Extreme Linux Server Available to North America

jcasman writes "CNet is covering an announcement from Japanese Linux provider Plat'Home on a low-cost, super tough Linux-based server, now available in the US, that can handle extreme heat and cold. 'The OpenMicroServer is kind of an "extreme" use server pushing the boundaries for normal, low-cost hardware. In a 624-day endurance test, the OpenMicroServer performed normally under 122 degree F conditions. The unit also employs a power efficient AMD Alchemy (MIPS) CPU and precise part placement based on thermo-fluid analysis to achieve semi-hermetic construction.'"

That would be

[cephah]

50 degrees Celsius for the rest of the world.

Re:

[guruevi]

Actually I know my servers have been in 50 degrees Celsius environment for the past few years, nothing bad happened yet to them (not even a hard drive crash)

Re:

[MichaelSmith]

Actually I know my servers have been in 50 degrees Celsius environment for the past few years, nothing bad happened yet to them (not even a hard drive crash)

Traffic signal controllers routinely run at 60 degrees C on hot days. The gear isn't standard but its not exactly new or exotic either.

Re:

[flyingfsck]

Yup, there is really nothing special about 0 to 50 Celsius.

Re:

[Noodlenose]

So it's a Nethack brick for your sauna.

Brillant!

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

latin: statim

Re:On that note

[vux984]

What is the difference between celsius and centigrade?

In practical terms nothing.

In technical terms 'centigrade' scale is defined as having zero at the melting point of ice, and 100 at the boiling point of water at standard atomopheric pressure. While celsius is defined as the kelvin temperature - 273.15.

The reason for the difference was that the melting point of water is hard to measure precisely, due to the mechanics of melting creating an insulating layer of meltwater around the ice, that you can't simply stir to remove because that would introduce heat...which obviously is counter productive.

So they redefined it in terms of Kelvin which could be measured more precisely, and renamed it to make it unambiguous which definition was being used.

And where does "stat" come from when used in medical dramas?

stat is from the latin 'statim', which just means 'immediately' or 'at once'.

Re:

[atraintocry]

Regarding Celsius/centigrade, while the name change happened a few years after the change in definition, I don't think you can consider them to be separate scales. Some people still say "centigrade" and when they do so you have to assume that they're just using the wrong name, rather than start converting.

Plus, Kelvin is itself based on the triple-point of water so we can't say that Celsius is based on water and centigrade isn't. They're really just synonyms.

Re:On that note

[TheThiefMaster]

You need two points (or one point and the size of one step) to define a scale.

In kelvin's case it is:
0 K is at absolute 0
273.16 K is at the triple point [wikipedia.org] of water

Celius is defined with the same two points, as -273.15 C and 0.01 C. This definition makes the freezing point of water approx. 0 C and the boiling point approx. 99.9839 C [wikipedia.org]

Some of the above may have been shamelessly ripped from Wikipedia. "Degrees" character removed because Slashdot mangles it into "Â".

Re:

[dbIII]

The reason for the difference was that the melting point of water is hard to measure precisely, due to the mechanics of melting creating an insulating layer of meltwater around the ice

Completely incorrect. The meltwater will be handily at zero celcius until all of the ice has melted - it's a nice simple example of how the temperature remains constant until you get the energy required to change phase. Zero is that point precisely because it is an easily acheived stable and known temperature. One hundred

Re:

[vux984]

It is well documented that the definition of a celsius/centigrade degree was redefined from melting/boiling to being based on absolute zero and the triple point of water, but the above is the only -reason- I've ever heard for WHY it was redefined that way. What have you heard?

The meltwater will be handily at zero celcius until all of the ice has melted - it's a nice simple example of how the temperature remains constant until you get the energy required to change phase.

There's 0 and there's 0.001. I seem to

Re:On that note

[danbert8]

Acutally, you can survive a limited amount of time exposed to space. See 2001: A Space Odyssey. Arthur C Clarke knew what he was talking about.
 
