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Help me setup home-office hardware with free software

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  Help me setup home-office hardware with free software Pankaj Jangid <pankaj@codeisgreat.org> - 2021-01-22 06:30 +0100
    Re: Help me setup home-office hardware with free software Steven Mainor <steve@degga.net> - 2021-01-22 08:50 +0100
      Re: Help me setup home-office hardware with free software Pankaj Jangid <pankaj@codeisgreat.org> - 2021-01-22 19:20 +0100
    Re: Help me setup home-office hardware with free software deloptes <deloptes@gmail.com> - 2021-01-22 10:00 +0100
    Re: Help me setup home-office hardware with free software "Andrew M.A. Cater" <amacater@einval.com> - 2021-01-22 12:50 +0100
    Re: Help me setup home-office hardware with free software Dan Ritter <dsr@randomstring.org> - 2021-01-22 12:50 +0100
      Re: Help me setup home-office hardware with free software Celejar <celejar@gmail.com> - 2021-01-22 16:10 +0100
    Re: Help me setup home-office hardware with free software David Christensen <dpchrist@holgerdanske.com> - 2021-01-22 23:50 +0100
      Re: Help me setup home-office hardware with free software Pankaj Jangid <pankaj@codeisgreat.org> - 2021-01-23 04:50 +0100
        Re: Help me setup home-office hardware with free software David Christensen <dpchrist@holgerdanske.com> - 2021-01-23 07:00 +0100

#230960 — Help me setup home-office hardware with free software

I am setting up one (or may be two) home-office servers. I have 6 ATI
Radian RX580 graphics cards that are lying in cold storage. I used them
a couple of years back to experiment with various crypto-mining
technologies.

I want these cards to be put to use for experimenting with
multi-threading work loads like may be Machine Learning or may be Image
Processing of deep space data or may be run GNU Radio for experimenting
with signals.

I don’t want any proprietary software to run on these systems. And hence
exploring possibilities. My questions:

1. I had a look at i7 and Ryzen 7. For multi-threading applications, it
   appears that Ryzen is better choice because it allows more number of
   simultaneous threads. 16 as compared to 8 on i7. Does anybody have
   experience with these? Please share your recommendation.

2. Are there good general purpose motherboards available for 3 graphics
   cards? I have experience with motherboards with 12 graphics
   cards. But those were not general purpose. They were specifically
   designed for cryto mining purpose only.

3. I’ll also put these machine to serve local copy of all my data. I’ll
   synchronize it with some cloud space. I need recommendations for
   reliable hard disks. A combination of SSD/HDD to balance between
   cost, performance and reliability will probably be best. But I really
   don’t know much about the hardware.

I already have good modular corsair 1200w power-supply. So I’ll put that
to use.

I need your help to setup a system completely free of proprietary
software. Please do reply.

-- 
Regards,
Pankaj Jangid

GnuPG Fingerprint: 0B62 7424 3B26 A911 052A DDE6 7C95 6E6F F858 7689

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#230963

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On Friday, January 22, 2021 12:06:11 AM EST Pankaj Jangid wrote:
> I am setting up one (or may be two) home-office servers. I have 6 ATI
> Radian RX580 graphics cards that are lying in cold storage. I used them
> a couple of years back to experiment with various crypto-mining
> technologies.
> 
> I want these cards to be put to use for experimenting with
> multi-threading work loads like may be Machine Learning or may be Image
> Processing of deep space data or may be run GNU Radio for experimenting
> with signals.
> 
> I don’t want any proprietary software to run on these systems. And hence
> exploring possibilities. My questions:
> 
> 1. I had a look at i7 and Ryzen 7. For multi-threading applications, it
>    appears that Ryzen is better choice because it allows more number of
>    simultaneous threads. 16 as compared to 8 on i7. Does anybody have
>    experience with these? Please share your recommendation.
> 
> 2. Are there good general purpose motherboards available for 3 graphics
>    cards? I have experience with motherboards with 12 graphics
>    cards. But those were not general purpose. They were specifically
>    designed for cryto mining purpose only.
> 
> 3. I’ll also put these machine to serve local copy of all my data. I’ll
>    synchronize it with some cloud space. I need recommendations for
>    reliable hard disks. A combination of SSD/HDD to balance between
>    cost, performance and reliability will probably be best. But I really
>    don’t know much about the hardware.
> 
> I already have good modular corsair 1200w power-supply. So I’ll put that
> to use.
> 
> I need your help to setup a system completely free of proprietary
> software. Please do reply.

