I am building a new server for a new Moodle installation (no migration) from scratch to support 350 users with up to 50 being simultaneous taking quizzes or tests.
Hardware:
Single Quad core Xeon running at 2.4GHz
4 gig Unbuffered ECC RAM or 8 gig standard high speed gaming RAM
Dual 250 GB SATA 3.0Gb/s hard drives Raid 1
Dual gig ethernet
Software:
Ubuntu Desktop or Server
Moodle 1.8x or 1.9x
I am seeking advice on the hardware and software specs for my Moodle project based on my potential load.
1. Is a Single processor adequate
2. 4 gig server RAM or 8 gig standard RAM
3. SATA Raid or SCSI Raid
4. Ubuntu or another Linux
5. Server or Desktop version of Linux
6. Moodle 1.9x or 1.8x for fresh start without migration
Anything I am missing?
Thanks
Your setup seems to be good, I doubt you will have any trouble hosting the number of users you want to serve.
Those 4GB of ram should be fine. SATA Raid should work for what you want to use also. You will most likely want to go with a server version of linux. Ubuntu has been recommended. I use CentOS for my servers.
Those 4GB of ram should be fine. SATA Raid should work for what you want to use also. You will most likely want to go with a server version of linux. Ubuntu has been recommended. I use CentOS for my servers.
Karl,
we have similar hardware/software supporting that many random users easily, if your teachers plan to do 20-30 quizzes concurrently (e.g. take whole classes in for taking a test - not recommended - but it happens, you may want to be sure your system is performance tuned.
Please excuse me if I restate some info you may already know:
1. Be SURE your MySQL DB is tuned with right amount of memory allocated for buffers, queries, caches, etc. this makes a huge difference - Search for Ken Wilson's excellent post on MySQL tuning in these forums
2. Be sure to give PHP memory it needs as well
3. Setup your Webserver (apache/IIS) with memory to cache non-dynamic content (e.g. JPGs, GIFs, PDFs, Basic HTML, SWF's, etc. etc.) taken from RAM these help response time to your Moodle users
4. Consider/test/deploy a PHP cache tool like APC, Xcache, or Eaccelerator
RAM is great, but it needs to be "put to work" intelligently to help you. Critical Moodle components (MySQL, webserver, PHP, etc) don't know how to use 4GB of RAM w/o your guidance.
Mark
we have similar hardware/software supporting that many random users easily, if your teachers plan to do 20-30 quizzes concurrently (e.g. take whole classes in for taking a test - not recommended - but it happens, you may want to be sure your system is performance tuned.
Please excuse me if I restate some info you may already know:
1. Be SURE your MySQL DB is tuned with right amount of memory allocated for buffers, queries, caches, etc. this makes a huge difference - Search for Ken Wilson's excellent post on MySQL tuning in these forums
2. Be sure to give PHP memory it needs as well
3. Setup your Webserver (apache/IIS) with memory to cache non-dynamic content (e.g. JPGs, GIFs, PDFs, Basic HTML, SWF's, etc. etc.) taken from RAM these help response time to your Moodle users
4. Consider/test/deploy a PHP cache tool like APC, Xcache, or Eaccelerator
RAM is great, but it needs to be "put to work" intelligently to help you. Critical Moodle components (MySQL, webserver, PHP, etc) don't know how to use 4GB of RAM w/o your guidance.
Mark