Yes, space is very very cold. But vacuums are very good insulators, so there isn't much to take the heat away from you other than radiation, which is a very slow process to lose heat by. Your blood will boil from the low pressure before you'd freeze or suffocate.

Re:

[danbert8]

Now there is something to think about. Maybe the Russians or Chinese have put it to the test?

Re:

[Digi-John]

Scully, are you familiar with the Apollo 18 mission? It was a secret launch to test the survival times of unprotected humans in space.
But Mulder, that's crazy, the government would never--
Would never what, Scully? Never kill to hide the TRUTH? Never cover up what the public has a right to know?

Re:On that note

[MichaelSmith]

An interesting side note though: I wonder how reliable those estimations are. I mean it's not like we've exposed human test subjects to outer space to check how long it takes them to die, right?

One guy was exposed to vacuum when a pressure suit failed during tests. He was recompressed without incident after about a minute.

Chimpanzees were deliberately exposed to vacuum in testing. They survived as well.

Re:

[jimmypw]

Infact although space may be recognised as "cold" the coldest temperature ever recorded was here on earth in a lab at around -260C~ the theory behind absolute zero still as yet has not been achieved and is debateable weather it ever will be as it would have to be devoid of all energy. One could raise the point would it be devoid of all matter too?

Extreme use?

[Anonymous Coward]

So this server shouldn't get slashdotted?

I say we test it.

Re:

[Secrity]

It won't work any better, it just won't fully melt into a puddle.

Ummm..freezing is now 0 F?

[Seakip18]

It can handle down to the freezing point (0 degrees F), too.

TFA can't be right. Though I got an American education, I'm pretty sure freezing is 0 C/32F. Looks like the article writer didn't read the specs.....sounds like somebody in Norway.

Re:Ummm..freezing is now 0 F?

[Adambomb]

sounds like somebody in Norway.

Nah, its just intended for a NASA re-entry module computer.

Re:

[MichaelSmith]

It can handle down to the freezing point (0 degrees F), too.

TFA can't be right. Though I got an American education, I'm pretty sure freezing is 0 C/32F. Looks like the article writer didn't read the specs.....sounds like somebody in Norway.

It should be possible to start most computer systems right down to a few degrees K. The main risk is that something will break through differential expansion as it heats up. I would easily believe that a COTS PC could be started at -100C, but would stabilise above 0 C once it had been working for a while.

Re:

[Hadlock]

Freezing point of (salty!) saltwater is 0*F. It's easier to make a scale when you have three constants instead of just two :)

Re:

[Ethanol-fueled]

Noway also means yesway? Man, what a country!

Re:Ummm..freezing is now 0 F?

[OverlyGenericUsernam]

My dating chances have vastly improved!

Re:

[MrNaz]

That's not what the judge said.

Re:Ummm..freezing is now 0 F?

[joggle]

The value of Fahrenheit is that it has greater precision than Celsius (when just reporting the integer part of course). The other is that it is a bit easier for people to relate to: 0 degrees is cold!, 100 degrees is hot! Whereas in Celsius 0 degrees is somewhat cold and 100 degrees, well you're way past dead at that point.

Re:Ummm..freezing is now 0 F?

[The real PoD]

I think what you're trying to say is "Fahrenheit is easier for me because it's what I'm used to".

As a South Aussie, Celcius is perfect,
0 = bloody cold
10 = cold
20 = just right
30 = quite warm
40 = hot

What should I wear if it's 65F outside? Without converting to Celcius I'd have no idea.

Re:

[gaspyy]

It's all a matter of what you've been used to.

A while ago on Slashdot someone was complaining that expressing his height in feet more natural... guess what, for me it feels more natural to think in meters.

Having the 0 as the melting/freezing point makes a good reference point, same for boiling point, because I can easily make analogies.

If I'm looking at the weather forecast and I see 2C, I know how cold it is, and even you - without being used to the system, can say "damn, it's nearly freezing"; whereas if

Re:

[teh kurisu]

By what definition is the freezing (or being pedantic, triple) point of water not cold?