Well I can say that I have a ryzen 7 2700X in my desktop and I am very happy 
with it. I don't know what question specifically I can answer for you but I 
have no complaints about it. 

I would look for a motherboard with components(sound, sensors, network 
controllers) that are well supported in Linux. 

-- 
Steven Mainor

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#230979

Steven Mainor <steve@degga.net> writes:

> Well I can say that I have a ryzen 7 2700X in my desktop and I am very happy 
> with it. I don't know what question specifically I can answer for you but I 
> have no complaints about it. 
>
> I would look for a motherboard with components(sound, sensors, network 
> controllers) that are well supported in Linux. 

Thanks. I am more inclined towards purchasing Ryzen 7.

deloptes <deloptes@gmail.com> writes:

>> 3. I’ll also put these machine to serve local copy of all my data.

> whatever you take use raid. I use SSD when it needs faster write access. I
> use spinning disks for backup and data that is not read that often or does
> not need fast access. there were few thread around regarding storage here
> on the list AFAIK.

After reading all the responses till now, I feel that it is better to
put all the six GPUs in a single machine and save the cost of extra
motherboard. And use that saving for

2-SSDs, 2-HDDs; both pairs in RAID.

Dan Ritter <dsr@randomstring.org> writes:

> On a price/performance basis, it's clear that AMD beats Intel at
> every price point.
>
> You should know that both Intel and AMD ship firmware blobs for
> their CPUs which are redistributable but not open source.

If I have no option then I’ll just go for it. Probably, we’ll have it
someday.

> AMD has more PCI lanes available than Intel, so motherboards can
> support more slots. 
>
> MSI, Gigabyte and ASUS, at least, sell extended-ATX motherboard
> with sufficient room between x16 slots to fit 3 double-width
> graphics cards. You may have trouble finding a suitable case.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try to assemble a case as well. Have
a friendly workshop nearby. :-)

> The AMD cards probably don't function without a firmware blob,
> even with otherwise open-source drivers. 

Celejar <celejar@gmail.com> writes:

> Depends what you mean by "function" :) IIRC, my system with an RX-570
> would boot to console without the firmware packages installed, but X
> wouldn't start. I didn't experiment too much further to see how much
> functionality the card provided without its firmware.

"Andrew M.A. Cater" <amacater@einval.com> writes:

> There's a large thread going on about firmware elsewhere in Debian and
> on LWN.net :( Radeon RX580 card will almost certainly require the
> non-free firmware package - amdgpu from non-free. It may be that if
> you don't have that firmware in place that the cards won't work
> properly, though they should be recognised by the motherboard.

amdgpu is what I used when I was experimenting on crypto. And if there
are no options then probably I’ll have to live with it.

-- 
Regards,
Pankaj Jangid

GnuPG Fingerprint: 0B62 7424 3B26 A911 052A DDE6 7C95 6E6F F858 7689

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#230964

Pankaj Jangid wrote:

> 3. I’ll also put these machine to serve local copy of all my data. I’ll
> synchronize it with some cloud space. I need recommendations for
> reliable hard disks. A combination of SSD/HDD to balance between
> cost, performance and reliability will probably be best. But I really
> don’t know much about the hardware.

whatever you take use raid. I use SSD when it needs faster write access. I
use spinning disks for backup and data that is not read that often or does
not need fast access. there were few thread around regarding storage here
on the list AFAIK.

