Windows 2003 Server
Category General Techo Stuff
From the perspective of a Lotus Domino guy who has had a long time love affair with Linux…!
From the perspective of a Lotus Domino guy who has had a long time love affair with Linux…!
Firstly, I think you need to know a little of my background.
I have been working with Notes since V3 days and am a mix between admin and developer.
I’ve built well over 150 Notes Domains and worked with systems that range from 5 users up to 40,000….!
I have built more applications than I care to think of, including a replacement for LEI to overcome its limitations. I was very proud to hear that 3 years later it is still in production and is reviewed every 6 months for a commercial replacement and still one isn’t available with the same features and functionality… Not bad for something 2 of us smashed up in 2 weeks huh..
I love what I do and have 3 servers at home.. One is for the web, one for main production and one is a dev play box. I have my desktop and one for my wife and a laptop… Not to mention the machines ready to go for my kids
Originally my servers ran on OS/2.. We actually installed over 100 of them throughout Queensland Australia and they were very reliable and generally performed very well. Although you could forget doing anything unusual like connecting up 32 serial ports to run a modem bank without having great amounts of difficulty, drivers and support simply didn’t exist. So the main company servers where actually NT 3.51 then converted to V4. Whilst the OS wasn’t as stable, it allowed us much great access to add on software and hardware.
For ease and price I simple used NT workstation at home and ran the servers on that. This allowed me to do some sexy things like aggregating 2 modems to give me a faster connection back to the office.
It was about this time that I stated hearing about Linux.. So to get me started I setup a Redhat 6.1 server and used it to dial into the Internet, then configured a firewall and allowed all my machines on the network to connect.
Seemed easy, but it took hours to struggle through the how to’s and to try and get this thing working.. Like everything with Linux it’s never easy. On the plus side there is always LOADS of information on the net about how other people have done it before. The Linux community is fantastic for sharing information.
Anyway that is how I got into Linux, but I am digressing from the matter at hand …..
The Linux box sat in the corner doing this for about three months… in fact it was so reliable I disconnected the monitor and keyboard and shoved it behind the desk…!
Well, I was REALLY surprised when the rumours of Domino running on Linux started to appear. Since there was already Domino for Unix, my hopes where high that this might occur. Imagine having a Domino server running on an OS more stable than Linux…!
I grabbed my beta copy of R5 and decided to work through it and get this happening. This is where things got messy. Coming up to end of financial year I decided what the hell, lets get a new box for it to run on. This is where you discover that Linux doesn’t have the drivers needed for any of your new kit. After a week I gave in and switched my old desktop to become the server and the server became my desktop. Even then had to go and buy a generic PCI VGA Card to get it all working..
Anyway so got it up and running and whilst it wasn’t great for many users it worked just fine in a small environment. At the time I had written a study guide for the R5 exams so published them on the internet with the domino server. At its peak I was getting 10,000 hits a day… rather surprised that the modems didn’t melt…
That box happily chugged along for 3 months while I disappeared off contracting. In my mind Linux had proven its reliability beyond doubt. The community was larger and more eager to share than OS/2 and being open source if you really needed drivers you could create your own..!
After awhile, I got more enthused and decided to setup a Linux Samba server. And hey while I was doing it, we may as well go software RAID-5 to keep my data secure.
The main thing I caution with Linux is ensure you buy hardware that is at least 3 months old so that the drivers have had time to come out and settle down etc., and be prepared to do lots of research if needed.
Recently I started reading all about this new Windows server.. 2003 eh.. sounds interesting.. It now has software RAID-5, supposed to be really robust, easy to use and allows me to run all my windows type utilities, like backups etc.
Yeah real interesting..
So decided to check out the price.. CHOKE…! It’s not priced to be used as a home server that’s for sure… It costs more than the white box servers I build…
With a little luck I happened to know someone in the great organisation that is Microsoft. So beg, grovel, plead and my way comes a copy of Windows 2003 to evaluate.
First impressions…!
Installs like a dream…!
One interesting thing is that they recommend you don’t use any 3rd party drivers as it may reduce the stability. Having said that out of the box is detected everything I was running.. The other good news if you really feel the need you can generally hack up XP drivers to function.
So decided to setup RAID-5.. so partitioned all the disk and for the life of me couldn’t work out how to get it working… Finally a mate tells me to check out dynamic disks.. BANG.. fixed. It took about 12 hours to format my 4 x 80Gb drives…! But they are all in and running.
In terms of network performance it’s definitely quicker than RedHat 9.0 when hitting the box from 3 machines and reading and writing files. Linux used to peak out at around 60% network (Windows XP Task Mgr). Where Windows 2003 goes all the way up to 80%.
