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Newzbin:Server Specs

From Newzbin Documentation

Newzbin is a highly redundant cluster of machines. Wherever possible, there are at least two of each machine type so that if one fails, the other(s) can carry on providing service.

Our machines are divided into several classes, each with a specific set of jobs.

Contents 1 Webservers 2 Searchservers 3 Databases 4 Backend 5 Administration/Support 5.1 Bootservers 5.2 Statistics 5.3 Admin 5.4 IRC 6 Infrastructure 7 Defunct Servers

[edit] Webservers

They are the first machine you come across when you make a request to Newzbin.

These servers run Apache and PHP.

We have seven of these, named rather deviously www1 to www7.

Server	Machine	CPU	Memory	Disk	OS	Lifespan
www1	Sun Fire x4100	2x Opteron 248 (2.2GHz)	2GB	2x 36GB SAS	FreeBSD 6	March 2006 - still in service
www2
www3
www4
www5
www6
www7

[edit] Searchservers

v3 listings are powered by an in-house system called 'resultd'. Thus, the machines this daemon runs on are called 'resultservers'. We have eight at the moment; seven in production and one development machine.

The 128-thread Sun Enterprise T5240 we are currently evaluating practically doubles our search capacity.

Server	Machine	CPU	Memory	Disk	OS	Lifespan
result1.rbsov	Sun Fire x4100 M2	2x Opteron 2216 (2.4GHz)	20GB	2x 73GB SAS	FreeBSD 6	January 2007 - still in service
result1.thdo
result2.rbsov
result2.thdo
result3.rbsov		2x Opteron 2352 (2.1GHz)	16GB		FreeBSD 7	March 2008 - still in service
result3.thdo		2x Opteron 2222 (3GHz)
t5240	Sun Enterprise T5240	2x UltraSPARC T2 (1.2GHz)	64GB		OpenSolaris	June 2008 - still in service
result9.rbsov	Unbranded	2x Opteron 265 (1.8GHz)	16GB	8x 36GB SCSI	FreeBSD 7	2004 - still in service

[edit] Databases

The bulk of the data that makes Newzbin tick is stored in MySQL. We run a replicated setup, with currently only one master, db0 (this is our biggest single point of failure right now, and we're looking at addressing it) and several slaves, numbered from db1 upwards.

Server	Machine	CPU	Memory	Disk	OS	Lifespan
db0	Sun Fire x4200	2x Opteron 275 (2.2GHz)	10GB	2x 36GB SAS + 24x 73GB SCSI	Solaris 11	August 2006 - still in service
db0.thdo		2x Opteron 285 (2.6GHz)	16GB	2x 73GB SAS + 24x 36GB SAS		December 2006 - still in service
db4	Sun Fire x4100			2x 36GB SAS + 12x 36GB SAS	Linux 2.6	December 2005 - still in service
db5.rbsov				2x 73GB SAS + 25x 36GB SAS		January 2006 - still in service
db6.rbsov					Solaris 11	May 2006 - still in service

[edit] Backend

There are two "backend" servers which are responsible for pulling in new Usenet information (updating the Files listings), running various site-maintenance crons, running watchdog, daily summaries, etc. backend0 is live and currently handling all the load; backend1 is a warm spare with a complete copy of all backend0's data.

Server	Machine	CPU	Memory	Disk	OS	Lifespan
backend0	Dell PowerEdge 1650	2x Pentium3 1400MHz	1GB	3x 36GB SCSI	FreeBSD 5	2005 - still in service
backend1	Sun Fire x4100	2x Opteron 248 (2.2GHz)	2GB	2x 36GB SAS	FreeBSD 6	May 2006 - still in service

[edit] Administration/Support

Although not directly responsible for running the site, there are a few miscellaneous servers that we use to maintain the other servers.

[edit] Bootservers

Used to install other servers remotely and automatically. jumpstart0 is for installing Solaris, and bootsrv0 is for installing FreeBSD or Linux.

Server	Machine	CPU	Memory	Disk	OS	Lifespan
jumpstart0	Sun Netra T1/AC200	Sun UltraSPARCII 500MHz	512MB	2x 73GB SCSI	Solaris 9	2002? - still in service
bootsrv0	Sun Fire x4100	2x Opteron 248 (2.2GHz)	2GB	2x 36GB SAS	FreeBSD 7	January 2006 - still in service

[edit] Statistics

stats1 monitors all the other servers and send us SMSes and pages when one dies. It also maintains server capacity stats and graphs (rrdtool), allowing us to plan future upgrades, and web stats (webalizer) for the site.