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#230966

On Fri, Jan 22, 2021 at 10:36:11AM +0530, Pankaj Jangid wrote:
> I am setting up one (or may be two) home-office servers. I have 6 ATI
> Radian RX580 graphics cards that are lying in cold storage. I used them
> a couple of years back to experiment with various crypto-mining
> technologies.
> 

There's a large thread going on about firmware elsewhere in Debian and on LWN.net :(
Radeon RX580 card will almost certainly require the non-free firmware package - amdgpu from non-free. It may be that if you don't have that firmware
in place that the cards won't work properly, though they should be recognised by the motherboard.

> I want these cards to be put to use for experimenting with
> multi-threading work loads like may be Machine Learning or may be Image
> Processing of deep space data or may be run GNU Radio for experimenting
> with signals.
> 
> I don’t want any proprietary software to run on these systems. And hence
> exploring possibilities. My questions:
> 
> 1. I had a look at i7 and Ryzen 7. For multi-threading applications, it
>    appears that Ryzen is better choice because it allows more number of
>    simultaneous threads. 16 as compared to 8 on i7. Does anybody have
>    experience with these? Please share your recommendation.
> 
> 2. Are there good general purpose motherboards available for 3 graphics
>    cards? I have experience with motherboards with 12 graphics
>    cards. But those were not general purpose. They were specifically
>    designed for cryto mining purpose only.
> 
> 3. I’ll also put these machine to serve local copy of all my data. I’ll
>    synchronize it with some cloud space. I need recommendations for
>    reliable hard disks. A combination of SSD/HDD to balance between
>    cost, performance and reliability will probably be best. But I really
>    don’t know much about the hardware.
> 
> I already have good modular corsair 1200w power-supply. So I’ll put that
> to use.
> 
> I need your help to setup a system completely free of proprietary
> software. Please do reply.
> 
> -- 
> Regards,
> Pankaj Jangid
> 
> GnuPG Fingerprint: 0B62 7424 3B26 A911 052A DDE6 7C95 6E6F F858 7689
> 
All the best, as ever,

Andy C.

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#230967

Pankaj Jangid wrote: 
> I don???t want any proprietary software to run on these systems. And hence
> exploring possibilities. My questions:
> 
> 1. I had a look at i7 and Ryzen 7. For multi-threading applications, it
>    appears that Ryzen is better choice because it allows more number of
>    simultaneous threads. 16 as compared to 8 on i7. Does anybody have
>    experience with these? Please share your recommendation.

On a price/performance basis, it's clear that AMD beats Intel at
every price point.

You should know that both Intel and AMD ship firmware blobs for
their CPUs which are redistributable but not open source.

> 2. Are there good general purpose motherboards available for 3 graphics
>    cards? I have experience with motherboards with 12 graphics
>    cards. But those were not general purpose. They were specifically
>    designed for cryto mining purpose only.

AMD has more PCI lanes available than Intel, so motherboards can
support more slots. 

MSI, Gigabyte and ASUS, at least, sell extended-ATX motherboard
with sufficient room between x16 slots to fit 3 double-width
graphics cards. You may have trouble finding a suitable case.

The AMD cards probably don't function without a firmware blob,
even with otherwise open-source drivers. 

-dsr-

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#230976

On Fri, 22 Jan 2021 06:39:45 -0500
Dan Ritter <dsr@randomstring.org> wrote:

...

> The AMD cards probably don't function without a firmware blob,
> even with otherwise open-source drivers. 

Depends what you mean by "function" :) IIRC, my system with an RX-570
would boot to console without the firmware packages installed, but X
wouldn't start. I didn't experiment too much further to see how much
functionality the card provided without its firmware.

