Server Recommendation

[Paladinza]

Hi

I have been asked to give a recommendation on some server hardware for a solution. I would like to consider using opteron servers, but I have no experience with these machines. On top of that, I am a software developer and not really an expert on hardware matters.

Let me give some background on the application.

The application will be running on Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and is written in .NET 2 using C#. There is a business tier, ASP.NET frontend and a web service frontend.

We are looking at starting with 40000 - 60000 registered users but it could grow to 4.5 million users in the near future.

The main load on the server will be through the web service via which user information will be queried. The amount of users directly influences the percentage of possible concurrent hits we will get against the web service.

We have no idea what the percentage these concurrent hits will be, but must make some recommendations to our client.

I would appreciate some recommendations on database server, web server, load balancing, etc.

Thanks

 

[Varun]

Call HP and I am sure they can set you up. For that kind of use you're going to want a real server.

 

[RebateMonger]

Frankly, I think your client should hire a consultant experienced in large-scale hosting to create a working system for this kind of scale.

Yes, there are very experienced network people in this Forum.
Yes, they can give you some general guidance.

But I don't see how you can fully implement something like this without having full access to someone with knowledge and experience in this area. Setting this up will require knowledge of your application and data needs that nobody here will have.

 

[Paladinza]

Thanks for the feedback. I think you guys are right. I was just hoping for some kind of heads up.

 

[JEDIYoda]

RebateMonger gave you the heads up...lol

Frankly, I think your client should hire a consultant experienced in large-scale hosting to create a working system for this kind of scale.

Yes, there are very experienced network people in this Forum.
Yes, they can give you some general guidance.

But I don't see how you can fully implement something like this without having full access to someone with knowledge and experience in this area. Setting this up will require knowledge of your application and data needs that nobody here will have.

-------------------------
MCSE:Security:2003 - ISA 2004
Microsoft Small Business Specialist

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: Paladinza
Thanks for the feedback. I think you guys are right. I was just hoping for some kind of heads up.

Glad you took my comment as I intended it.

I'm just afraid that any advice that could be given here would be mostly speculation. Nothing wrong with that...but use it appropriately. I think spending some money in advance to get an expert's recommendation on hardware, networking, clustering/load balancing, backups, and recovery would avoid any big mistakes.

 

[spyordie007]

I agree; for this kind of traffic you're probably also going to need high availability (i.e. clustered).

Where are you located? Perhaps we can offer some suggestions for companies to work with.