Server	Machine	CPU	Memory	Disk	OS	Lifespan
stats1	Sun Fire x4100	2x Opteron 248 (2.2GHz)	2GB	2x 36GB SAS	FreeBSD 6	May 2006 - still in service

[edit] Admin

Our admin machines accept mail for our domains (exim), serve our DNS (BIND), keep backups of the other machines, and other miscellaneous tasks that won't fit anywhere else.

Server	Machine	CPU	Memory	Disk	OS	Lifespan
admin0.rbsov	Sun Fire x4100	2x Opteron 248 (2.2GHz)	2GB	2x 36GB SAS + 4x500GB SATA (R5)	FreeBSD 6	March 2006 - still in service
admin0.thdo

[edit] IRC

Fairly obviously, responsible for running our IRC servers, and some shells for Newzbin contributors.

Server	Machine	CPU	Memory	Disk	OS	Lifespan
irc1	Sun Fire x4100	2x Opteron 248 (2.2GHz)	1GB	2x 36GB SAS	FreeBSD 6	May 2006 - still in service

[edit] Infrastructure

Connecting all the machines together and to the Intarweb, we have: Cisco 3560 switches 48-port GigE managed switches. Four of these hold the Newzbin network together; two of them on the Internet network (public facing), and two of them on the private network. IE, the webservers talk to the searchservers and database servers over the private network, and you talk to the webservers over the public network. (Just keeps things organised and secure). Although not fully operational yet, the medium-term-plan is to split the webservers, searchservers, and databases, across two of each switch, so we can lose any one public or private switch and keep a working site. (the master database will probably be connected to both private switches). Lantronix SLC-4822N terminal servers Although we are heavily migrating towards Sun equipment which has built in LOM and console support, we still have two Lantronix terminal servers which are basically a telnet/ssh interface into a serial port. Every server/switch is connected to one of these, so if the server disappears, locks up, or we simply break it's network interface by giving it the wrong IP, we can still talk to them and try to fix it. APC powerbars We have a range of remotely-controllable APC powerbars which allow us to completely switch on/off any server, switch, or terminal server. Again, our Sun equipment really don't need these with the onboard LOM, but they're still useful for kicking locked up switches. Powerware 9125 UPS The master database (and it's 28 disks) are attached to a UPS. Although we will lose site functionality if power to the facility we're in dies, the master database will do a graceful shutdown all by itself, reducing panic-induced running around like headless chickens on our part when it comes back, since the database should be intact.

One of Newzbin's innovative super-racks which help to keep costs down by using a tiny data center footprint. ;)

[edit] Defunct Servers

As kit ages and we buy newer faster stuff, the old ones are retired. This is a list of kit we used to have, but no longer use, kept for reference.

admin0

Server	Dell PowerApp 110
CPU	1x Pentium 3 700MHz
Memory	512MB
Disk	1x 73GB SCSI, 1x 400GB IDE
OS	FreeBSD 5
Lifespan	2002? - February 2008

admin1

Server	Sun Netra T1/AC200
CPU	Sun UltraSPARCII 500MHz
Memory	1024MB
Disk	2x 18GB SCSI (mirrored)
OS	FreeBSD 6
Lifespan	2002? - February 2008

db1

Server	Unbranded
CPU	2x Opteron 265 (1.8GHz) (4 cores)
Memory	16384MB (16GB)
Disk	8x 36GB SCSI (RAID10)
OS	Linux 2.6
Lifespan	2004? - July 2007

db2

Server	Unbranded
CPU	2x Opteron 244 (1.8GHz)
Memory	16384MB (16GB)
Disk	4x 36GB SCSI (RAID0)
OS	Linux 2.6
Lifespan	2002? - July 2007

db3

Server	Unbranded
CPU	2x Opteron 244 (1.8GHz)
Memory	16384MB (16GB)
Disk	4x 36GB SCSI (RAID0)
OS	Linux 2.6
Lifespan	2002? - July 2007

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