Celejar

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#230984

On 2021-01-21 21:06, Pankaj Jangid wrote:
> I am setting up one (or may be two) home-office servers. I have 6 ATI
> Radian RX580 graphics cards that are lying in cold storage. I used them
> a couple of years back to experiment with various crypto-mining
> technologies.
> 
> I want these cards to be put to use for experimenting with
> multi-threading work loads like may be Machine Learning or may be Image
> Processing of deep space data or may be run GNU Radio for experimenting
> with signals.
> 
> I don’t want any proprietary software to run on these systems. And hence
> exploring possibilities. My questions:
> 
> 1. I had a look at i7 and Ryzen 7. For multi-threading applications, it
>     appears that Ryzen is better choice because it allows more number of
>     simultaneous threads. 16 as compared to 8 on i7. Does anybody have
>     experience with these? Please share your recommendation.
> 
> 2. Are there good general purpose motherboards available for 3 graphics
>     cards? I have experience with motherboards with 12 graphics
>     cards. But those were not general purpose. They were specifically
>     designed for cryto mining purpose only.
> 
> 3. I’ll also put these machine to serve local copy of all my data. I’ll
>     synchronize it with some cloud space. I need recommendations for
>     reliable hard disks. A combination of SSD/HDD to balance between
>     cost, performance and reliability will probably be best. But I really
>     don’t know much about the hardware.
> 
> I already have good modular corsair 1200w power-supply. So I’ll put that
> to use.
> 
> I need your help to setup a system completely free of proprietary
> software. Please do reply.


Several manufacturers produced graphics cards with that name.  What is 
the make and model?  Support URL?


What is the model of the PSU?  Support URL?


I would start by putting one GPU in a PC and figuring out the software 
(libraries, tools) and workflow required to do HPC/ GPU computing using 
Debian.  Please let us know what you discover.


David

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#231007

David Christensen <dpchrist@holgerdanske.com> writes:

> On 2021-01-21 21:06, Pankaj Jangid wrote:
>> I am setting up one (or may be two) home-office servers. I have 6 ATI
>> Radian RX580 graphics cards that are lying in cold storage. I used them
>> a couple of years back to experiment with various crypto-mining
>> technologies.
>
> Several manufacturers produced graphics cards with that name.  What is
> the make and model?  Support URL?
>
> What is the model of the PSU?  Support URL?

The ones that I have are manufactured by MSI. Radian RX 580 Gaming X
8G. Exactly this one,

https://www.msi.com/Graphics-Card/Radeon-RX-580-GAMING-X-8G/Specification

> I would start by putting one GPU in a PC and figuring out the software
> (libraries, tools) and workflow required to do HPC/ GPU computing
> using Debian.  Please let us know what you discover.

Definitely. I’ll share as I proceed. I like this approach of putting
just one card first and figuring out things.

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#231009

On 2021-01-22 19:31, Pankaj Jangid wrote:
> David Christensen <dpchrist@holgerdanske.com> writes:
> 
>> On 2021-01-21 21:06, Pankaj Jangid wrote:
>>> I am setting up one (or may be two) home-office servers. I have 6 ATI
>>> Radian RX580 graphics cards that are lying in cold storage. I used them
>>> a couple of years back to experiment with various crypto-mining
>>> technologies.
>>
>> Several manufacturers produced graphics cards with that name.  What is
>> the make and model?  Support URL?
>>
>> What is the model of the PSU?  Support URL?
> 
> The ones that I have are manufactured by MSI. Radian RX 580 Gaming X
> 8G. Exactly this one,
> 
> https://www.msi.com/Graphics-Card/Radeon-RX-580-GAMING-X-8G/Specification

Okay.  eBay says those are trending at $300.  They benchmark at about 
1/3 of the current #1 card:

https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php


>> I would start by putting one GPU in a PC and figuring out the software
>> (libraries, tools) and workflow required to do HPC/ GPU computing
>> using Debian.  Please let us know what you discover.
> 
> Definitely. I’ll share as I proceed. I like this approach of putting
> just one card first and figuring out things.

When you do, you can look at AMD Epyc and GPU servers:

https://www.amd.com/en/products/epyc-server

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gigabyte-G291-Z20-CTO-AMD-Epyc-GPU-Server-Holds-8-GPUs/264933076956?hash=item3daf3defdc:g:BTUAAOSwEUBfqrG2


The next problems will be powering and cooling it...  :->


David

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