The KN8164V features HD resolution of 1920 x 1200, FIPS 140-2 with level 1 security standards and virtual media transmissions at twice the speed. Built for reliability, the KN series provides local console and remote over IP access, ensuring 24/7 availability to all servers.
Solved
spec a server to build
Posted on 2012-12-20
I recently built desktop using i7 core processor and a Corsair SSD and am amazed how fast it is. Now would like to try building a server to replace our old one. The old one uses a Xeon X3210 and 8GB ram and a RAID 5. I would like to scale up in speed and also in the ability to handle outside web page hits where the max user or max hit to the web page is 25 simultaneous different users (not open to public). What would be a good board, processor and setup and I would like to do it with SSD's, where possible, to help the speed in SQL and asp.net tasks.
I am a biz owner with a little understanding, so keep that in mind as you answer. I do have a remote IT guy that helps, but I like to decide this stuff with input from EE folks.
I plan to use SBS 2008 and will plan to run Exchange and SQL and would appreciate input on how to use old server in the mix with the new server.
I am a biz owner with a little understanding, so keep that in mind as you answer. I do have a remote IT guy that helps, but I like to decide this stuff with input from EE folks.
I plan to use SBS 2008 and will plan to run Exchange and SQL and would appreciate input on how to use old server in the mix with the new server.
[X]
Welcome to Experts Exchange
Add your voice to the tech community where 5M+ people just like you are talking about what matters.
- Help others & share knowledge
- Earn cash & points
- Learn & ask questions
3-
3
2- +1
9 Comments
This is the last one I built. (About 6 mths ago)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121589
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239226
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117268
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136792
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227792
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106276
http://istarusa.com/xeal/products.php?model=IS-800R3KP
http://istarusa.com/istarusa/products.php?model=E306L-DE10
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816118160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220253
What's your budget? Also, have you considered VMWare ESXi? It's free and there are many live backup scripts available.
EDIT: I used 2x on the memory (32GB), 4x on both HD types (2 separated RAID 5's -- OS's on SSDs and Data on Physicals)
Also, that case is beyond EPIC. You can get away with one of the many supermicro 2u and 3u server chasis.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121589
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239226
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117268
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136792
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227792
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106276
http://istarusa.com/xeal/products.php?model=IS-800R3KP
http://istarusa.com/istarusa/products.php?model=E306L-DE10
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816118160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220253
What's your budget? Also, have you considered VMWare ESXi? It's free and there are many live backup scripts available.
EDIT: I used 2x on the memory (32GB), 4x on both HD types (2 separated RAID 5's -- OS's on SSDs and Data on Physicals)
Also, that case is beyond EPIC. You can get away with one of the many supermicro 2u and 3u server chasis.
Active today
Wow, or, as Gomer Pile would have said, Gooollee! That is sick!
Maybe scale that down to tiny little biz budget...is there a less expensive board and processor combination?
Also, regarding use of SSD, should SBS 2008 go onto the SSD and the apps as well, or just the OS?
Maybe scale that down to tiny little biz budget...is there a less expensive board and processor combination?
Also, regarding use of SSD, should SBS 2008 go onto the SSD and the apps as well, or just the OS?
For SBS, I do the core installation on the ssd's, then move the sql/exchange databases to the physical drives.
And about the not saving, like Andy said, this server above would cost you well over 10k$ from Dell or HP with the equivalent horse power, memory and storage.
Best of all, when something dies, you just go down to Fry's to replace.
And about the not saving, like Andy said, this server above would cost you well over 10k$ from Dell or HP with the equivalent horse power, memory and storage.
Best of all, when something dies, you just go down to Fry's to replace.
If this is a production server that will cost you money when it is down I would recommend going with IBM/HP/Dell as well. You can get all kinds of service plans from NBD to Parts on Site. If you are okay with being down for a couple of business days then I would recommend purchasing a used enterprise level server from a place like geeks. Google Benchmark CPUs and then you can get a feel for the performance of the processors. SAS drives will run plenty fast. The more heads in a RAID configuration the higher IOPs you will get. 25 users is nothing for any server you will find out there running SAS drives. The advantage you will have running IBM\HP\Dell is they have already done all the homework on drive failures, heat, driver capability, RAID card performance. They maintain the drivers and firmware. Plus in a year or two from now if the MB dies, back plain goes out, it will be easier to find parts for an IBM/HP/Dell.
Of course if you're a computer expert and feel confident in maintaining it yourself including talking your staff through doing repairs when you're on vacation then by all means build your own server. As choward16980 says it will be faster and cheaper than a standard build from a major player.
Active today
I like Chowards approach, have built my own stuff for years, would like help selecting the right parts . A while back Callandor helped me spec an i7 core machine that has been amazing for about 800.00 in parts. Would like to repeat that with the server, for a bit more money, but same effect. Chowars spec above just seemed like overkill for what we need? Also, and this seems the stupid question, but would that perform as fast as my i7 core with SSD? This i7 pc is so fast, everythign I do is instantly processed....
Windows server won't perform as fast as the workstation if it's on the same hardware since workstation OS is tweaked for speed, e.g disk write cache is turned on whereas server OS is tweaked for data security, e.g. disk write cache turned off to preserve data integrity (not that that matters so much when using SSDs).
Featured Post
The ATEN CV211 connects a laptop directly to any server allowing you instant access to perform data maintenance and local operations, for quick troubleshooting, updating, service and repair.
Question has a verified solution.
If you are experiencing a similar issue, please ask a related question
The 6120xp switches seem to have a bug when you create a fiber port channel when you have a UCS fabric interconnects talking to them. If you follow the Cisco guide for the UCS, the FC Port channel will never come up and it will say that there are n…
Moving your enterprise fax infrastructure from in-house fax machines and servers to the cloud makes sense — from both an efficiency and productivity standpoint. But does migrating to a cloud fax solution mean you will no longer be able to send or re…
In this video, Percona Director of Solution Engineering Jon Tobin discusses the function and features of Percona Server for MongoDB.
How Percona can help
Percona can help you determine if Percona Server for MongoDB is the right solution for …
In this video, Percona Solutions Engineer Barrett Chambers discusses some of the basic syntax differences between MySQL and MongoDB.
To learn more check out our webinar on MongoDB administration for MySQL DBA: https://www.percona.com/resources/we…
Suggested Courses
Course of the Month9 days, left to enroll
721 members asked questions and received personalized solutions in the past 7 days.
Join the community of 500,000 technology professionals and ask your questions.