Using old PCs as server?

[PvB]

Hey everyone out there,
I just acquired 32 Dell Dimension 4100 PCs and want to turn them into a working Server. I plan on using 8-10 of them with a capacity of 120GB each (IDE Drives). My main Problem is, that FreeNAS is designed to run off a Flash drive, which These machines can't boot into. Would it be possible to set up some Kind of configuration file, that I can burn (in Addition to the FreeNAS System itself) onto a CD and make them boot that way?
Then, I plan to hook all of them up to a LAN-Switch connected to one Computer. How am I gonna make the static IP Setup, where all IPs start with 169.x
I don't want to pay something for this Project, so I indeed want to use the built in IDE Controller and don't want to go out and buy a SATA Controller and new hard drives therefore.
Hoping for your replies,
PvB

 

[cyberjock]

Honestly, the electricity used for this adventure is going to make this a far more expensive project than just buying a 4TB drive. There's a very good chance FreeNAS won't have the IDE drivers you need, but until you try you won't know for certain.

Keep in mind that if you install FreeNAS to an internal hard disk that disk cannot be used for anything else, so you'll have a drive dedicated to storing just 2GB of data for FreeNAS. :(

Overall I think you're trying to make a square peg fit a round hole. It's going to take considerable work and you aren't likely to enjoy the end result.

Good luck.

 

[cyberjock]

Forgot to answer your questions despite me thinking this is a bad idea.

No, you need a writable file system for the OS to run on. So a CD won't work.

As for the IPs, you'll have to configure them per the FreeNAS manual in the WebGUI.

 

[9C1 Newbee]

I am curious if FreeNAS would boot up on one of these machines.

 

[Knowltey]

As the others said FreeNAS may not boot on the machines. I tried to boot it once for testing on a box of mine that was old enough to have just IDE and it just got stuck during the boot process with a constant stream of some sort of error.

That said even if it can boot FreeNAS you definitely should not be running FreeNAS on that hardware since they don't support ECC RAM and as such are under minimum system requirements. Running FreeNAS on old PCs that you don't use anymore is almost always a big no no.

 

[Whattteva]

Re-purposing ancient hardware is more like a Linux forte. They have tons of distros that have exactly that as their project goal. So, I guess to summarize what others have already said, use the right tool for the job. FreeNAS is not really meant to be run as a half-ass solution. ZFS, in particular, expects a certain level of hardware (lots of RAM among other things).

 

[9C1 Newbee]

I'd try it. Just to see. I wouldn't expect anything though.