[Help] Server Build (WS 2008)

[junglicious]

Hi,

I would like to build a server for my furniture business. I could do the preconfigured route through Dell but I thought I try this first. The server will be running Windows Server 2008. It will host a program call "Furniture Wizard". The program is not very demanding at all when it comes to hardware. Four computers will be on the network accessing it simultaneously. I will probably have three or more printers as well. Should I hook it up to the server or to the rounter? What about if I get wireless printers? I will probably only need 2-4TB of space. Some of my questions are:

What kind of parts do I need, server grade?

What are the specs that are recommend?

How hard is it to setup Windows Server 2008?

Can I have it running for 7+ years without upgrade and 24/7?

Does it require maintenance?

How much will this cost?

If I did the preconfigured route what should I be looking for?

Any other thoughts or suggestions is welcome. I need to finish this build by the end of April.

Thanks

 

[Jonowxeno]

I'm not sure what your program needs, but you probably could go either consumer or pay more for the features of server parts.

Do you have a budget? Specs could range from $300 to much much more if I suggested dual processor server. Easier to pick parts aimed towards a budget

Windows Server is pretty easy to setup, you assign server roles and then set them up through a wizard, more options for more advance stuff.

It can run for 7+ years assuming you replace failed hardware. You'll need to reboot every now and then from updates.

Shouldn't need a lot of maintenance, depends on what you do. Should check it every now and then. I'm assuming it won't be connected to Internet? Otherwise security will need to be setup and monitored.

Cost varies depends on goals/requirements

Could probably just get the cheapest configured Dell (or whoever) if you don't need high end stuff for the pre-configured route. Then afterwards add RAM + Hard drives on your own if needed.

For the printers + other computers, you could go all wireless on everything and only need a wireless router. For wired, you'll need a switch probably.

 

[Dangman]

I would like to build a server for my furniture business. I could do the preconfigured route through Dell but I thought I try this first. The server will be running Windows Server 2008. It will host a program call "Furniture Wizard". The program is not very demanding at all when it comes to hardware. Four computers will be on the network accessing it simultaneously.

Will the server be doing anything else besides hosting that application?

I will probably have three or more printers as well. Should I hook it up to the server or to the rounter? What about if I get wireless printers?

Hook the printers up to the server IMO. As for wireless printer you pretty much have to connect it to the router.

What kind of parts do I need, server grade?

Since this is for a business, server grade definitely. Especially considering that you want to run it for long periods of time.

What are the specs that are recommend?

How hard is it to setup Windows Server 2008?

Not that hard really.

Can I have it running for 7+ years without upgrade and 24/7?

Probably.

Does it require maintenance?

Yes. No server in the world will be maintenance free.

How much will this cost?

Anywhere between $1000 to $3000 (See below)

If I did the preconfigured route what should I be looking for?

I recommend taking a look at the Dell T310 series. Starting with the base config on the Dell website, I chose the following:
- PowerEdge T310 Chassis with upto 4 Hot-Plug Hard Drives and LCD Diagnostic + $50
- Windows Server 2008 R2, Standard Edition,x64, Includes 5 CALS + $799
- PERC H200 Adapter Internal RAID Controller for Hot Plug Hard Drive Configuration
- Power Supply, Redundant, 400W + $299

Came out to about ~$1850. You could probably drop the redundant PSU if you want to cut some costs. I went with the hot-swap setup because it'll make it easier for you to add and replace hard drives without having to shut down the system.

 

[junglicious]

Will the server be doing anything else besides hosting that application?

It will only host the application and for backup.

Since I'm going with x64 workstation. Would it matter if I have the server x64? On Dell's website they have different options for Windows Server 2008, which one should I get? What kind of network should I use, WORKGROUP or Domain?

 

[Dangman]

It will only host the application and for backup.

Since I'm going with x64 workstation. Would it matter if I have the server x64? On Dell's website they have different options for Windows Server 2008, which one should I get?

It matters I believe. Get the one that I listed.

What kind of network should I use, WORKGROUP or Domain?

To be honest, I'm not too sure here.

 

[ashman]

I would look into Small Business server, you could get away with a Dell T110, a couple of 1TB hard drives in Raid 1, a backup drive, 5 user CAL's, I think you could do it for around three grand, then you could build out your network with a domain model, use Exchange for email, and you would be set. Small Business server is pretty easy to setup, it has wizards that walk you through things. If you don't want to go with Small Business server, then you can get plain Windows Server 2008R2 and build a domain network, but Small Business server is a better choice in my opinion.

