Purchasing a Server

By Joshua Erdman
Digital Foundation, inc.

From this article you should understand the roles of a server, become aware of the importance of these roles, and realize the need for a redundant business class machine to handle these roles. Then you are ready to purchase one.

Network Centralization

If you have a network and are looking to centralize your data storage and security management there will be a significant reliance on the server(s). It is at this server level where authentication, file storage, backups, e-mail, and remote access take place. Servers also perform other important roles to further centralization such as spam filtering, anti-virus management, security policies, and firewalls.

Needless to say the servers are the most important aspect of a centralized network. Your budget and planning better reflect that.

Server Definitions

The term server usually refers to the _role_ a computer plays on the network. So this could be a cheap desktop computer (or even a laptop) sharing a printer or storing user files for the whole network. Unfortunately this makes it unclear when I talk about how important a server is and provides a false sense of security to clients who feel comfortable knowing that they have a 'server'.

Server Redundancy

There are varying levels of redundancy that can quench the need to spend money for any business. The basic servers that we recommend start at $4,000 (this does not include software and an Operating System) and can cost well over $20,000 (still that is without software).

The basic level of redundancy that we require for all our clients' servers are SCSI RAID-5 hard drive configuration, SCSI Backplane, dual processor capability, and dual power supplies. Typically a server chasis that meets these requirements already includes multiple cooling fans with RPM monitoring, voltage monitoring, and a comprehensive Server Management Suite that provides notification for any problems noticed from the data being monitored.

Why SCSI drives and not SATA?

Even though SATA can provide the same performance as SCSI and are cheaper, realize that it is reliability that is most important. SCSI drives come with a 5-year warranty where ATA and SATA drives are typically 3 year. Other reasons include: SCSI drives come in standard sizes (18GB, 36GB, 72GB, etc) making replacing a failed SCSI drive in a RAID-5 configuration easier, also you can have more devices on a SCSI chain and can even expand to an external drive chasis for massive storage.

From our experience working with many different servers (HP, Dell, Compaq, and some custom built) we prefer Dell Servers. There are several reasons for this:

Price - Dell prices cannot be beat buy the big guys (HP). This is not just the cost of the system but of upgrade and replacement parts especially.
Reliability - They all pretty much have matching reliability
Economies of Scale - sincemost of our clients have Dell equipment it makes managing and maintaining them easier.

Dell Chasis and Cost

Mentioned previously the basic servers that we recommend start at about $4000. This is a Dell PowerEdge 1800 (before this line was released our base server was a Dell Poweredge 2600). It includes a tape Drive DDS-5, SCSI Backplane, Dell PERC (SCSI RAID Controller), at least 3 36-GB SCSI drives, 1GB RAM, dual power supplies, and a single 3.0GHz (800 MHz Front Side bus, dual processor expandable).

The PowerEdge 1800 meets most of our client's needs. Stepping up to a PowerEdge 2800 or 4600 is usually considered if the client needs more than 2 CPUs, more than dual power supplies, 64-bit Hot Swappable PCI slots, Hot Swappable RAM, or something similarly redundant and extreme. And of course these features come at a cost.

Article last reviewed: 02/13/2005

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Created by: Digital Foundation, inc.

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