hi everyone,
could you give me an advice for hardware specs needed to run a small database server with around 40 to 50 users.
actually the setup is the users maybe in other location.
i need recomendation what specs, and what brands is the best, all including the router, and what is the best internet connection speed should we apply and what is the best distro of linux should we use.
I will appreciate for any help will come, thank you.
The open source MySQL database can handle this sort of load very easily. There is also PostgresSql which is more "Enterprise" capable. I use both, as well as Sybase and Oracle. For small Linux database loads, MySQL works very well! I use it to store system performance data in large data centers.
As far as distros, for this sort of system, use a Red Hat Enterprise Linux, or a clone such as CentOS or Scientific Linux. We run CentOS on thousands of systems. It is reliable, cheap (0$), and performs very well.
Routers? Well, I am not an expert on that. Depending upon your requirements, you can go cheap (for small businesses - mine came from my ISP - a Motorola Netopia router - nice, small, inexpensive, capable), or expensive (such as Cisco - suitable for larger businesses), or you can go into the "cloud" and rent time on Amazon AWS servers. Then you have a lot more options.
Connection speeds depend entirely upon your needs. My small consulting business gets along with 5-6mbps (megabits / sec), but my day job requirements are MUCH higher than that (gigabits / sec). With Amazon, you only pay for outgoing data. Incoming is free.
If I were in your position, I would definitely look into Amazon's cloud services. Buying hardware and software is today just so "retro"... :-)
Rubberman's suggestions are accurate and correct. I would like to add that you can run what is referred to as a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) server with $0.00 cost for the software and you would only have to pay for the virtual or hardware based system. Amazon or SoftLayer are companies that offer Virtual servers on a month to month basis so if you need a larger server at a later date you are not out the hardware costs. There are also hundreds of free php applications that can be used to access the database over the web, depending on what you are trying to accomplish, or you can write your own.
Thank you very much for the advice, I will keep that in mind.
If you do subscribe to an Amazon or similar cloud-based server solution, remember that they charge you for the data going out of the cloud, so if people are using tools on their client systems that access the database, that is an extra cost to consider.
FYI, I manage a couple of AWS accounts that incur expenses in excess of $10,000 USD per month, each. This (out-going data costs) is something I have to report to my divisional VP every month, so I am somewhat familiar with this issue. :-) If the data is coming into the "cloud" or "stays in the cloud", then the cost is $0. Data going out? Not so cheap...
We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.