Multiple Computers=1 Web Server

C

codestar4

New Member
I have four older computer, very old, they still use SDRAM. I was wondering if it was possible, using Linux, to link them all together and host a web server on them. I don't have all of the specs for these, so I need all the info I can get. These were pretty high-end computers for their time, but now, they aren't worth 5 dollars.. Well, their cases have a lot of metal, so maybe for scrap metal they would be lol. Anyway, I was thinking linking them all with crossovers, then connecting one to the router.. Please help!
Thanks,
Cody
 
might be possible...but the energy you would be consuming by running all four at once...would be pretty awful, id suggest getting something a little more modern and efficient...
 
BCB, Thanks dude, I think this is what I'll need.

FuryRosewood, Hmm, I agree, I'm not buying new technology, but I may just use one or two of the computers, and see if I can put it in a "low-power" state.

Thanks everyone!!! If you think of anymore ways, please let me know.
 
Does anyone know if I can connect these computers via telephone cords? they all have the inport/output ports for them, and once I connect them, can I connect them to the router with just one ethernet cable?
 
codestar4 said:
Does anyone know if I can connect these computers via telephone cords? they all have the inport/output ports for them, and once I connect them, can I connect them to the router with just one ethernet cable?
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not to poo-poo your efforts, but question like this suggest that you may not quite be up to the skill level needed for the task. Perhaps a little more research? have you set up webservers before?
Sorry if im off base here
 
The only web server I have set-up is through apache on my computer. I came here for guidance. During the down-time while I'm waiting replies, I do more and more research, finding only dead-ends. I decided to get some hints, tips, or anything from more experienced users.
 
I'm still needing help with this :/ Can I connect them with the telephone ports. I google many search strings, all coming back un-related.
 
codestar4 said:
I'm still needing help with this :/ Can I connect them with the telephone ports. I google many search strings, all coming back un-related.
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You probably could, but its going to be 56k man. Far too slow for any webserver use.

Going with what FuryRosewood has said, what are the specs of your computers? If they're 128mb pentium II or something, even stringing them together into a cluster wouldn't work - they're just too slow for any real good in today's day and age.

You might be able to craigslist them, and save up for a single nice server. You're going to need an insane amount of memory (and depending on what you're storing) HDD space, Fast nics and a few other things that these computers most likely don't have.

For comparison I ran an old socket 7 amd something as a server for about a day, even with 256 ram and tinylinux it just wasn't fast enough to even bring up a webpage for more than 10 people at a time.

Plus you've not mentioned what your cable/dsl provider gives you. Unless its t1 or better upload, then things will be too slow to even bother with. Most cable companies block port 80 anyway, so there goes http space.

I really hate to be such a downer. But running a server is no small feat. You've done right by playing with apache (the best!) and you've done right by coming here to ask questions. But cluster work is better suited for beowulf, folding, bitcoins, data processing, parallel databases, etc.

You can get a cloud cluster as a webserver from amazon, rackspace, etc, probably cheaper than the cost of electricity your 4 computers would be pulling anyway.
 
Thanks for the reply, I don't really want a webserver, but I have these old computers and thought 'Why not?' I've definitely found out why not.. lol Now, I just need to do something with them..
 
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