Server Recommendations

[SaigonK]

I have to agree on this...get the Dell powerEdge, it is what i use for ALL of my business customers when they are looking for a new unit. I wait to implementuntil Dell offers a great deal where I can get 4 hour or next business day support on hardware and then i jump on it. It makes my life allot easier. If a board goes bad...call dell...if a cdrom goes bad...call dell..

Also, dont be scared by IDE raid, it works just fine, i am using the Adaptec 4 channel IDE Raid card. I dont use it for Raid 0 or anything, simply to provide a mirror for two 80GB drives.
Disaster coverage only, no complaints and no issues atl all from the 6-7 PowerEdge 600SC's I have ordered.

 

[Rainsford]

Originally posted by: exx1976
HP? Compaq? DELL?? Next I'm going to be hearing about Gateway servers.. MAN!!

I-B-M. PERIOD. The ONLY HP I have here is a Superdome. Everything else is just junk.

If I was going to recommend a box, I'm VERY partial to rack-mount servers, I'd go with an x335 with a 4Lx card and a pair of 73 or 146Gb drives, 1Gb of RAM, and a nice processor. If you want more storage space, step up to an x345, but the chassis price damn near doubles.. But, then you can have redundant PS's too..

IBM tower servers are also very nice. VERY solid, too.. I presently have over 50 IBM servers: 330s, 335s, 345s, netfinity's, and various tower boxes.. The x2XX series are pretty nice. Check em out, quite reasonable too.

As for an OS, look at Small Busniess Server. Get them everything they need for cheap.

At the last IT place I worked, we called this the BMW theory of IT purchasing. You get more than 5 IT people in a room together, and inevitably one of them will be an "IBM and Cisco" only kind of person. They feel than expensive=reliable, and while they are right a lot of the time, it's more about good planning than super fantastic equipment. Someone who relies on an "invulverable" IBM server is in a lot worse position than someone who has Compaq servers or Dell servers and spare parts on hand and the know-how to fix them quickly.

Trust me on this, I've worked in places with both kinds of theories, and I'd have to say I'll take the well managed Compaqs over the poorly managed IBMs simply because NOTHING is perfect.