The freezing point of water has a large effect on human behaviour due to the harmful effects that ice can have, so it makes sense for it to be zero rather than some arbitrary number.

Re:Ummm..freezing is now 0 F?

[CrazedWalrus]

I think that's what he meant when he said "(when just reporting the integer part of course)." People tend to think you're being overly anal retentive when you start quoting them decimal points in everyday conversation.

In other words, Farenheit gives you greater precision without making you sound like a dick. :-)

Re:

[MichaelSmith]

In other words, Farenheit gives you greater precision without making you sound like a dick. :-)

This morning the temperature was 10 000 000 microcelcius degrees.

Re:Ummm..freezing is now 0 F?

[Ethan Allison]

Not to mention it's suited better to everyday life.

the metric system for distance is pansy BS. if i'm going 100 of something, i want it to be legitimately fast. the metric(type) system for temperature is also BS. When it is hot, the temp should be in triple digits, not at 38C. the metric system just isn't scaled for awesome, and that's why the US doesn't use it. -Drew Heyman [jalopnik.com]

Re:

[TheLink]

I'm in a celsius standard place, and sometimes I do use Fahrenheit.

Many airconditioning controls here only have 2 digits for temp, and it seems they do support precision to degree Fahrenheit, so you lose precision if you use Celsius. Most don't bother supporting decimal points ;).

One degree Celsius is quite a big difference in temperature to people. For example, 24 could be too warm, and 23 too cold. Switching to Fahrenheit allows you to specify in between temperatures. Many airconditioning controls do allo

Re:

[joggle]

Obviously I meant for an extended period of time. I can live at 100 degrees F--not pleasant, but I grew up in Texas with limited to no A/C and managed somehow. You can't stay at 100 degrees C for very long at all before you would die from heatstroke. You can live in a total vacuum for a short while too if you want.

Re:

[joggle]

I've been in saunas heated to over 100 degrees celsius lots of times and I'm still alive.

But could you live at that temperature for an extended period of time? I grew up in Texas where it often gets above 100 degrees F in summer and lived to tell the tale. I don't think I would have survived if it got up to 100 degrees Celsius every day for a month (with lows in the 90s).

As for zero F not being cold, many, many people would beg to differ. You're from Finland for crying out loud! Try asking an Aussie sometime if he thinks -18 C is cold. Another one on this thread said 0 C was cold. If there's

Re:

[notamisfit]

According to Cecil Adams, the inventor of the scale hated using negative numbers in his temperature logs, and 0F was colder than it ever got in Denmark (where he was working).

Re:

[jd]

Just imagine what the scale would have been like if he'd worked in northern Alaska....

Re:

[MichaelSmith]

Just imagine what the scale would have been like if he'd worked in northern Alaska....

Same as Kelvin I suppose.

How about some details?

[Ungrounded Lightning]

Ok, so it's wide temperature range, low power, and low cost. How about some more detail?

  - Actual power consumption. (How does it vary with load and temperature? What voltage (range) is required?)
  - Price.
  - Processor speed.
  - Internal memory. (Disk? Flash? How much RAM?, ...)
  - I/O ports. (How many? What are they?)

Etc.

TFA was fluff.

Re:How about some details?

[harrkev]

Try to RTFA. There is a link to most of this stuff (except price). Dual GB and one 100 ethernet (not bad). USB connectors. The problem is that the thing appears to support CF as the only internal storage option. Great for an embedded system, but there is no way to add a hard drive, short of the USB ports.

Re:

[Ironsides]

Las I heard, CF and IDE were essentially the same. All you will probably need is a pin adapter and a power supply for the drive.

Re:

[harrkev]

I have seen adapters that let you use CF on an IDE cable. I have never seen the reverse. While possible, good luck in trying to get an adapter to hook up your digital SLR to a 3-1/2" desktop hard drive.

How is this insightful?

