill
  for quite some time, so it may not be worth the extra cost.

>Thanks
>Lodovica Illari

Tom Yoksas