 

[Falcon_CMH]

Actually you can run Windows Server 2008 R2 on desktops. I currently am running it on a i7 x58 Desktop with a i7 965.

I recommend you buy a SandyBridge (SB) desktop to run Windows Server 2008 R2 with a Domain. You can put together the SB yourself quite cheap with great components. This application seems like it is a shared database application. That requires little to no drive space except for your inventory, customers. invoices, etc.

You don't need small business server since your not running email etc. You just need plain Windows Standard Server 2008 R2 only.

If you want help specing out the hardware and getting going I will help you with it all. I am a computer consultant by trade but I will help you no charge.

 

[danman]

I'd buy an OEM box and a maintenance plan. How important is up-time to you? If the server stops running do you have the skills to troubleshoot it? What about replacement parts?

 

[junglicious]

Actually you can run Windows Server 2008 R2 on desktops. I currently am running it on a i7 x58 Desktop with a i7 965.

I recommend you buy a SandyBridge (SB) desktop to run Windows Server 2008 R2 with a Domain. You can put together the SB yourself quite cheap with great components. This application seems like it is a shared database application. That requires little to no drive space except for your inventory, customers. invoices, etc.

You don't need small business server since your not running email etc. You just need plain Windows Standard Server 2008 R2 only.

If you want help specing out the hardware and getting going I will help you with it all. I am a computer consultant by trade but I will help you no charge.

I'm open ears. Would you happen to know about server grade component? I will be using the server just to host one database application and for backup. No need for internal email/website etc.

I'd buy an OEM box and a maintenance plan. How important is up-time to you? If the server stops running do you have the skills to troubleshoot it? What about replacement parts?

What is an OEM box? If I don't have the skills to troubleshoot it I'll call in an IT guy, but I've been pretty successful with troubleshooting computers. If the parts breaks, with or without warranty it would still need to be replace asap. If not ordered online I'll run to a B&M store and buy the parts needed. I don't see having backup parts handy when it could be any part that breaks and it might be months to years before that happens. By that time whatever parts I have will be cheaper or one comparable. Don't want to jinx myself but for the years I've built computers system, one hasn't failed on me yet.

 

[danman]

OEM = Dell/HP/etc.

 

[james__bean]

To be honest, if you don't have more than 10 devices connecting to the system, you don't need a server operating system. Unless this application specifically requires that you run Server 2008, I would just opt for Windows 7. Use the extra money for better hardware. If, however, you actually want to setup a domain then yeah you'll need a server OS. However, in that case, the server would actually be a domain controller in addition to running this application. (And Exchange if you decide to set that up.)

 

[Falcon_CMH]

Here is the part list (These are name brand components that are way better than any OEM and will last you a very long time) for what you need for the server and I can do the workstations for you too (Pick any cheap case Antec 200 maybe, Also you might find better deals at like Microcenter if there is one near you):

 

[Falcon_CMH]

Here is the workstation I suggest (Very similar, same case Antec 200 or such. Also there are plenty of very cheap monitors but Dell makes good monitors, Samsung or Asus would be my choice):

 

[dbwillis]

falcon.....why only a single 160gb ?

 

[FrostBite]

How important is uptime, and how skilled are you in troubleshooting? You can save a few hundred, maybe a thousand, building your own server if you feel you have the technical prowess to do it yourself. If something goes wrong, are you confident enough to fix it in a few hours?
If your answer is yes, build it yourself, and skip the server grade stuff.
If the answer is no, I'd suggest going the OEM route. From there, it comes down to how paranoid you are. If you are very paranoid, go with something like the mentioned Dell T310 which gives you hardware RAID (for up time), and redundant power supplies. If you are less paranoid, consider something like the Dell T110 which has software raid and no redundant power supply option.
It wasn't mentioned, but include a plan for data backup. You mentioned 2-4 TB of space, but how much of it is data and not the OS or program software? If it's less than 100GB, I would consider maybe an online option, and/or if it's more, consider using hard drives and store them insecure locations.

 

[Falcon_CMH]

falcon.....why only a single 160gb ?

Its the boot drive. There are 2 2TB data drives also.

 

[firefox15]

How important is uptime, and how skilled are you in troubleshooting? You can save a few hundred, maybe a thousand, building your own server if you feel you have the technical prowess to do it yourself. If something goes wrong, are you confident enough to fix it in a few hours?
If your answer is yes, build it yourself, and skip the server grade stuff.
If the answer is no, I'd suggest going the OEM route. From there, it comes down to how paranoid you are. If you are very paranoid, go with something like the mentioned Dell T310 which gives you hardware RAID (for up time), and redundant power supplies. If you are less paranoid, consider something like the Dell T110 which has software raid and no redundant power supply option.

