Re: Time for a new server

In article <7ed1.47ced28a.4847d@zem>,
Justin C <justin.news@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
It's time to replace an aging server. It's been a long time since I've
had to do this and I'm very out of touch with the hardware market.
Currently we've two IBMs, so I shall be contacting a dealer to quote.
We've used Dell in the past, and comparing the Dell and IBM machines
there was no contest, the IBM were better built by a long way. I'm
looking for suggestions of other manufacturers who will supply Linux
servers (has to be RH, a requirement of our accounting software).

So, who do you recommend for low end servers?

Spec:
Single or dual processor
Hardware raid (5+1 is what it will be replacing)
Storage capacity required: 200GB

This is for our acconting / erp system only. Mail, web, and other
servers are handled on another server.

I've installed Linux (Debian) on more Dell servers that I care to
remember - found them to be mostly OK - a bit pricey at times, but if
the customer want's Dell, the customer gets Dell... Dell do have an odd
habit of sometimes changing the internal hardware specs for the same
server though - maybe a different SATA controller or something... And it
was always "bleeding edge" hardware as far as Debian was concerned
(the later ones, Sarge and Etch are OK though, but I've had issues with
the Ethernet controllers not being recognised by the kernel shipped)

But have you considered building your own?

It might not be cheaper though!

From reading your later posts, it seems that a dual PSU is a requirement -
that's where it gets expensive right at the start, but ... In the past
8 or 9 years or so the only PSU I've had fail in a production server
has been one in a dual PSU (Dell!) box... What does that say? Not a
lot, I'm sure - good job it had a 2nd PSU, but what would the impact
have been if it didn't have a 2nd.. Next day delivery from Dell for a
replacement. Inconvenient ...

I'd be almost inclined to suggest that if your server is in an office,
then buy a good case/mobo combination and get a 2nd PSU, so if the PSU
does fail, then you can replace it yourself - sure, a little bit of
downtime, but you did say "low end" ...

If you want cases with redundant PSUs, have a look at

http://www.acme-technology.co.uk/

I've used them on & off for the past 12+ years or so when building up
servers. You need to call them for prices though, but expect a 3U
rack-mount with redundant PSUs to come in at about £350. Add a bit more
in for drive carriers, etc.

As for the rest - motherboards, ASUS is my mobo of choice, and for your
application, it probably won't matter really what processor(s) you use.
Stick 1-2GB of RAM in it and a pair of 500GB SATA drives and off you go.
I've used Linux software RAID sice it was invented and am more than
happy with it, but there are mobo's with on-board mirroring for a pair
of drives, and I think Linux has support for some on them now, but I've
not looked, being a s/w RAID fan ...

Good luck!

Gordon
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Opinions Wanted: Dell PowerEdge Servers ... ?
    ... They're not as good as in the past, but we have had hardware assistance on a FreeBSD-driven server on the condition of proving hardware fault using Dell's own bootable diagnostics. ... our support experience may be artificially "enhanced" compared to others because we buy off a large govt. ... our overall experience with Dell support has actually been as good or better than with many other vendors. ... One thing I do know is Dell's first tier support for servers is worthless, but as Greg says, you just need to establish that you know what you're doing, and you can bypass them. ...
    (freebsd-questions)
  • Re: Time for a new server
    ... had to do this and I'm very out of touch with the hardware market. ... We've used Dell in the past, and comparing the Dell and IBM machines ... servers. ...
    (uk.comp.os.linux)
  • Re: Solaris and Linux comparison
    ... > I don't care about 10-year reliability, ... > PRIMEPOWER SPARC Solaris servers, but as far as I know Sun doesn't ... >> its hardware built and sold with the finest of razor thin margins, ... > last cheap Dell server that I bought had a disk failure soon after ...
    (comp.unix.solaris)
  • Re: random hangs/reboots with Dell servers
    ... I am trying to understand some long standing issues we have with freebsd and Dell servers. ... Over the last 3 year we have installed freebsd 5.x and 6.x, with currently deployed version being 6.1, to a variety of of Dell rack mounted systems. ... For the hardware I'd run complete diagnostics from dell on one of these servers, and any stress tests available as well. ...
    (freebsd-questions)
  • Re: Dell SC430 servers
    ... Also thank you for the cost comparisions. ... DELL SC430 ... 3rd party SATA Raid controller ... Dell lovingly configures its servers with. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)