[Kupfernigk]

40GB hard drive in CF format do you? [soft32.com]

I guess the makers of this board are more with technical trends than Slashdot users.

Environmentally hardened

[DrYak]

support CF as the only internal storage option.

The whole server is designed to be resistant to harsh environment.
I think putting a fragile harddrive would be counter-productive. Solid-state mass storage is the way to go in harsh environment.

Great for an embedded system, but there is no way to add a hard drive, short of the USB ports.

Given the specs of the server, I think that's the intended use :
You put this server in the harsh environment where it has to interact (say, doing measure outdoor near a remote scientific station) and plug the probes in the USB port. The data it self is processed on the normal server that resides in the safe environ

Re:How about some details?

[harrkev]

For the link-challenged:
http://www.plathome.com/products/microserver/oms/oms_spec.html [plathome.com]

Thanks for link but still in the dark.

[Ungrounded Lightning]

Thanks for pointing out the link. It gives MOST of what I want.
(I see it's got lots of nice ports but requires an external modem,
which also must be hardened, low power, temperature capable, etc.)

Unfortunately, I'm still in the dark about one very important thing:

They give lots of info on the range of acceptable power INPUT TO THE INCLUDED WALL WART. However they give no such info on the 12V input to the device itself. Is the external supply handling the stabilization of that broad range of power input or

Re:

[Seakip18]

http://www.plathome.com/products/microserver/oms/oms_spec.html [plathome.com]

Re:

[kwalker]

Here's where I found more info: http://www.plathome.com/products/microserver/oms/oms_spec.html [plathome.com]

This looks like a tough SLUG with some slightly better hardware.

Price is something I'm still looking for myself.

CPU: AMD Alchemyâ au1550 400MHz (Someone said this was MIPS)
Memory: 128MB (PC133 SDRAM)
Flash ROM: 16MB (User area approx. 2MB)

Looks like it's got a pair of Gbit ports and a POE-capable 10/100 port, a pair of USB2 jacks and some status lights. Also some weird RJ-45 serial port adapters, one for a mode

Re:

[afidel]

Eh, to do POE it better run at a LOT less than 30-50W, 802.3af only offers 12.95W (37V @ 350mA = 12.95W, 48V @ 270mA = 12.95W link [ieee.org]) guaranteed power.

Forgot the most important question!

[Dunbal]

BUT - will it run linu..... oh, nevermind.

Re:

[Atlantis-Rising]

There are a variety of Windows versions that run on MIPS operating systems, including Windows NT, Windows CE, and their variants. Also, I do not know what the Windows CE licensing costs are, but CE starts at $15 per seat and only goes down, especially if you buy in significant quantity (like any Windows licensing).

Re:

[DarkOx]

Sure, but show me how to make CE act as a firewall, dhcp server, local dns, router, and mail relay for a remote office.

This little box even with its small amount of ram, and limited storeage could take care of all those needs for six or eight people while being almost no bother to maintain. Have a problem with it one day well they are light send them the replacement next day AM deliver and let them send you the old one back for repair ground for pennies.

Even if you could get CE to run on a platform like th

Temperatures down to freezing?

[caseih]

Being from a cold weather climate where I can see several applications for outdoor applications, I am curious as to what they mean by "down to the freezing point (0 degrees F)." Surely they meant 0 Celsius.

Re:

[Lumpy]

Not a whole lot. I've got standard gear running out in the "wild" that runs year after year at their "extreme" temperatures.

Hell I have a old P-III that has been running a Digipeater on top of a tower in a nema 4 sealed case for 10 years now. It has seen -10DegF on a regular basis, as well as internal temps above 120F.

What is so special about this server? I've been able to buy intel based stuff that can do this for decades now.

Re:

[timeOday]

An old P3 would have a much better chance of surviving high temps than today's CPUs, which are pushing the thermal limits much harder. I think a P3 700 consumes about 18 W.