One of my grips is the fact that you can't send the errors via SMTP ie event log, I'd gotten used to this with Linux. There was some inital problems with one of my IDE cables and if i'd realised I could have resolved prior to the server falling over. (It had been erroring for 2 days)
General performance is GREAT.. I’m not a fan of X-Windows I find it clunky and slow.. It also drags lots of performance out of the box so generally on Linux I don’t run it. No problems with 2003.
Under Linux I run Webmin which makes my life so much easier.. gives me remote access to the box and lets me do most things I need to do.. Including being able to shut down Domino and restart it etc. Well now Windows 2003 servers comes with remote control.. and it gives you full control of the box.. very nice..! Obviously slower than a light browser client but it gives you total control of the box.
I’m now running my “Beam to TV” directly off the RCA adaptor on the video card, but had to hack up the ATI drivers to make them install.. Had to get directx working otherwise sound and video wouldn’t play properly.. Had to use the omega drivers to get the video sorted, the cool thing is I found plenty of information on the net to help me along.
Oh and for those people saying what about performance etc… Check out NotesBench gives you lots of interesting numbers etc.. this review was about impressions and useability.
My only real problem, (which I can’t blame Microsoft for) is Domino has got this weird memory leak thing when you leave the server console running on the desktop… Sucks down all the memory.. Lotus/IBM is pretending it doesn’t actually happen but trust me it does.. I’ve tried all the known fixes and none have worked.. Basically means you need to minimise and maximise the console window every few days...grrrr
My summary..
If you’re a techo who wants low level control.. Things like re-compiling the Kernal get you excited you’re a Linux guy. If your after ease and stability then you seriously need to consider 2003 server.
Linux
You need to have that low level of control
Things like re-compiling a kernel get you excited.
Creating your own drivers is better than sex.
You can’t afford the license
Windows 2003
You have the money
You want a one click no hassle environment
You want the peace of mind knowing that things like drivers etc will come quickly as your on the number 1 platform.
You want to be able to run other windows apps on it.. ie setup voice servers or use it to backup running nero etc etc
Surprisingly stable and offers really good all round performance
Links to more info
Webmin making managing a Linux Server easy
http://www.webmin.com/
Tips on getting Domino and Linux Humming
http://www.jnj.tzo.com/
VGA Drivers for 2003 Server
http://www.driverheaven.net/showthread.php?threadid=33613
I have been working with Notes since V3 days and am a mix between admin and developer.
I’ve built well over 150 Notes Domains and worked with systems that range from 5 users up to 40,000….!
I have built more applications than I care to think of, including a replacement for LEI to overcome its limitations. I was very proud to hear that 3 years later it is still in production and is reviewed every 6 months for a commercial replacement and still one isn’t available with the same features and functionality… Not bad for something 2 of us smashed up in 2 weeks huh..
I love what I do and have 3 servers at home.. One is for the web, one for main production and one is a dev play box. I have my desktop and one for my wife and a laptop… Not to mention the machines ready to go for my kids
Originally my servers ran on OS/2.. We actually installed over 100 of them throughout Queensland Australia and they were very reliable and generally performed very well. Although you could forget doing anything unusual like connecting up 32 serial ports to run a modem bank without having great amounts of difficulty, drivers and support simply didn’t exist. So the main company servers where actually NT 3.51 then converted to V4. Whilst the OS wasn’t as stable, it allowed us much great access to add on software and hardware.
For ease and price I simple used NT workstation at home and ran the servers on that. This allowed me to do some sexy things like aggregating 2 modems to give me a faster connection back to the office.
It was about this time that I stated hearing about Linux.. So to get me started I setup a Redhat 6.1 server and used it to dial into the Internet, then configured a firewall and allowed all my machines on the network to connect.
Seemed easy, but it took hours to struggle through the how to’s and to try and get this thing working.. Like everything with Linux it’s never easy. On the plus side there is always LOADS of information on the net about how other people have done it before. The Linux community is fantastic for sharing information.
Anyway that is how I got into Linux, but I am digressing from the matter at hand …..
The Linux box sat in the corner doing this for about three months… in fact it was so reliable I disconnected the monitor and keyboard and shoved it behind the desk…!
Well, I was REALLY surprised when the rumours of Domino running on Linux started to appear. Since there was already Domino for Unix, my hopes where high that this might occur. Imagine having a Domino server running on an OS more stable than Linux…!
