Tower vs rack mount server

[northpole]

Hi All,

At office, I am planning to replace a virtualized server that is a self assembled hardware running vmware esxi to a better 'branded' server with full support. I am divided between tower and rack mount server. The VMs are update server, AV and other miscellaneous tasks, but none are business critical. I have read all the differences between them and they certainly help me decide except on power supplies.

The local UPS/electrician guy says that rack mount are more sensitive to power/temp/etc and needs more maintenance. Where as the tower servers are resilient, has a robust SMPS and can with stand power fluctuations. Is this true?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Hi All,

At office, I am planning to replace a virtualized server that is a self assembled hardware running vmware esxi to a better 'branded' server with full support. I am divided between tower and rack mount server. The VMs are update server, AV and other miscellaneous tasks, but none are business critical. I have read all the differences between them and they certainly help me decide except on power supplies.

The local UPS/electrician guy says that rack mount are more sensitive to power/temp/etc and needs more maintenance. Where as the tower servers are resilient, has a robust SMPS and can with stand power fluctuations. Is this true?

Generally, yes.

I would get a tower simply because they're usually a lot quieter.

 

[piasabird]

It probably depends on the configuration of the server and the height size. Sometimes they are so thin and hold in the heat. If you have a lot of servers air circulation can be critical. Our server room has a redundant air conditioning system.

Just because you have a rack, it does not mean it is a good idea to stack servers one on top of the other with no clearance for air flow.

 

[northpole]

Thanks for the comments. This reinforces my choice of tower server.
Our rack is placed in work area itself, there is no server room nor independent temperature control or AC. The rack is full and I am replacing old tower one with new.
The configuration is similar to Dell t320 or T430. Single Xeon E5 CPU, 32 GB RAM and 1TB x 2 disk.

 

[Gunbuster]

Many tower servers can be converted to rack, or ordered in a rackable configuration. I would get a pimped Dell T630 or R730xd and move a bunch/all of VM's to it. I bet you could consolidate at minimum half of your full rack and knock down your heat and noise.

 

[Cerb]

Our rack is placed in work area itself, there is no server room nor independent temperature control or AC.

No servers on there, then. Even quieter rackmount servers, that aren't DIY, at least, are going to be annoying whiny machines, and need at least a door, just for the sake of everyone else's ability to concentrate.

Big name servers are getting harder and harder to find in 2-4U generic configs, too. IE, they like to have beefy 2U, basic 1U, or drive holding 4U+ monsters, and customizing them too much kills budgets. In some ways, Dell, Lenovo, and HP decisions to favor datacenter needs over all else has been the best thing Supermicro could ever have hoped for .

 

[Gunbuster]

are going to be annoying whiny machines, and need at least a door, just for the sake of everyone else's ability to concentrate

My Dell R720xd is pretty quiet. Get one in the fresh air compliant spec and if you have cooler office temps the fans wont be going much at all. I imagine the gen 13 servers decked out in SSD would be even quieter.

 

[Cerb]

My Dell R720xd is pretty quiet. Get one in the fresh air compliant spec and if you have cooler office temps the fans wont be going much at all. I imagine the gen 13 servers decked out in SSD would be even quieter.

The Dells definitely are better than some. Supermicro has gotten better, but they still have a long way to go to catch up to Dell and HP. But, those tiny fans still sound like tiny fans. Assuming an office, that carries.

The towers, though, seem as quiet as Optiplexes, once they get past POST, IME.

 

[PliotronX]

Take the T and make it a Q, take the O and make it a U, take the W and make it an I, leave the E and take the R and make it a T. Now if you take an R and make it an L, take the A and make it an O, take the C and make it a U, and the K and make it a D, your choice is clear.

 

[northpole]

Oh, I don't want to 'consolidate' all servers into one vm server and make it a single point of failure. I have some critical ones' running as standalone and they are running great. We tested this during business continuity drill and work went on even with minimal IT infrastructure.

Also, I have noticed is re-sellers here heavily discourage us from buying small and mid-range servers, they just push the beefy ones They say those I inquired about are already end of life even though the HP/Dell tech supp says they are very much available.

Also, though supermicro recently started selling in my country, re-sellers don't get us these since profit margins are very much less.

And, 2 weeks ago we ordered the Dell T430, it's coming in few hours today!