Suggestions for buying a server

[AdamDuritz99]

I'm looking into buying a built server from HP ,Dell, TigerDirect, CDW, etc. I'm have no interest in building one. This will be for mission critical local government use. I can only buy 1 server right now. So I'm looking to get the best performance I can on a budget. The server will be doing what I'm to believe a lot.

Usage:
Microsoft Windows Small Business Server Premium
Total of 20 device CALs
It will be a Primary Domain Controller.
Total of 40 users, with a max of 20 at any given time.
Will be running Sql Server.
Exchange will be running on it with OWA
Intranet web portal.
Possible small website running off of it too.


Anyways what type of server do you suggest? I would prefer a rack mount, but not necessary. Would 2 dual cores 1.6ghz be over kill and efficient? Would it be better to just a get a single faster cpu? I need raid 5. Is hotswap/hotplug really necessary? Max budget is 5000 including the OS and CALs.

BTW, I'm looking at a Dell PowerEdge 2950 III.
I have it configured with 4GB Ram, 2 X Dual Core Intel® Xeon® 5110, 4MB Cache, 1.6GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 3 x 160GB 7.2K RPM Serial ATA 3Gbps 3.5-in HotPlug Hard Drive, and Primary Controller PERC6i SAS RAID Controller, 2x4 Connectors,PCIe, x6 Back
Total 4861 with licenses.

 

[RebateMonger]

Your chosen hardware sounds appropriate for your described need. Of course, what applications you are running on the Server (what's feeding into the SQL Server) and how much email traffic you have could seriously affect how busy your SBS Server is.

Hopefully you have a backup system in mind, too, along with a suitable UPS, and, if there's room and money, a hot-spare drive and dual power supply. "Mission-critical" can mean a lot of things.

 

[err]

Few comments

1. I would bump up the processor to Quad Core 2.0 or 2.33 Ghz.
2. 4GB of RAM is ok to start with, however make sure to get 2x2GB stick. NOT 4x1GB
3. I would bump the drive to 3x500GB. HD upgrade is so cheap and you will be dissapointed when your fileserver quickly fills up.
4. Pricing seems high. Never use the Dell configurator and buy their server outright from the Internet, especially if there are no "Internet Special" going on. Call up their sales rep instead and tell dell that you are shopping HP (or vice versa).
5. 2950 comes with hotswap. Yes it is necessary to have hot swap to avoid downtime during disk errors.

Personally I hate SBS because of its limitation. But if budget is a constraint, I guess its OK,,, good luck!

 

[AdamDuritz99]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger
Of course, what applications you are running on the Server (what's feeding into the SQL Server) and how much email traffic you have could seriously affect how busy your SBS Server is.

SQL Server will have 2 constant day time users, doing data entry and billing oriented tasks. The intranet web portal may access sql server also. This of course will be sporadic use. No other employee has a specific job that requires computer use all day. This is an ambulance service.

Hopefully you have a backup system in mind, too, along with a suitable UPS, and, if there's room and money, a hot-spare drive and dual power supply. "Mission-critical" can mean a lot of things.

I don't per se have "backup system", but I do have an external hard drive that is backed up to several times a day. Plus the raid 5 for drive failure. Also, I routinely backup to disk every week. Maybe I should do that daily? I'm getting an APC Smart-UPS 1500VA. So that's good. I don't know if I need hot swap capabilities. I do obviously need an extra drive on hand, but I think I can turn the server off for a few minutes in a worst case scenario. What do you all recommend? Is it worth the cost? I'll check into the dual power supply.

Originally posted by: err

1. I would bump up the processor to Quad Core 2.0 or 2.33 Ghz.

If I have extra money, I might do that. Will I see that much more improvement for the use that I've described early and made clear recently in this post?

2. 4GB of RAM is ok to start with, however make sure to get 2x2GB stick. NOT 4x1GB

Good tip, will do.

3. I would bump the drive to 3x500GB. HD upgrade is so cheap and you will be dissapointed when your fileserver quickly fills up.

I was thinking about 3x160GB hds, at Raid 5, should be 320GBs. Considering the fact that our current server only has 40GB, and isn't half full, I think I'll be fine. This new server will have many more uses, but I don't see me filling up 320Gbs anytime in the next 5 years. Watch me be wrong on that. ...I might do 3x250 for 60 bucks more.

4. Pricing seems high. Never use the Dell configurator and buy their server outright from the Internet, especially if there are no "Internet Special" going on. Call up their sales rep instead and tell dell that you are shopping HP (or vice versa).

Yeah I've heard that I should call them for a better quote. Maybe that will give me more room for more HD and CPU. Should I do the CPU upgrade first or Hot swap capabilities?

5. 2950 comes with hot swap. Yes it is necessary to have hot swap to avoid downtime during disk errors.

That's the tower version right? I may just do that. Having the rack mount really isn't necessary, just more of a preference.

Personally I hate SBS because of its limitation. But if budget is a constraint, I guess its OK,,, good luck!

Can you go over the limitations that bother you? I did some research over it, nothing bothered me too much. I just need the premium addition for the sql server.


Thanks everyone!

 

[RebateMonger]

The VERY BEST deals from Dell are when there's an online sale. The telephone sales force usually can't compete with the better sales.

There's nothing wrong with SBS for the job you are describing. You'll save a lot of money on software and licensing with SBS, as well as having a server that's easier to maintain and has many more business tools than trying to use "straight" Windows Server 2003.

If you can upgrade drive sizes for cheap, then do it. You can never have "too much" drive space. Similarly, be REALLY careful about your System Partition size. The world is FULL of SBS and Server 2003 machines with no space left on the System Partition. Nowadays, I usually don't partition the boot drive at all. If you HAVE to partition it, 25GB or 30GB would be a ballpark system partition size.

 

[AdamDuritz99]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger
Similarly, be REALLY careful about your System Partition size. The world is FULL of SBS and Server 2003 machines with no space left on the System Partition. Nowadays, I usually don't partition the boot drive at all. If you HAVE to partition it, 25GB or 30GB would be a ballpark system partition size.

I don't have any plans to partition it at all.

 

[JackMDS]

http://www.microsoft.com/windo.../features/default.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/techn.../features/compare.mspx

For $4.99 shipping fee you can get SBS 90 trial, http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/bb738394.aspx

 

[AdamDuritz99]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
http://www.microsoft.com/windo.../features/default.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/techn.../features/compare.mspx

For $4.99 shipping fee you can get SBS 90 trial, http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/bb738394.aspx

Thanks.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: AdamDuritz99

Originally posted by: JackMDS
For $4.99 shipping fee you can get SBS 90 trial, http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/bb738394.aspx

Thanks.

My suggestion, though, for anybody attempting to install or implement SBS 2003 on their own is to buy a book on the subject. There are some common mistakes which can make a MESS out of the install and will plague you forever. These can be avoided by following a good text. An evaluation isn't going to be useful if the software isn't installed, configured, and used correctly.

Also, don't attempt a "partial install" of SBS. Install the full product according to best practices as related in the textbooks. If you do so, you can get great support from the SBS community or from Microsoft, and you will have a low-maintenance server that functions like it's supposed to.