I grabbed my beta copy of R5 and decided to work through it and get this happening. This is where things got messy. Coming up to end of financial year I decided what the hell, lets get a new box for it to run on. This is where you discover that Linux doesn’t have the drivers needed for any of your new kit. After a week I gave in and switched my old desktop to become the server and the server became my desktop. Even then had to go and buy a generic PCI VGA Card to get it all working..
Anyway so got it up and running and whilst it wasn’t great for many users it worked just fine in a small environment. At the time I had written a study guide for the R5 exams so published them on the internet with the domino server. At its peak I was getting 10,000 hits a day… rather surprised that the modems didn’t melt…
That box happily chugged along for 3 months while I disappeared off contracting. In my mind Linux had proven its reliability beyond doubt. The community was larger and more eager to share than OS/2 and being open source if you really needed drivers you could create your own..!
After awhile, I got more enthused and decided to setup a Linux Samba server. And hey while I was doing it, we may as well go software RAID-5 to keep my data secure.
The main thing I caution with Linux is ensure you buy hardware that is at least 3 months old so that the drivers have had time to come out and settle down etc., and be prepared to do lots of research if needed.
Recently I started reading all about this new Windows server.. 2003 eh.. sounds interesting.. It now has software RAID-5, supposed to be really robust, easy to use and allows me to run all my windows type utilities, like backups etc.
Yeah real interesting..
So decided to check out the price.. CHOKE…! It’s not priced to be used as a home server that’s for sure… It costs more than the white box servers I build…
With a little luck I happened to know someone in the great organisation that is Microsoft. So beg, grovel, plead and my way comes a copy of Windows 2003 to evaluate.
First impressions…!
Installs like a dream…!
One interesting thing is that they recommend you don’t use any 3rd party drivers as it may reduce the stability. Having said that out of the box is detected everything I was running.. The other good news if you really feel the need you can generally hack up XP drivers to function.
So decided to setup RAID-5.. so partitioned all the disk and for the life of me couldn’t work out how to get it working… Finally a mate tells me to check out dynamic disks.. BANG.. fixed. It took about 12 hours to format my 4 x 80Gb drives…! But they are all in and running.
In terms of network performance it’s definitely quicker than RedHat 9.0 when hitting the box from 3 machines and reading and writing files. Linux used to peak out at around 60% network (Windows XP Task Mgr). Where Windows 2003 goes all the way up to 80%.
One of my grips is the fact that you can't send the errors via SMTP ie event log, I'd gotten used to this with Linux. There was some inital problems with one of my IDE cables and if i'd realised I could have resolved prior to the server falling over. (It had been erroring for 2 days)
General performance is GREAT.. I’m not a fan of X-Windows I find it clunky and slow.. It also drags lots of performance out of the box so generally on Linux I don’t run it. No problems with 2003.
Under Linux I run Webmin which makes my life so much easier.. gives me remote access to the box and lets me do most things I need to do.. Including being able to shut down Domino and restart it etc. Well now Windows 2003 servers comes with remote control.. and it gives you full control of the box.. very nice..! Obviously slower than a light browser client but it gives you total control of the box.
I’m now running my “Beam to TV” directly off the RCA adaptor on the video card, but had to hack up the ATI drivers to make them install.. Had to get directx working otherwise sound and video wouldn’t play properly.. Had to use the omega drivers to get the video sorted, the cool thing is I found plenty of information on the net to help me along.
Oh and for those people saying what about performance etc… Check out NotesBench gives you lots of interesting numbers etc.. this review was about impressions and useability.
My only real problem, (which I can’t blame Microsoft for) is Domino has got this weird memory leak thing when you leave the server console running on the desktop… Sucks down all the memory.. Lotus/IBM is pretending it doesn’t actually happen but trust me it does.. I’ve tried all the known fixes and none have worked.. Basically means you need to minimise and maximise the console window every few days...grrrr
My summary..
If you’re a techo who wants low level control.. Things like re-compiling the Kernal get you excited you’re a Linux guy. If your after ease and stability then you seriously need to consider 2003 server.
Linux
You need to have that low level of control
Things like re-compiling a kernel get you excited.
Creating your own drivers is better than sex.
You can’t afford the license
Windows 2003
You have the money
You want a one click no hassle environment
You want the peace of mind knowing that things like drivers etc will come quickly as your on the number 1 platform.
You want to be able to run other windows apps on it.. ie setup voice servers or use it to backup running nero etc etc
Surprisingly stable and offers really good all round performance
Links to more info
Webmin making managing a Linux Server easy
http://www.webmin.com/
Tips on getting Domino and Linux Humming
http://www.jnj.tzo.com/
VGA Drivers for 2003 Server
http://www.driverheaven.net/showthread.php?threadid=33613
Comments
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