Hardware requirements
Hello, we are a (very) small library. We are using Koha since a couple of months. So far our installation is „offline“ (on an old Mac Mini that is not accessible from the internet). Now we want to go online. Due to our limited budget the only option will be renting a virtual server. However, I have no idea which specifications will be sufficient in our case. I know that more is always better, but our financial resources are really limited. The offerings that I currently have, have following specifications: * Single Core, 512 MB RAM, 20 GB hard disk * Single Core, 1024 MB RAM, 40 GB hard disk We have less than 5000 books and less than 250 customers. I’m sorry that I’m asking a question that has been asked a hundred times… Regards, Stephan
Greetings, You asked what options are best for your scenario. [SNIP]
The offerings that I currently have, have following specifications: * Single Core, 512 MB RAM, 20 GB hard disk * Single Core, 1024 MB RAM, 40 GB hard disk
We have less than 5000 books and less than 250 customers.
I’m sorry that I’m asking a question that has been asked a hundred times…
I don't know what you are considering as your VM hosting provider for those particular sizes. We use Digital Ocean. https://www.digitalocean.com/pricing/ Their $10/month plan should suffice you. However, if you plan on expanding your inventory or having excessively high circulation rates, go with a higher plan. I always recommend at least 1GB (=1024MB) RAM. This can impact the speed of your reindexes. 20GB disk space is functional for a small test system, but more is always better. Please also consider the underlying VM technology involved. The other day someone had issues with their VM, and it turned out they had OpenVM and the node they had in question was a problematic one (probably because all the new people keep getting auto assigned there and overloading it). OpenVM providers tend to also be cheaper. A price difference that could mean the difference between an upgrade headache and upgrade ease. GPML, Mark Tompsett
Hi, On Sun, Sep 7, 2014 at 6:12 AM, Mark Tompsett <mtompset@hotmail.com> wrote: <snip>
Please also consider the underlying VM technology involved. The other day someone had issues with their VM, and it turned out they had OpenVM and the node they had in question was a problematic one (probably because all the new people keep getting auto assigned there and overloading it). OpenVM providers tend to also be cheaper. A price difference that could mean the difference between an upgrade headache and upgrade ease.
That someone would be me :) The problem was finally isolated to a faulty DRAC. Once the VMs were moved off to another server (non-DELL, same spec and config, except for DRAC and RAID) things quickly fell in place. The main sysadmin is a kick-ass tech who is available even outside their US office hours. Only catch, he is usually available only over irc. In my case, once I actually got hold of him, he fixed the issues within 15 mins. FWIW, I'm paying US $7 /mo for a 4096MB/60GB/3TB on OpenVZ. It is my test box, one that fits my budget. -indra -- Indranil Das Gupta Phone : +91-98300-20971 Blog : http://indradg.randomink.org/blog IRC : indradg on irc://irc.freenode.net Twitter : indradg -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Please exchange editable Office documents only in ODF Format. No other format is acceptable. Support Open Standards. For a free editor supporting ODF, please visit LibreOffice - http://www.documentfoundation.org
On 09/07/2014 01:50 AM, Witoszynskyj Stephan wrote:
we are a (very) small library. We are using Koha since a couple of months. So far our installation is „offline“ (on an old Mac Mini that is not accessible from the internet). Now we want to go online. Due to our limited budget the only option will be renting a virtual server. However, I have no idea which specifications will be sufficient in our case. I know that more is always better, but our financial resources are really limited.
The offerings that I currently have, have following specifications: * Single Core, 512 MB RAM, 20 GB hard disk * Single Core, 1024 MB RAM, 40 GB hard disk
We have less than 5000 books and less than 250 customers. Even the small size should be more than adequate, though take note of comments others have made about speed vs. RAM.
I'm running a Dual Core, 2000 MB RAM, 8 GB hard disk for 3000 books. It runs as fast as a dedicated box on my test bench, and there's plenty of overhead. (Though as I'm a reference library, there's no circulation use.) What I suggest you consider is a virtual hosting service that permits you to adjust your RAM, hard drive space, and perhaps bandwidth on the fly. I've changed my configuration a dozen times as my wee system has grown, and it's nice to know I'm only 5 minutes from more drive space! My provider is RimuHosting (more Kiwis!) and the above system is costing me about US$20/month. One could do well with much less. Buy small and upgrade as you feel the need.
I’m sorry that I’m asking a question that has been asked a hundred times… No apology needed. It's an excellent question, and the answer will evolve over time, so it's good to ask again.
Regards, / Bruce / Bruce A. Metcalf Library Director The Augustan Society, Inc.
Hi, Thanks for the reply. I’ve told the admin of our sponsoring organization our preferred specs. He’ll look for a suitable provider. So let’s see what happens. Once again, I’d like to thank everybody for their advices. Stephan Am 10.09.2014 um 00:23 schrieb Bruce A. Metcalf <bruce.metcalf@augustansociety.net>:
On 09/07/2014 01:50 AM, Witoszynskyj Stephan wrote:
we are a (very) small library. We are using Koha since a couple of months. So far our installation is „offline“ (on an old Mac Mini that is not accessible from the internet). Now we want to go online. Due to our limited budget the only option will be renting a virtual server. However, I have no idea which specifications will be sufficient in our case. I know that more is always better, but our financial resources are really limited.
The offerings that I currently have, have following specifications: * Single Core, 512 MB RAM, 20 GB hard disk * Single Core, 1024 MB RAM, 40 GB hard disk
We have less than 5000 books and less than 250 customers. Even the small size should be more than adequate, though take note of comments others have made about speed vs. RAM.
I'm running a Dual Core, 2000 MB RAM, 8 GB hard disk for 3000 books. It runs as fast as a dedicated box on my test bench, and there's plenty of overhead. (Though as I'm a reference library, there's no circulation use.)
What I suggest you consider is a virtual hosting service that permits you to adjust your RAM, hard drive space, and perhaps bandwidth on the fly. I've changed my configuration a dozen times as my wee system has grown, and it's nice to know I'm only 5 minutes from more drive space!
My provider is RimuHosting (more Kiwis!) and the above system is costing me about US$20/month. One could do well with much less. Buy small and upgrade as you feel the need.
I’m sorry that I’m asking a question that has been asked a hundred times… No apology needed. It's an excellent question, and the answer will evolve over time, so it's good to ask again.
Regards, / Bruce / Bruce A. Metcalf Library Director The Augustan Society, Inc.
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participants (4)
-
Bruce A. Metcalf -
Indranil Das Gupta -
Mark Tompsett -
Witoszynskyj Stephan