Making a good Server

[Chupaweed]

Can someone tell me what do I need for a good all around server

Thanx

[WebHead]

In order to make a decent server, and a true server at that, you will need to put some kind of server software on it. Maybe Windows NT or 2000 server (I prefer 2000). And make sure it has lots of memory. Memory is probably the most important element of a server IMO. At the very very very minimum have 256mb. Other than the OS and memory, everything else is up to you. Any kind of PC will do. I'd say at least use a PII or equivalent just so that you can get a little bit of speed and performance from the server.

[Chupaweed]

But im talking about hadware wise what do you recomend

motherboard, hard drive, ect...
thanx

[thirdfey]

Ah, well, before we go any further you need to give us a budget.

[Ya_know]

[quote]Originally posted by thirdfey:
<strong>Ah, well, before we go any further you need to give us a budget.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Yeah, and what do you need/want the server to do? You will get better responses if you ask a better formed question. Also, you shouldn't expect us to do all of the research for you.

[Chupaweed]

Well the budget is like $5,000 more or less no software included
:)

[tablesalt]

With that kind of budget, the server I recomend is as follows.

Tyan Tiger MP Mainboard (uses standard ATX ps, Thunder K7 has onboard video, NIC, option SCSI but requires special ps)
Two AMD 1.2GHz MP CPU's
1GB DDR PC2100 Registered SDRAM (I use Corsair)
Promise SuperTrak ATA100 Hardware IDE RAID
3 IBM GXP75 40GB HDD's in RAID 5 config
8MB ATI XPert 98 video or equivalent
Intel Pro100 Server Adapter
Creative 52x, floppy

You should be able to assemble this for well under $5000. A friend of mine and I have been using these machines to host dedicated gaming servers on and they perform beautifully for this and all other tasks. These are usually mounted in 2U or 4U rack mount chasis and placed in a data center. For non rack mount stuff, I use the Antec SX1240 Full Tower ATX Case <a href="http://www.antec-inc.com/product/cases/fulltower.html" target="_blank">http://www.antec-inc.com/product/cases/fulltower.html</a> Check out <a href="http://www.ilangame.com" target="_blank">www.ilangame.com</a> for more info.

My personal home server isn't as beefy. Granted, its also over a year old.

Abit VP6 with highpoint RAID
Dual P3 866MHz
4 Seagate 20GB ATA100 each in stripe config using onboard RAID
1GB Corsair PC133 RAM
ATI XPert 98 AGP 8MB
Creative 52x, floppy
Intel Pro100 Server Adapter
Antec SX1240 Full Tower ATX Case

[Chupaweed]

Thanx for the info can you tell me why do you use Raid 5????

[quote]Originally posted by tablesalt:
<strong>With that kind of budget, the server I recomend is as follows.

Tyan Tiger MP Mainboard (uses standard ATX ps, Thunder K7 has onboard video, NIC, option SCSI but requires special ps)
Two AMD 1.2GHz MP CPU's
1GB DDR PC2100 Registered SDRAM (I use Corsair)
Promise SuperTrak ATA100 Hardware IDE RAID
3 IBM GXP75 40GB HDD's in RAID 5 config
8MB ATI XPert 98 video or equivalent
Intel Pro100 Server Adapter
Creative 52x, floppy

You should be able to assemble this for well under $5000. A friend of mine and I have been using these machines to host dedicated gaming servers on and they perform beautifully for this and all other tasks. These are usually mounted in 2U or 4U rack mount chasis and placed in a data center. For non rack mount stuff, I use the Antec SX1240 Full Tower ATX Case <a href="http://www.antec-inc.com/product/cases/fulltower.html" target="_blank">http://www.antec-inc.com/product/cases/fulltower.html</a> Check out <a href="http://www.ilangame.com" target="_blank">www.ilangame.com</a> for more info.

My personal home server isn't as beefy. Granted, its also over a year old.

Abit VP6 with highpoint RAID
Dual P3 866MHz
4 Seagate 20GB ATA100 each in stripe config using onboard RAID
1GB Corsair PC133 RAM
ATI XPert 98 AGP 8MB
Creative 52x, floppy
Intel Pro100 Server Adapter
Antec SX1240 Full Tower ATX Case</strong><hr></blockquote>

[tablesalt]

We use RAID5 because it gives a decent comprimise between the data security of RAID0 (mirroring) and the performance of RAID1 (striping). With the three drives, data is striped across two, and the third receives parity data that can be used to rebuild a drive if one fails. RAID5 can be hardware intensive so we use a controller such as the Promise SuperTrak which has its own onboard Intel processor (i960?) to keep the load off the system's CPU(s). My home server is only using standard striping as the highpoint controller on the Abit board relies more on the system processors so RAID5 would be a lot of overhead. Controllers like the highpoint 370 on this board and the Promise FasTrak don't support RAID5 for this reason.

[Gabriel]

HArdware of server is a big issue...
Number of Proc. RAM and Storage are all issues to consider.
BUT don't forget to buy it from a well known firm (brand name) such as IBM, HP, DELL Etc.
this way not only the hardware will be good - you will get Extra on-site warranty for a long period of time.
Their service is quite good - this means you don't have to worry to much ' ;)

[Computer Tech NE]

I really like the above server quote--very nice system. Absolutly go with raid 5. It's saved us here once. One of the drives crashed and the old NT server kept on working with 2 drives until we replaced the drive. Very nice.

[Stalemate]

If you do go with an OEM server, look into Compaq also. I use them in a hospital and haven't seen one fail me yet. Most brands will have a specific reason to attract your interest.

RAID 5 is definitely the way to go if you want to preserve the data on your hard disks (mission critical?). Most pre-built servers have the possibility to exchange a defective hard drive with a functinoal one of same specs without turning off the server itself (hotswap).

If you can afford one - go for it. The warranty and service alone make up for the (usually small) price difference. You'll sleep better at night ;)

[PJPilate]

Heres a decent server...

Dell PowerEdge 2500:

Processors : 2 Intel Pentium III 1.0GHz w/256K Cache
Memory : 512MB SDRAM, 133 MHz, 4X128MB DIMMs
Hard Drives : 3 18GB,U160M,SCSI,1 in,10K HD
Primary Controller: PERC3-DI, 128MB, 2 Internal Channels - Embedded RAID
Diskette Drive: 3.5 in, 1.44MB Floppy Drive
Operating System: NO Factory Installed Operating System
CDROM: 24X, IDE CD-ROM
Hard Drive Backplane: 1X6 Hot-Pluggable HDD Backplane
Documentation : Electronic Documentation for PowerEdge 2500
Hard Drive Configuration: Drives attached to PERC3-DI, RAID 5 - Min. of 3 drives required MR5N [340-2578]
Chassis Orientation: Tower Chassis
Hardware Support Services: 3Yrs BRONZE Support, Next Business Day Onsite
Installation Services: No Installation
Power Supply Kit: Non-Redundant Power Supply NREDPWR [310-0846]

No Keyboard/Mouse/Monitor

$3600 US

[tablesalt]

Going with an OEM server can be good for support reasons, especially if you do not have the resources to maintain it for yourself. If you do go OEM, I recomend a Compaq Proliant. A unit like the DL380 G2 (generation2) with dual P3 1.2GHz CPU's (based on the new Tualatin core) and 1GB of RAM would be my suggestion. I work with these machines on a daily basis (I work for Compaq) and they perform great. If you ask me though, I still prefer the AMD based server I listed above, much better price vs. performance!