Building a server

[Stoltenborg]

It is going to be a host of Quickbooks Premier, and a Quickbooks POS database for 5 computers on a peer to peer network.


I have a idea of what I want, but haven't been following hardware too closely lately. I don't have time to do extensive review reading, so I am in need of the following piece of information:

Which motherboard and CPU combination should I use? I am interested in uniprocessor solutions only.


Mind you, my emphasis is on storage, so a moderate cpu speed is fine, but a larger than average, fast, HD is needed, as well as about a gig of ram.

futhermore....

Feeling frisky? Put together a whole system for me. Give me your opinion on:

cpu
mobo
powersupply
ram (speed and brand)
HD setup

The budget is $700-800 shipped, small budget because the computer doesn't need that much 'oomph'. Just serving quickbooks premier and Point of sale... 2 small databases.



I would normally do all the research on my own, but I am going to rely on the expertise of others at this time because I am just so damn bogged down. Much appreciated.

 

[jjyiz28]

servers like lots of ram, and lots of cache. therefore i would go for barton2500. 640kb cache total.
nforce 2 mobo. 2 512 ram sticks, run dual channel.
video card not important, could even go for integrated.
powersupply, good quality, like sparkle. more harddrives you have more wattage you need basically.
2 harddrives and run it in raid0. onboard raid on the mobo.

go to newegg

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: jjyiz28
servers like lots of ram, and lots of cache. therefore i would go for barton2500. 640kb cache total.
nforce 2 mobo. 2 512 ram sticks, run dual channel.
video card not important, could even go for integrated.
powersupply, good quality, like sparkle. more harddrives you have more wattage you need basically.
2 harddrives and run it in raid0. onboard raid on the mobo.

go to newegg

I agree with everything except raid0 -- QB doesn't need gaming performance and it (almost) doubles the chance of drive failure.

A good case that already comes with a good power supply = antec 3700. There is a Hot Deals thread on getting the new version cheap.

For which nforce MB just search "budget" for a few dozen threads.

Got backup? if your data is under 1 GB a CD burner is probably best.

 

[tweeve2002]

if speed isnt an issue and money is tight try getting a AMD Duron 1.3 Chip, with a Motherboard with built in sound, and Video and get as much RAM (1GB+ would be best) as it can handle.
we have a simmlar set up at work we just built a few months ago.

 

[mechBgon]

Also consider a decent UPS with auto-shutdown software, perhaps the APC SmartUPS 750XL.

I lean towards SCSI because SCSI drives are built with a long, reliable life of 24/7/365 operation in mind. You could get two Maxtor Atlas 10k IV 36GB drives and an LSI Logic 22320-R and run SCSI RAID1. A 20GB/40GB Seagate DAT tape drive would give you room to back them up, if you really do need that much capacity. These aren't exactly cheap items, but think about what companies pay for other types of insurance... yeah.

If it were me, I'd also prefer to make the server as modular as practical, so that if the mobo fails, I can plunk the SCSI card and drives into another computer, share the folders that the important data is in, go around to remap the computers to the data's temporary location, and bingo... the business is back up and on its feet while I troubleshoot the server's problem. From this point of view, a separate SCSI card has the advantage of "plunkability."

With the 3700AMB case/PSU, I'd also put in a front 120mm fan for direct cooling of the drives too. As for a server mobo, if you want an entry-level server board, consider an Asus NRL-LS533 or a Tyan Tomcat K8S, both of which take ECC memory. Pair them with a Pentium4 or an Opteron 140 and some Corsair R-ECC PC2700.

 

[lordtyranus2]

I personally think RAID 5 is the better server solution over RAID 1, but that requires 3 hard disks.

 

[DaveSimmons]

> The budget is $700-800 shipped,

You guys are getting a little extravagant for a tiny budget like this

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
> The budget is $700-800 shipped,

You guys are getting a little extravagant for a tiny budget like this

D'oh, you're right

Ok... here's one to consider: wish list @ newegg, under $800. I'm assuming you have an OS already.

• We have Quickbooks at work and it's not the type of thing you need gobs of RAM in your server for, so I stuck with one 512MB Crucial PC2700 module.
• The board is highly reliable and has onboard video, onboard high-performance NIC, passive cooling and a nice low price. I've seen it listed in 2U Web servers before, FWIW.
• The CPU is about twice as powerful as what's in our Primary Domain Controller at work, which is running Exchange 5.5 for about 75 users, hosts four laser printers, and hosts private folders for all the users too. It's a retail one, so it comes with a heatsink/fan unit.
• I threw a second 120mm low-noise fan in the cart but I'm sure you can get it cheaper elsewhere (SVC maybe)
• Hey.... lookie lookie, TWO Seagate 36GB SCSI drives, an LSI Logic U160 controller, a SCSI cable and a terminator! Software RAID1 mirroring is what I've got in mind here. It's saved our behinds at work before. I'd suggest making the mirrored volumes smaller than the max possible (meaning, leave some HDD space unallocated), so you have wiggle room if you need to add a new drive but its actual capacity is a few MB smaller than the old ones.
• Mitsumi CDRW drive, Sony floppy drive, both black to match the case's dark color well

 

[DaveSimmons]

Nice system, mechBgon -- RAID1 mirrored and 5-year-rated SCSI drives should last a lot longer than some 1-to-3-year-warranty IDE drive . And the 2100+ should work great, at my old job we used a P1 - 133 mhz as a file and print server for 5 people.