[Asterisk-Users] Motherboard and processor recommendations

Thu Sep 8 23:05:09 MST 2005

Hi

I discovered that most onboard raid controllers are really software 
raid, and it uses the cpu to perform raid functions.

I am not sure how much extra load this introduces, but anyway, its 
still not ideal when you need your cpu for transcoding voip stuff.

my 2c.

regards
Clive

 On 8 Sep 2005 at 12:01, Soner Tari wrote:

> Thanks Tzafrir and canuck15 for your comments.
> 
> Yes I don't think the NIC will be saturated, and I'll search the quality of 
> the Onboard RAID. I guess I have to learn more about canuck15's comments 
> though, because I am actually questioning what happens to the board when 
> you're adding onboard peripherals and whether that would create problems 
> with, say, Digium cards. I remember I've read comments on the list saying 
> that some chipsets/motherboards cannot handle the interrupt frequency that 
> Digium cards demand, thus miss some interrupts. So, even though a regular 
> desktop user would not notice any problems, an Asterisk server would suffer 
> a lot. But I'm afraid there is no rule of thumb on such matters (except Xeon 
> motherboards?).
> 
> The load on the computer will never be too high, but my purpose in asking 
> about processor preference is that if there is any processor dependant dsp 
> routines (such as G729 codec), then I thought that I might have problems. As 
> another example, I don't know the details of the echocancelers on Asterisk 
> (all 5 of them), but perhaps their performance is more satisfactory on, say, 
> a P4 2.4 machine rather than, say, an AMD64, even though I'd expect AMD64 to 
> be a more powerful processor. So I am questioning code 
> compatibility/performance based on processor type rather than processor 
> load. If that's irrelevant, please disregard this question (I need to learn 
> more about dsp routines).
> 
> Thanks again for your answers,
> Soner
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "canuck15" <canuck15 at hotmail.com>
> To: "'Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion'" 
> <asterisk-users at lists.digium.com>
> Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 3:46 AM
> Subject: RE: [Asterisk-Users] Motherboard and processor recommendations
> 
> 
> >
> > Regarding Chipsets/Motherboards.  I would stay FAR away from cheap ones.
> > Any chipset/motherboard that electrically and logically separates some PCI
> > slots (ie. interrupts) from onboard peripherals (network controller, VGA,
> > USB etc.) makes compatibility issues with Digium cards much less likely.
> > Many of the newer Intel chipsets do this.
> >
> > The Xeon chipsets/motherboards are the best IMHO because they usually have
> > PCI-X slots connected directly to the memory controller hub, that you can
> > put your Digium card(s) in, which are completely separate from the
> > peripherals and PCI slots on the I/O controller hub.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Tzafrir Cohen [mailto:tzafrir at cohens.org.il]
> > Sent: Wednesday, September 07, 2005 4:59 PM
> > To: asterisk-users at lists.digium.com
> > Subject: Re: [Asterisk-Users] Motherboard and processor recommendations
> >
> > On Wed, Sep 07, 2005 at 11:02:58PM +0300, Soner Tari wrote:
> >> Hi All,
> >>
> >> For sometime now I've been searching the wiki and googling, but I
> >> think I'm missing some of the very important answers. So I'll have to
> >> ask this to the list.
> >>
> >> I'm trying to decide on the right motherboard and processor. Here are
> >> my
> >> questions:
> >>
> >> 1. Would I have problems with all-onboard motherboards (Onboard VGA,
> >> LAN/GLAN, Sound, SATA, RAID) ? I've read the comment about an Onboard
> >> VGA on wiki.
> >
> > Considering the exceptional quality of graphics you'll need with Asterisk,
> > and VGA-compatible adapter would suffice. The on-board one would be more
> > than enough. Ditto for the sound card, at least in most cases.
> >
> > As for the network adapter: Are you going to get anything close to
> > saturating the card? I figure that the efficiency of the network adapter 
> > and
> > its driver will not be your bottleneck. Most of the WAN-oriented systems
> > would have worked fine with an old 10Mbps card, probably without a 
> > noticable
> > performance hit (right?).
> >
> > So their quality is not much of an issue. If you have the extra space, you
> > can always add an extra one in an expansion slot. But it should not be
> > required.
> >
> > An extra raid controller is something you may consider. But then-again, if
> > it is a cheap software-based raid, it is practically the same as using 
> > linux
> > for that (but with more problematic drivers). But it is for you to decide 
> > if
> > it is worth the extra cost.
> >
> >>
> >> 2. Which chipset should I prefer: Intel, SiS or VIA? I've read the old
> >> SiS chipset problem on wiki.
> >
> > There is much voodoo about this. There are good and bad boards made with
> > each of those chipsets. In fact, for practically each model of board that
> > has been sold for over a month or so, you'll probably find someone in this
> > list who had bad experience with it.
> >
> >>
> >> 3. Which processor has the least support problems: P4 (478 or LGA775,
> >> or even EMT64) or AMD64 ? For example, in G729 config file Athlon
> >> comment reads as "untested" (so far I don't have problems), and there
> >> is no config option for AMD64 at all. There is no mention of EMT64
> >> either. Is anything processor dependant in codecs/transcoding, echo
> >> cancellation, busy detect and similar software, i.e. in dsp routines in
> > general ?
> >
> > First of all, what do you intend to do? Much transcoding? How many lines?
> >
> > Because if the load on the CPU will be light enough, than the CPU brand
> > won't really matter, you know.
> >
> >> I think this is a very complicated issue, and given so many variables
> >> perhaps luck plays an important part.
> >
> > I figure some people on this list will happily sell you pre-configured
> > systems. Or at least pre-built ones.
> >
> > -- 
> > Tzafrir Cohen         | tzafrir at jbr.cohens.org.il | VIM is
> > http://tzafrir.org.il |                           | a Mutt's
> > tzafrir at cohens.org.il |                           |  best
> > ICQ# 16849755         |                           | friend
> >
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