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Q's on crack racks

S

srvblues00

Senior member
What is involved in building a crack rack? I think I see how to do it except for the video. I suppose each computer will need it?s own video card, and therefore I would need a keyboard/video/mouse switch with enough ports to cover the number of skeleton systems on the rack, right?

Also, on a smaller scale, are there any cases that have room for two motherboards?

Thanks!
 
Use one keyboard/mouse, plug an NIC into each, a cheap vid card (it's possible without, but can be a pain), hook 'em up to the server, and run Klinux (I don't have the link handy....). No cases needed 😀
 
Heck with Klinux you don't even need a mouse. No hard drives required just a floppy.
I have a few set up this way. A ups is a good idea so if power fails you won't need to reload Klinux again.


Daz
 
Can't speak for klinux specifically, but I've set up lots of linux boxes with no mouse, video card, or keyboard. I use a serial port for the console and connect with a Windoze hyperterm. Works like a champ. Very easy to set up - let me know if you want the specifics.


-Nexus9
 
There are a few of us that DO use cases and hard drives and do NOT use Linux(cause we're too impatient to learn it) and so we use Win95 or something similar.

Of course, now I'll need to update the pics on my website.. with some notes. 😉
 
In fact you don't even need a floppy drive. It's not terribly hard to setup a network boot system where the systems use RAM drives in place of any form of actual storage medium.

Try contacting Clay (Cautery) or Brad (BPhantom) for more information on this type of setup.
 
That would rock! I didn't realize there was so little hardware involved.. that's great. anyone have a link and or info on Klinux? (or any other ways to do it?)
 
i need a source for boot roms.. i want to burn my own, but cant find any blanks.. any ideas? looking for 32Kb ones.

.. all for a crack rack.. heh.
 
BurntK, could you expand a bit on "connect them to a server?" is that just a system that runs setiQ and caches work units, or is there something else to it?
 
I'm just starting to create my crack rack (well actually not really a rack, but about 6 machines piled together). I can let you know how it goes. I am a Linux idiot, though, so I may still use Win98 as a backup. Machines with Hard drives have all the win98 cabs files on them, just in case!

I'm not bothering with a KVM switch. They are expensive after adding in the cost of cables. Instead, I will just face the machines backwards and manually switching the KVM. Its not too bad, really. I'll just leave the power buttons on and turn them on by plugging them in.

I need cases around my systems, since I have 2 small kids.

Here is my plan for for getting them connected:

1) Install network cards supported by Klinux. I have some cheapie Realtek cards that are on the supported list.

2) I have a router for my cable modem, hooked up to a hub. The router is supposed to act as a DHCP server, which Klinux should recognize. If not, then I will have to manually input the IP address of the router and give the boxes static IPs.

That's all there is to it, I hope.

The cheapest KVM switch I found was at mwave.com. A manual 4 port KVM switch is $29, and cable sets are $12 each.



 
Thanks for the info.. it would be great if you could let me know how your setup comes out! That sounds interesting. i'm not sure yet if I would use a windows OS or linux/Klinux.
 
more comments...

i am no linux guru or anything, but i am very interested in learning it. anyway, here's how my setup would be: a win2k workstation running SETIQueue and then the other systems (rack) would upload/download work units from the win2k machine. Would be connected via a network using a switch.. any tips if it this would work or how hard it would be to setup with KLinux?

also, are there any sites out there with some specific info on creating rack systems based on desktop hardware? I've looked around for about 20 minutes, but I haven't been able to find anything.

thanks a lot!
 
Oh, you want a SETI crack rack? Klinux is DNet only, and Kilowatt hasn't gotten Kseti to work yet.

However, if you still want to set up a real crack rack for SETI, I'll supply the link to my crazy idea I posted a few weeks ago on how to get it to work. 🙂
 
sukhoi, post it! it might be a bit before i get around to anything, but i'd like to read any material that's out there.. thx!
 
IIRC, you edit MSDOS.SYS in the root (its a hidden, read only, system file, so you have to clear the attributes first, edit, and set them back).
Just change the line BootGUI=1 to BootGUI=0
That prevents win9x to start the GUI.

Then I think you can start win.com, or stay in DOS7

/edit : just parsed the other thread. To boot from a floppy, make sure to format /s the FD using the same OS that it is going to boot.
 
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