Thinkpads Forum

I'd like to set up a Linux server running on a T61. Nothing seriously powerful, just for testing, learning. What would be the minimal "headless" hardware I'd need? Could I get by with just a used motherboard from ebay? It would need a hard drive, but does this need more than a motherboard? Obviously, I don't need any graphics. BTW, are there other places to get used thinkpad stuff than ebay at reasonable prices?

The Market Place section of this forum is probably the best place to get ThinkPad hardware. There is almost always someone selling just what you need, if only you ask.

Do you already own the T61, or are you looking to purchase one? I have a fairly cheap one for sale, send me a PM if interested.

If you are set on a Thinkpad, then get one with working video for convenience! Being able to see what you are doing on any machine can come in handy even if all you use is the command line.

Obviously, I don't need any graphics.

Good luck with installing, unless you do that on another PC with working graphics and get all your settings right. There is a reason commercial servers have video cards. Linux installs are portable so you can load in one machine then plug into another, but you'll have networking to set up on the server. Better think this through first. If you have a spare monitor you don't need a T61 with a good screen, but why suffer?

farmall wrote:If you are set on a Thinkpad, then get one with working video for convenience! Being able to see what you are doing on any machine can come in handy even if you Remote Desktop or vnc into it for remote control most of the time.

Actually "headless" Linux servers are quite typical; although you're right: for rank amateurs like me it's nice to "see" the install on the GUI....

Headless servers are typical, but you need some system to build the image first. You can do headless installs afterward.

"Headless" doesn't necessarily mean removing the "neck"(video hardware) too, just "not plugging in a monitor" since there are all sorts of cool KVM solutions for server farms. They have to be able to work on a machine if it drops offline, so that's yet another reason to have working video hardware even if you rarely use it.

You could master a setup DVD, then test the .iso in a VM to confirm it works, then deploy it.

http://wiki.centos.org/TipsAndTricks/VncHeadlessInstall

http://serverfault.com/questions/21255/ ... ux-install

NOTE - Be sure to test your cd with a monitor on the first time since we did disable the media check.

If you want to learn about servers, consider getting actual server hardware. Serial ports, PS/2 ports, etc are also there for good reason.
Cheap on Ebay.

farmall wrote: If you want to learn about servers, consider getting actual server hardware. Serial ports, PS/2 ports, etc are also there for good reason.
Cheap on Ebay.

I'm not planning on being a sys admin junkie, I just need something to toy with. Why I want a thinkpad is that my fun will cost far less in electricity since laptops use far less juice than standard computers.

There is no "standard" computer any more and some draw less than a notebook (and can run fanless) but T61s are agreeably inexpensive on Ebay and you don't need fast specs for basic file serving.

Choose Intel graphics to avoid the Nvidia plague and around a hundred bucks should yield a complete machine. I just bought one for sixty bucks shipped needing a hard disk and caddy. The bargains are out there.

Here's the link to the .isos for CentOS. I used the LiveDVD.iso:

http://isoredirect.centos.org/centos/6/isos/x86_64/

Have fun and enjoy Linux!