Server computers Vs. Desktop Computers

[DeadSeaSquirrels]

Can somebody explain to me something that I guess I really should know. What is the difference between a server and a normal desktop computer. I mean what sort of qualities do you absolutely need with a server that you don't need with a desktop. Is it just a lot of RAM? Nowadays people carry a gig of ram so that they can play Unreal and do their homework. Is it dual processors? What? I mean you can always buy a "server" and just run windows XP on it and play games can't you? Is it having two NICs? What is it? If somebody can point me to a site that goes into detail explaining all the real differences between a server and a normal computer I'd love to read about it. Afterall, isn't anandtech just hosted on some Athalon MPs? Basically a bunch of desktops?

Am I an idiot or something?

 

[n0cmonkey]

<< Can somebody explain to me something that I guess I really should know. What is the difference between a server and a normal desktop computer. >>



The only real difference is what is running on a server versus what is running on a desktop machine. Hardware really doesnt make a difference in what you call the computer, just how fast it will be.

 

[QTPie]

server computers usually have dual processors or more, lots of RAMs, SCSI hard disks, hardware RAID (RAID 5) with hard disk hot swapping, and a crappy video card and of course they run Win NT server or *NIX OS.

 

[cholley]

anything can be a server, your machine can be a server but, can it be a server that banks or businesses rely on? no.
can it host a multi player game or run an ftp site? sure.

hell you can host a web site with and old POS and 28.8 modem

it all depends on the work the machine is used for, a commercial server might need hot swap hard drives an redundant powers supplies. but a server for a hobbiest might be his friggin lap top

 

[joohang]

This is what I argued today at a presentation on 64-bit CPUs.

Desktop CPUs/PCs have become so powerful and since the wider adoption of x86 servers, the distinction between a desktop and an entry-level server have become quite blurry over the years.

But it looks like both AMD and Intel are attempting to make things more distinct with their upcoming products.

And yes, servers tend to have a SCSI RAID setup, SMP and usually some sort of a fail-over solution.

 

[bozo1]

A few other things that server class machines like from Compaq usually have - remote hardware monitoring (temperature, drive failure, CPU throttling, etc.), hot swap hard drives, hot swap PCI slots, 64-bit slots, dual NIC's (for either load balancing or failover), support for at least 2 processors - 4 or more in some models, support for 4 or more Gigs of RAM, remote access via network or modem with the computer turned off and the ability to power up, watch it post, enter setup, etc., remote flashing of BIOS, RAID controllers, hard drives.

 

[n0cmonkey]

You all must work for rich companies

 

[Gunbuster]

Servers in general dont have an AGP slot

 

[Daxxax]

I work at a IBM plant in Rochester, MN. We build and test Mid to High end Unix (Servers). Actually the OS is called AIX which is IBM's version of Unix. The systems range in price from a couple thousand to a few million dollars depending on the size. These system all have RISC PowerPC CPU's that are 64-bit. I have seen Systems with as little as 256 MB of memory to systems that have 131073 MB of memory. We have 8 foot tall racks that are filled with hardrives most having Terebytes of harddrive space. I guess what I'm saying is that there is a whole world out there beyond your desktop. These systems make your home PC look like child's toy.

 

[BreakApart]

Few things people have missed...

Servers generally require ECC registered memory.
Cleaner power distribution to the system, cpu, etc.(VRM, etc)
Redundant power supply.
Full SCSI systems, no IDE anywhere.
Hot swap:
-cpus
-drives
-power supply
-pci devices(NIC)