SUMMARY: downsizing web servers

Thank you to all who answered and the original question is at the bottom.  The consensus was "it depends", which is cool.

thanks again

Patrick Shannon [pshannon@macromedia.com]
I'd say it depends on usage of the 420.  If it's got a cpu bottleneck, then you may want 3 Netra T1s.

Scaling with Netras means more servers to admin.  But it also means better isolation and improved scalability.


Mark Cohen [markc@binaryfaith.com]
420Rs use a different caliber of backplane then the T1s. If you're running
a T1 fully populated and don't need the extra 2 hme ports (you have a QFE
in your 420) then it will probably be fine.. remember though, you can only
have a max of 2 processors in the T1 and the 420 will take 4 processors
and 4 gigs of ram max. The best part of a T1 is that its a fraction of the
cost of a 420 and therefore you can always add more machines.. 

So, depending on what web server software you're using, ie apache and
nothing else major like app servers (ATG Dynamo or BEA Weblogic) the T1
makes a great web server.
-=Mark

Paul.Foti@valueoptions.com

Becki,

It all depends on your Netra's.  I have a Netra with a 167Mhz processor.  2
420's are practically 7 times the capacity, plus the bus speed is probably 4
times the speed.

So, if you have 2 Netra's with 450Mhz processors, then of course.  If you
are looking for redundancy, just order a another 420 and take one processor
out of the other one and move it over.  They are not that expensive for the
system, just the memory and processor.



Kevin Buterbaugh [Kevin.Buterbaugh@lifeway.com]
Becki,

     In theory, yes, but ... my only concern would be CPU utilization.  If
the box does a lot of context switching, then that can be a problem on
uniprocessor boxes.  An MP box is usually a lot less likely to be affected
by that.  Of course, if you get the dual-CPU Netra's, then you'd be in
great shape.  HTH...


Steve Mickeler [steve@neptune.on.ca]
It depends on what you have your web servers doing.

If they are just serving content and you have your searching and other
parts on other servers, then netras will be fine.

If you have cpu intense web servers such as searching of large indexes you
will need a few more netras to replace a 420.

sraja@cine.net

It depends on how busy the website is. If it is serving less than
100,000-500,000
hits per day then you will do fine with the 2 Netra's.

todd.a.fiedler@mail.sprint.com

it depends upon the actual amount of load you are seeing right now. 
But, not knowing that,  I would venture a guess thatthe answer is yes.


Fletcher, Joe [joe.fletcher@Metapack.com]
Hi,

I'd consider the fact that the 420 can take an extra pair of CPUs. I'd also
consider what volume of storage you expect to be accessed by the web
servers. The answer to the question will also depend on your web server
software since you may find that in some cases a cluster of cheap CPUs may
do as good a job as a more expensive SMP system.

While not SUN I'd recommend the Compaq Alpha DS series boxes. Think SUNfire
for half the price and with more grunt. A DS10 can probably be had for less
than a Netra and it has more power than a Blade1000.
I run Fastrack servers on Alphas and they work a treat.

-----Original Message-----
From: Kain, Becki (B.) 
Sent: Friday, July 20, 2001 1:17 PM
To: 'sunmanagers@sunmanagers.org'
Subject: downsizing web servers



Folks:

I have a web server question for you.  If I have a 420 with the following specs:

   sun4u Sun Enterprise 420R (2 X UltraSPARC-II 450MHz)
   System clock frequency: 113 MHz
   Memory size: 2048 Megabytes
   quad ether card

would 2 netra T1's have enough horse power to replace that and scale horizontally?  What else would you recommend?

thanks in advance, 

becki kain