"The Debian project is looking for sponsors for two new official
services: snapshot and data archives. Both services utilize large
amounts of data and therefore require a capable machine with a large
disk array that provides 10 TB of disk space to start, with the ability
to be easily extended. We'd like interested sponsors to contact
hardware-donations@debian.org
"The Debian project is hoping for an independent storage array that can
be extended or upgraded without having to reconfigure the hardware of
the server attached to it. A disk shelf based SATA SAN seems ideal for
this application. We envision needing to start with roughly 10 TB of
storage to cover known archives. 12 x 1 TB SATA drives seems like an
ideal compromise between price and capacity.
"The snapshot archive is a wayback machine that allows access to old
packages based on dates and version numbers. It will consist of all
current and future packages the Debian archive provides. With roughly
3 to 4 GB of new packages each day, this service needs a large storage
system to keep up. The current implementation already consumes 4 TB
and provides a valuable service for the community.
"The ability to install packages and view sourcecode from any given date
in the past is very helpful for developers who try to fix regressions.
Users frequently need an older version of the software in order to make
a particular application run.
"The data archive will contain huge packages that cannot be distributed
through the regular archive due to their sheer size. The number of free
large data packages, such as medical and statistical data sets, and also
game data, is increasing and we ask for a new service to make them
available to Debian users.
"The Debian project plans redundant deployment in two separate geographical
locations for which the Debian project is seeking sponsors as well.
US-based hosting is not possible for legal reasons, since the snapshot
archive also contains older releases, including the non-US tree, which
contains packages which must not be distributed from within the USA. We
envision being able to run both services on the same hardware, provided
sufficient resources are available.
"Hardware requirements for these services are not met by any available
machines in the Debian project. The new hosts should consist of at least
two recent CPUs and 32 GB RAM in addition to a storage backend that is
easily extendable and comes with 12 x 1 TB disks combined via RAID. These
machines should have remote out of band management included, offering full
serial console access and remote power switch.
"Sponsors will be mentioned prominently on Debian's web server and may
be named on the service web pages as well.
"The current implementation of the snapshot archive is at
.
"About Debian
"The Debian project is an organisation of many developers who volunteer
their time and effort, collaborating via the Internet. Their tasks
include maintaining and updating Debian GNU/Linux which is a free
distribution of the GNU/Linux operating system. Debian's dedication to
Free Software, its non-profit nature, and its open development model
makes it unique among GNU/Linux distributions.
"Contact Information
"For further information, please send email to the Debian Press Team
or visit the Debian homepage at ."
