upgrade motherboard questions

[myleskb]

My Current Server Setup :
Novell 4.11 Server 10 license (about 7 users & 2 print servers)
Intel AL440LX Motherboard / Pentium II 233 MHz
2 SCSI Drives Mirrored 3 GB
1 T-20 HP Tape Drive using Arcserve 6.6

I want a faster Server, but I don’t want to build a new server or upgrade Novell yet.

Currently Novell Works Fine, but just a bit slow.
This server only acts as a file server for one application. That’s all. Users still use an old DOS legacy application and that’s it.
Our Application Vendor says we need to upgrade to Windows Server 2003 but I don’t think we need it just yet. I like Novell, it’s solid.

I want to replace the Motherboard with a faster one.

What would happen if I replaced the Motherboard with something faster and just plugged everything into it?

Does the Novell OS care about making significant hardware changes?

Could this work? Would it hurt anything if I tried it? What would be a good motherboard upgrade to look for on Ebay?

Our needs really haven’t outgrown the system yet. I just want it to work a little faster.

Thanks In Advance
Myles (el cheapo!)

 

[marvhuffaker]

Generally speaking, there's nothing that Novell cares about on the motherboard that will mess things up. It's not like Windows. Make sure you buy a decent motherboard. Don't get one with all the integrated crap. If you can get one that is NOvell approved, even better. Try to stick with Intel processors if you can.

Only things NetWare cares about is the Network driver and the Storage adapter. The slots might change when you change out your board, so make sure you update the C:\NWSERVER\STARTUP.NCF file to reflect the correct slot numbers.



Marvin Huffaker, MCNE

http://www.redjuju.com

 

[TheLad]

If the new motherboard has an onboard NIC, just make sure that you can get the drivers for the NIC before you purchase the motherboard

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"Who is General Failure and what is he doing on my computer?"
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[myleskb]

Thanks for your input. I will proceed with a few tests and hopefully we'll be up and running with a zippy little novell server! Thanks again.

 

[JockMullin]

Hi, Myles

One question - is your current server really cpu bound?
Running only 7 Dos clients, I would tend to doubt it.
If not, then you are likely to realize more improvement by increasing the speed of your network (higher bps, switch instead of hub) and by increasing the server's memory to increase the disk cache than you will by increasing CPU speed.

Of course, you could do both ...

Jock

 

[myleskb]

We upgraded to a 10/100 switch (GFS0016 Fastswitch) and that helped a little.

I notice that if even just One workstation runs a complex report or a batch process that the server really slows down. The Utilization reaches 90%+ when this occurs. The software vendor says that this is typical and that their Upgraded software, which won't run on a Novell server, does not encounter this problem, they claim.

I'm hoping the faster CPU will handle the reports a little faster! I'm not sure if that's what you meant by "cpu bound".

I do notice a lag on the workstations however, now that most of the workstations are Windows XP. I was thinking that was network related...IPX / IP problems negotiating... it's not too bad, just when starting the program.

Do you think that I won't notice much difference say upgrading to a Pentium III and a faster clock?

 

[JockMullin]

If your CPU is going to 90% then I think you are on the right track. Obviously the app is using server resources, so you should definitely see an improvement with a faster CPU.

The startup delay you mention may indeed be related to problems auto-negotiating. Personally I never use auto negotiation but pre-set the speed, frame type and duplex settings, but mostly to prevent connection problems.

Are you using Novell client software or Microsoft? Most people claim better performance and reliability with Novell's.

Running DOS apps under XP is an arcan subject; some folks recommend separate address spaces, disabling NT caching on the workstations &c. but without knowing the internals of the app it is hard to say if they will help as this sounds more like a client/server situation.

Sounds like the MB swap is the logical next step.

Jock