Jul
4
Database Server change
July 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment
The MySQL database that runs this web log as well as the databases that I use for ordersofbattle.com and my version control database used by Vault are all now running on my new database server that is running on a Mini-ITX system powered by the Intel Atom CPU.
The only exception so far is my Order of Battle Weblog database which is still running on my old database server because for some reason, I get a HTTP 500 Error when I try and point the Web Server to the new database machine intstead of the old machine (which works fine).
My new web server is running IIS 7 and the logging functionality is much better in that version of IIS than it was in IIS 6, but for some reason I have not yet been able to figure out what the problem is. All I have to do is change the database name in the appropriate PHP file and it gives a 500 Error.
So, until I resolve this, I cannot upgrade my old database server to Windows 2008 and reconfigure it for its new role in life as a Sharepoint Server and back up database and web server.
Hopefully I will be able to sort this out soon.
One nice thing about the Atom CPU is that the one I have has two dual cores so a total of four CPUs instead of two. So, when you view Task Manager in Windows, you see four graphs rather than two which is a bit incongruous in such a small motherboard!
Jul
4
Thoughts on Motherboard Failure
July 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment
In my last post, I alluded to the Hard Disk and Motherboard crash which took down my webserver which this blog ran on.
Not only did a year old hard drive crash, but surprisingly the motherboard (a VIA VB7001) stopped working while I was trying to figure out what happened.
I have now rebuilt the machine with an Intel ATOM Motherboard and a new hard disk and it is now functioning as my database server instead of my web server.
However, I now have a suspicion of what caused the motherboard to crash. It basically failed when I tried to boot a BARTPE CD via an external DVD Reader that took its power from the computer rather than a direct power source. I had previusly used the external drive with my small laptop with no problems, but I had never used it with a Mini-ITX board.
That was probably a bad idea!
The VB7001 motherboard worked OK, it just failed to boot because the Hard Disk had failed. Once I plugged in the external drive however to try and boot BARTPE then nothing at all happened. There were no messages on the screen, no RAM check - nothing!
So, the moral of the story is ….
Be very very wary about plugging in USB devices that take their power from the motherboard into a Mini-ITX motherboard!!