Re:

[TheRaven64]

Zero degrees centigrade is the freezing point of distilled water. This is somewhat rare in outdoor applications. The Fahrenheit scale uses the freezing point of salt water as its zero because it is much easier to get some partially contaminated water and contaminate it more than it is to purify the water.

Wow!

[jd]

A server that could be used in North Dakota! (Seriously, that place is lethally hot in the summer and lethally cold the rest of the year. Rumour has it that the Indian burial mounds there were built by aliens, as the Indians didn't want to stay there long enough.)

An extreme end server that is ruggedized against severe temperatures has potential value in a number of areas. First, it certainly meets the thermal requirements for military-grade systems, so I would expect to see this getting some interested looks from that direction. Severe temperatures have killed voting machines, so that's another place that might be very interested in this server. Commodity e-voting with far more reliable hardware will sound a LOT more atractive to many States. The range isn't extreme enough to support some of the really harsh environments out there, but it would be good enough to get a tracked vehicle with a hose attachment into places too hot and too dangerous for human firefighters who wouldn't be able to stay that close to a fire.

Re:

[jd]

paided? Well, that's a new one to me. Must see if anyone notices in a game of Boggle. $2,500 for a machine and you want it to run for 15 years? I built embedded kiosks for the US Coast Guard for a fraction of that that not only had to last 10-15 years but do so under rough seas and/or under fire. I've built embedded systems for chemstry departments that had to work more-or-less indefinitely in an atmosphere rich in nitric acid fumes. (Metal literally corroded in front of you.) No, what could I, a mere progr

Re:

[jd]

Thanks! As for my typos...Argh! Laird and visitg. (Yep, I found another typo in my post.) Gah. Well, at least at this rate I should be getting an offer to be a Slashdot editor. :)

Extreme?

[clarkn0va]

0-50C is hardly extreme. (Use the AC adapter and it's 0-40C--same as just about any of the commodity electronic components in my home).

Sorry if I'm not overly impressed.

db

Re:Extreme?

[Flavio]

Exactly. I design instrumentation for the power industry. We're talking about equipment which has to run at up to 70 C during the day, every day, with a target lifespan of at least a decade. That can get tricky, specially in humid environments (think of power substations installed deep in the jungle), but it can be done and has been done for the last 50 years.

0-50 C gets close to consumer grade. As long as you choose power efficient designs, use a decent safety factor for the power supply and buy good parts (meaning no cheap electrolytic capacitors built with stolen formulas), there won't be any problems.

Re:

[johannesg]

Yeah. I work in the space industry. I am currently looking at equipment that needs to survive temperatures from -200C to +200C, in a 10-7mbar vacuum (i.e. there is no heat conduction through the atmosphere, so you can forget about fans). *That* is an extreme environment.

What is described here is merely the room temperature range preferred by my two colleagues (I think they are both weird, but that's another story).

Re:Extreme?

[Sponge Bath]

...you can forget about fans

Even if they have cool looking LEDs on them?
Nothing is more EXTREME than a fan with LEDs.

Re:Extreme?

[Yvan256]

Depends on the color of the LEDs. I've added blue LEDs to my CPU fan and it reduced the temperature by an average of 10C.

However, a friend of mine used red LEDs and totally fried his GPU! What a moron!

Re:

[mrmeval]

Where would I find anything on the design of such systems? The heating and cooling part of it.

Re:

[johannesg]

This is a good start: http://web.mit.edu/lienhard/www/ahtt.html [mit.edu]

Re:

[mrmeval]

Thank you that is what I wanted.

Re:

[codemachine]

Agreed. The outdoor air temperature here can vary from -45C to +45C. And at +45, you can bet that most electronics will be running warmer than ambient temperature.

I'm most disappointed in this thing's ability to handle cold. Only down to 0C? Pretty much useless around here.

Re:Extreme?

[JungleBoy]

I agree as well. I regularly need embedded servers/controllers and ethernet switches that work down to -40 degrees (C/F are the same here). I install them on mountain tops in Alaska. What really annoys me is when the specs list -40 as the minimum operating temperatures, but they used crappy ethernet PHY chips that need to be kept warm, so they use a heater circuit. They never tell you this in the documentation, you just wonder why the power usage goes through the room when it gets cold.

