So, historically the Floersch.net web and e-mail server has been an old computer that I’ve cobbled together from parts that would otherwise have been thrown in the trash at my office. Yes, a benefit of my job is access to the computing-scraps.

But as of Christmas, the old pattern is broken. A new machine gifted to me by Mel has finally taken on the role of server. Also, the new machine uses a fraction of the electricity, and produces practically no heat or noise… Take a look at the new server’s size compared to the old one!

The Old Very Big Style Floersch.Net Server

The New Teensy Tiny Floersch.net Server

Yes you see correctly. The old server stood from the floor to a few inches above my knee, and weighed a ton. It was just an old white-box machine retired from the office. It did a fine job, and its dual 1ghz Pentium 3 CPUs were more than enough horsepower for this little-ol’ website. But the electricity it needed to get the job done was redonculous! And then there is the noise and heat.

The new server is about the size of a book… not a notebook or a laptop… but, like, one of the earlier, shorter Harry Potter hard-covers. That kind of book. It uses proportionally less electricity as well. It two has two CPUs – and they are 1.8ghz each, compared to the 1ghz CPUs from before. It has about the same RAM (a little more than the old server). And it has plenty of disk space and storage options despite its size. Aaaand… it screws on to the back of a monitor! Ok… that is not a long term location for the server, but I had to try it … it came with the universal mounting bracket and all. I think I may buy a second one just to replace my current firewall white-box machine, too.

This will mark what is at least the fifth different computer to act as host to Floersch.net. I’m hoping it lasts a lot longer than the previous machines which usually fell apart after a year or so.