[Server-devel] location and muscle of the school server

[Tony Pearson]

>From: Sameer Verma <sverma at sfsu.edu>
>Subject: [Server-devel] location and muscle of the school server
>To: server-devel at lists.laptop.org
>Message-ID: <47BB905A.3030509 at sfsu.edu>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

>I've been reading up on the specs for running the XS (XSX - the one that 
>relies on off-the-shelf parts) and one thing that keeps bugging me is 
>that if we don't have reliable power infrastructure on site (which is 
>why XO makes a lot of sense) how can we expect to run a 
>common-off-the-shelf server that consumes 200W of power?

Sameer,
Not that I can speak on behalf on the OLPC team, but it seems that the XSX 
is to work out the
bugs of the XS in real-world situations before mass production.  The XS 
will not be delivered
until November I am told, so the XSX will be used in various parts of the 
world to gather requirements
and get a better feel for what is needed.

In the case of OLPC Nepal, we will have three PCs (Proxy, School, and 
Backup) server.
That would be 600W, but we plan to support 150-200 students, so now on a 
student basis, is
only 3-4W per student.

Your suggestion of keeping the servers elsewhere is valid, but just as 
electricity is uncertain,
internet connectivity is also uncertain.  We are trying to have a working 
system even one that
is useful/usable if the connection to the internet is down.

Depending on power availability, it may be necessary to shut down the 
servers at the end of
the day, and bring them back up in the mornings.  Ideally, they would run 
24x7 and through the
weekend, to allow students to take their OLPC home, and through the mesh 
antennas continue
to surf the internet, access Moodle lesson plans, and read cached content. 
 The difference is
168 hours (24x7) versus 40 hours (8x5).

An interesting blog post I saw were "PlayPumps" 
(http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2008/02/the-cleverest-i.html) where kids 
playground equipment
is used to pump water.  Perhaps this idea could be modified to generate 
and store electricity
into car batteries.  Many sustainable sources of energy like wind and 
solar can also be used.

Thanks





Tony Pearson
Senior Storage Consultant, IBM System Storage™
Telephone: +1 520-799-4309 |  tie 321-4309 |  Cell: +1 520 990-8669
email: tpearson at us.ibm.com |  GSA: http://tucgsa.ibm.com/~tpearson
Blog: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/InsideSystemStorage 
AKA: 990tony Paravane, eightbar specialist 



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