Half the story

[JesseL]

How well does it work in a condensing atmosphere?

It's easy to work down to 0C when conditions are perfectly dry, it's another story when everything starts to sweat.

And what kind of airflow are we talking about when operating at 122F ambient?

Re:

[snowraver1]

Generally speaking, condensation is not really an issue for operating electronics.

Using electricity, however much, generates heat. This means that the device will always be warmer than the ambiant temperature. If the temerature drops to the dew point, condensaction forms on objects that are the same temperature or colder than the dew point, but since your device is generating heat, it will remain dew/frost free!

Think, when there is frost (or dew) do you ever have frost on the exterior of your house? T

Re:

[JesseL]

How about when powering up a device that's been off for a while?

Or if the ambient temperature suddenly shifts? Not everything lives in a stationary box.

I've had to apply conformal coatings to enough industrial electronics to know that humidity does cause issues for them.

The stuff my company has done in manufacturing power generating wind turbine controls makes this thing's specs pretty unimpressive.

Re:

[networkBoy]

I dare say, even powered on things frost up pretty good at my job...

I give you FROST [networkboy.net]
and its source [networkboy.net]
It's cheating, I know... but considering my crap works this cold, how dare they claim to only work to 0 degrees (other than K & R).
-nB

Re:

[Lumpy]

Grab a can of Chemtronics spray conformal coating and I can make it work fine in 100% humidity and constant condensation. It's brain-dead easy to make this stuff more durable to atmospheric conditions. Typically though you put them in a sealed cabinet with a dessicant can so you dont have the problem

Semi-hermetic construction, huh?

[roystgnr]

How can something be "semi"-airtight? Does this mean that if you plug it in and drop it into the bathtub with you, you'll only end up semi-dead?

Re:

[Yvan256]

Kinda. You'll be scared half to death. But don't do it twice!

Re:

[TheRaven64]

It double's as a carrying cage for Schroedinger's cat.

There'e your problem....

[gosand]

How can something be "semi"-airtight? Does this mean that if you plug it in and drop it into the bathtub with you, you'll only end up semi-dead?

Well, air getting into it wouldn't really be the problem in that scenario, now would it?

Now the NEW most important question...

[Zaatxe]

But will it run Vista?

Re:Now the NEW most important question...

[snowraver1]

No.

Re:

[slimjim8094]

Well, considering that almost nothing runs Vista....

No

Thermo-fluid semi-hermetic what??????

[viking80]

You do not know what "precise part placement based on thermo-fluid analysis to achieve semi-hermetic construction" means?
Well, lets break it up:
a) "precise part placement"
b) "thermo-fluid analysis"
c) "semi-hermetic construction"
It means that
A) the CPU is placed close to the case, so B)the case functions as a heat sink. Therefore, no fan is needed and the box is C) dustproof.

This happens to be a fairly common design.

PowerPC?

[OrangeTide]

The specs on one page mentions PowerPC.

Also what is the suggested retail price of this?

Did you know?

[Anonymous Coward]

Many evolutionary servologists believe that the computers that function in modern server room environments share a common ancestor that existed before air conditioning and electric power generation. Ancient servers were likely powered by sulfur compounds and operated at much higher temperatures and pressures.

Makes me think of...

[Midnight Thunder]

With titles like "Extereme Linux Server", what will have next? "Linux servers gone wild" maybe? ;)

That's not ruggedized

[Animats]

I just came back from the Embedded Systems Conference, where you see systems running on shake tables, or submerged in aquaria. With fish. -18C to 50C is not an industrial temperature range. Normally, the "commercial range" is 0C to 70C, and "industrial range" is -40C to +85C. It's all solid state memory, so there's not much of a temperature problem at the low end, as long as the humidity is low enough to avoid condensation or ice. "Thermo-fluid analysis to achieve semi-hermetic construction." - right.

