[wplug] HowTo - Spec out a Linux Server

[Michael Skowvron]

> I'm looking for a machine that can support about 100-200 (max usage)
> remote nfs users.  

Can you charactarize the workload at all? The capability of the server 
is going to have to be driven by the expected workload. For example, 200 
users accessing rarely used files is trivial; but 200 users accessing 
CAD drawings, engineering models, or digital video is orders of 
magnitude more difficult.

Also, latency expectations should be considered. For example, if these 
are going to be home directories, people are going to expect fast 
response at all times because of the frequent accesses. This could mean 
a larger system, faster network, and faster storage compared to just 
serving some shared data.

If you can tell me more about the type of data being served, the average 
size of the files, the type of (desktop) systems accessing the server, 
and the speed of your netowrk, I can help you better determine how to 
size your server.

Michael