Re: [9fans] Trying ti install Plan 9

[forsyth@caldo.demon.co.uk]

>>I guess the cpu/auth server can get by being "headless":
>>not requiring a monitor, video card. No HDD is needed,
>>either.

i think the BIOS will usually demand a video card, but it needn't
be a particularly good one, and indeed, since it is usually run
in a basic CGA mode, it needn't be one that supports plan 9 graphics.
i've used ISA, PCI, and AGP cards depending on what i had in my
old-or-unsupported cards box.

it's the same for the file server.

>>Does it make a difference what cpu is used in each
>>of the above? Can you get by with a cheap cpu in the terminal
>>and file server and spend more on the cpu server? Is
>>that a good strategy?

yes, although i've found recently that it's hard to get new
components that aren't ludicrously fast for use in a terminal
(assuming you aren't doing a lot of real-time 3D graphics).
i previously used 350 to 500Mhz K6-2, but now the worst
i can get seems to be 850Mhz Duron.  still, there is some scope
above that for a faster CPU server, and of course you can possibly
pick up some `slow' cpu discarded by a Windows or Linux upgrade.