Also, the thing has a MIPS processor, and it's a bit late for that. It's not even AMD product any more; the Alchemy line was sold off to Raza [razamicroelectronics.com] years ago.

Re:

[Detritus]

I'd like to see an aquarium on a shake table, with fish.

A 624 day endurance test!

[foxtrot]

So by the time you buy it, the darned thing's already been obsolete for a year and a half or so?

Home Data Center candidate?

[planckscale]

This actually looks like something I could use. I am considering building a mock up of a data center in my condo. The big problems are lack of space, noise, heat, and power. I'd be interested to know the price of one with minimal specs. I'd like to put 6 of these in my closet, and have one run as a NAS, and the other as routers, firewalls, and servers. If they are under $500 I would highly consider them. Putting a real 19" rack in the closet with real 1u or 2u servers is just amazingly hot and noisy. But 6

Re:

[afidel]

Why not just run a bunch of VM's on a workstation? Since these only have 128MB of ram any decent workstation from the last couple years could run the same easily.

Re:

[Trogre]

There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.

So how's that working out for you so far?

Re:

[afidel]

I'm at a combination of ballot and jury. I work for the campaigns of candidates who I like, campaign against those I don't and inform everyone I know who will listen about their civic duty to follow their conscious and perform jury nullification when they believe the law is unjust.

Cheapness will cost more in the long run

[sethstorm]

Buy a linksys device for your router/firewall.

...and watch the Linksys router fail after a nice steady volume of data.

Underspend on quality and end up overspending on time/money.

Computing in hell

[quag7]

This is good, because I plan on running a cluster in Hell. What I would like to know is whether or not it is resistant to gay christian right republicans, because there will be a lot of them there.

I don't want to no gay christian republicans all up in my box (And I mean that in every conceivable way).

Also, in the event that hell freezes over, or snowballs do, in fact, have a chance, or we experience, merely, a cold day in hell, I need to know whether it will survive a hard freeze. I for one continue to be disappointed in the fact that servers like this don't come with notoriously insulating Unix beards. By which I mean Unix beards, the dudes, not Unix beards, the beards. We could cut one open like a tauntaun (Unix beard, the dude) and stick the box inside.

And then there is smugness shielding. I don't want Satan all up in my grill about uptimes lasting an eternity, which I totally fucking plan on attaining. I for one will not be rebooting every 48 hours for some stupid Vista upgrade.

Also, do the gates of hell constitute a "firewall"? There's a lot of fire there, and it is kind of wallish. Is port 80 open? Does god forbid export of strong crypto to hell? Are codecs free in the afterlife? Will I be sued by SCO? Because you know they'll all be in hell, and you know Satan has strong connections with Microsoft and lots of capital.

There will be a lot to navigate (I hear the ferry o'er the river styx is completely wallpapered in hardcore pornographic images of Maureen O'Gara in flagrante delicto with Steve Ballmer and Steve Jobs.

I need a server up to the challenge. Is this it?

Your questions answered

[Kupfernigk]

I could just point you to the FM, but I will try and help. The manual, btw, is quite old and I am relying on the release by Dante Alighieri, published around 1300 AD. There have as far as I know been no updates.

The firewall. It's made of burning iron, and completely blocks TCP/IP traffic. The only packages allowed through have to be carried by "Messengers", it is a kind of advanced pigeon post. No information about bandwdidth.

Many parts of Hell are at room temperature. There is a region which is almost id

penguin proof hardware

[Gearoid_Murphy]

finally, hardware built with the needs of penguins in mind, Linus is probably shedding tears of joy, icy tears mind

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:

[jd]

Depends. Are they planning on posting to Usenet?

Re:

[belg4mit]

What about Canada? You're just as guilty of centricism. What about Mexico, Panama, Honduras...

Re:

[sethstorm]

Add the costs of forming a business in. Apparently they think consumers are non-deserving of the device.