Northern Grep - The blog of Shaun Holt

Now being server’d

After almost two years of battling away I have today (with the significant help of  aka47, a Scundog member) overcome a real technical challenge.

Back in early 2006 I bought an IBM X306M 1U server with the intent of phasing it into my web hosting operation. Unfortunately, despite some pre-sales assurances, this server’s hardware (specifically the SAS RAID controller card) was not compatible with the distro & version of Linux I wanted to use (nor any from what I have seen).

After doing a lot of research and consulting many people who’s knowledge of linux and hardware is greater than mine I resolved not to give in. This server was, in my opinion, only ever intended to run Microsoft server OS’s. I won’t get on my soapbox about why I would never install a M$ server OS instead I will focus on the solution.

In the end I’ve bought another controller card, installed it and as of two hours ago have seen the linux login prompt blinking away on the server’s screen. This machine will replace an existing IBM server. The reliability of this brand lends credibility to the little used adage in the IT community:

‘No one ever got fired for buying IBM‘.