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jessequijano

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SBS server DL vs. ML

I am looking into buying a SBS 2003 R2 Premium server for use with 15 users (mostly mobile) and about 8 winmo5 smartphones.  I will taking full advantage of the SBS system; AD, shares, shadow copies, Exchange, ActiveSync, OWA, VPN, Print Server, fax service, ISA, Sharepoint etc... (everything except sql for the time being) however I know 15 users is not exactly hitting the max. cap. on the SBS servers 75 user limit so I dont want to over purchase.

currently the machine I have quoted out is the following:
HP Proliant ML250 G5 Tower
Dual Core Xeon 5120 1.86Ghz
4gb pc2-5300 4x1 GB memory
Smart Array E200/64mb raid controller
2x80 gb sata 7200rpm sata (for system disk and replication/redundancy which raid type is this??)
4x160 gb sata 7200rpm sata (for data,exchange,paging file??, client apps)(320gb on two disks mirrored to the other two or stripped im not sure about raid config this is the first time i use it)
embedded gigabit network adapter
pcie gigabit server adapter
2x1000w power supplies
dvd+rw drive (ill see about a std. dvd drive for cost savings)
hp storage works dlt vs160 internal tape drive
faxmodem


here are the questions remembering the application:

is the ml overkill? can i find a suitable dl model system.

if i stick with the ml should i get the rackmount even though i dont currently have a rack just in case?

the rack mount version has a different raid system that has two benfits i can see 1. six disks which gives me a "hot spare" and that is good right? and 2. the disks are sccessible from the outside on sleds so I dont have to open the system to get at them this must be better right? or are the towers drive on simple internal sleds.

please comment on the raid configuration options with some brief suggestions I will be doing my homework on EXACTLY which means but a short summary and a point in the right direction would help.

Storageworks tape drive worth it or should i get another companies unit or a usb 2.0 hard drive for backups

are these dlt data cartridges standard tapes or proprietary hp units

thanks experts i know this sort of a hardware specific question but i dont want to cross post on my FIRST question

J
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Avatar of budchawla
budchawla
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Avatar of jessequijano
jessequijano

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thanks bud,

i think i am going to take you advise and buy 2 usb hd for rotating the backup.

can anyone comment specifically to the dl vs. ml and the ml rack vs. tower and if the hp storage system is proprietary
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the only difference between them is that the DLs are rack servers & the MLs are tower servers?? And which one you go for is a matter of whether you are going to put it in a rack or not?!
view this picture
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/en/WF30a/15351-15351-241434-241646-241477-1121586.html

i can see the hotswappable raid disks on the rack mount but not on the tower.  are they behind a door on the tower or do i have to crack the case and access them from behind on the tower?
also is the 128mb raid controller better than the 64mb controller in this type of application?
As I said, I'm not that familiar with the HPs so you would be better off calling HP pre-sales for this kind of thing - but I imagine that the drive bays are either behind the server or behind the plastic front bezel which you can take off without "cracking" the case :-)
thanks bud.