* Original message posted in: OS2.
* Crossposted in: OS2LAN, UNIX.
Hello All!
I'm in the process of 'redesigning' my multi-node Fidonet environment, and 
would be interested in any input/opinions concerening alternatives, both pro 
and con, for this design configuration.
Essentially I will have four 'nodes' to configure in this system. All require 
telco access and all require IP access. The IP access is provided via ISDN 
LAN Router, so is not a direct factor at this time.
I have, currently, two OS/2 systems: a 486DX2/66 - 16MB and a 486DX4/100 - 
16MB. I also have an 8.4GB hard drive (not installed yet).
What I'm curious about is input on the relative issues concering the ability, 
and value, of customizing the roles of the OS/2 machines. If I add a third 
OS/2 machine such that I have a "file server", a "modem server", and an "IP 
node" server -- will I accomplish anything. Most likely the third system 
would be a 5x86/133 w/32MB (or more).
Of course, one of the disadvantages of the "IP node" server is that all four 
Fidonet nodes would have to share the same IP address -- I'm not aware of any 
provisions for controlling which IP address a mailer answers on. This could 
be handled with some creative batch-file pre-processing though, moving files 
from the IP inbound to the specific node inbound, based on type/name of file 
received.
Second issue: If I don't add a third OS/2 box, but only use the two that I 
have -- making one a mailer client (essentially running 8 nodes, 4 telco and 
up to 4 IP nodes) and the other a file server -- which one would benefit best 
by being on the DX4, or alternatively, which one would be hurt less by being 
on the DX2? Or am I overextending my CPU resources by trying to support 8 
mailers on a 486?
A third option -- I currently have an SCO OpenServer personal system running 
on a 5x86/133 w/32MB. If I move the SCO to the 486DX2/66 system, leaving the 
DX4/100 and 5x86/133 systems for OS/2 -- what are my best options.
I'm inclined to try the following:
486DX/2 (16MB) - SCO OpenServer (basically DNS/SMTP/WWW on an ISDN feed)
486DX/4 (16MB) - File server with 8.4GB drive
5x86/133 (32MB) - Communications server with 4 telco and 4 IP nodes
I've posted this to the three groups above, because I'd like input from both 
the OS/2-Generic as well as the OS/2-LAN crowd -- and the Unix people, I 
hope, will give me some input on their experience (if any) with SCO 
OpenServer on a 16MB system (Note Unix gurus -- I have some experience here, 
and with the exception of poor GUI response, it did work adequately).
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