This over and over. Servers aren't exactly the same as workstations, and although you may be very knowledgeable about computer hardware and building end-user systems, troubleshooting a server can prove tricky. Any "savings" you may get will be completely wiped out if you spend a long time trying to fix it if/when it breaks.

 

[Falcon_CMH]

Windows Server is very easy to manage IMO, MS makes it that way on purpose. He'll activate Active Directory, DNS, DHCP (optional), and setup the Domain. Adding computers and users to the domain is very easy too. Outside of that a share or two that should be it. Nothing to worry about and a quick google can't fix. Oh and install his third party furniture software which will be the hardest of all IMO.

 

[danman]

I don't think most of you guys know how business works. There's a reason they buy OEM systems - for the support.

Minutes/Hours/Days of downtime is lost revenue or profit.

If his system is down can he still process orders? Checkout users? Design systems? Pay his staff?

A few hundred dollars for a support plan is a small price to pay for on site support when something breaks. What if his MB breaks 2 years down the road? Will his local shop still stock the old socket boards? What about a HD crash? Power supply failure?

What is your backup plan?

 

[Falcon_CMH]

How does he do business now he needs a system down plan period no matter. Support won't replace that MB as fast as he can personally. Knowing your own hardware/software is the best support you can get bar none. This guy sounds educated and capable or I wouldn't have recommended he do this himself. And the support you mention is hardware, reliable software support is expensive and time consuming. Also he mentioned performing backups once again showing his prowness to recover from any issue software or hardware.

If he was really worried about down time he would do the following:
1) Never power down his systems server or workstation
2) Buy apropriate size UPS at least for the server and surge suppressors for the workstations at least
3) Buy an extra server use it as a desktop and for server fail over.

Then he is pretty much rock solid and support will buy you none of this.

 

[danman]

How does he do business now he needs a system down plan period no matter. Support won't replace that MB as fast as he can personally.

Sure they will - within 24 hours with the same board to ensure compatibility. One or two years down the road - will the mom and pop store have the same retail board available? If not, then what?

Look at how tough s775 boards are to find these days. They are scarce and not cheap.

 

[Falcon_CMH]

Sure they will - within 24 hours with the same board to ensure compatibility. One or two years down the road - will the mom and pop store have the same retail board available? If not, then what?

Look at how tough s775 boards are to find these days. They are scarce and not cheap.

Dude, he can replace the board in less than 1 hour himself they absolutely cannot replace it as fast as him like I said you are not correct. Hardware and good software support is over rated IMO. 24 hours is a long time to be down. If he follows my advice he has 5 of the same MBs in house. He also is familar with his hardware and software and is self supporting. When he needs it he can hire a staff person for support if he ever gets that big.

Solid state hardware rarely fails after the burn-in if ran/protected right anyway. If he follows my advice once setup and burned in his system will be virtually maintenance free anyway.

 

[FrostBite]

Sorry Falcon but I have to respectively disagree in this particular case. While I more than support DIY white box type of plans for personal use, I don't particularly agree with it for business driven purposes. The larger you go, the less and less you see white box, and at a certain point, (maybe $200k+ of revenue?) you see it completely disappear. Yes, it costs money, but it is a well worthwhile business expense that you can write off too. If the OP believes his business will grow, he should absolutely consider OEM as it will only get more complex.

And to be honest, don't take this the wrong way OP, if you really have to ask the above questions, even if you are confirming them, you really shouldn't be doing these types of things yourself. If something breaks, I really hope you don't think HardOCP could be a replacement for OEM support.

 

[ChrisBenn]

Dude, he can replace the board in less than 1 hour himself they absolutely cannot replace it as fast as him like I said you are not correct. Hardware and good software support is over rated IMO. 24 hours is a long time to be down. If he follows my advice he has 5 of the same MBs in house. He also is familar with his hardware and software and is self supporting. When he needs it he can hire a staff person for support if he ever gets that big.

Solid state hardware rarely fails after the burn-in if ran/protected right anyway. If he follows my advice once setup and burned in his system will be virtually maintenance free anyway.

I went back in the discussion, couldn't see why he would have 5 spare motherboards laying around in the house though?

I was looking a building a server and ended up going with a Dell T110. Really, 330 bucks for case/power supply/server chipset mobo (3400)/Xeon X3430/2 Gigs ECC/250Gb HD. I added 8 gigs of ECC ram for just under 100 bucks, so 430 out the door. If you want different hard drives, well, they are the same price either way (don't buy them from dell). I really couldn't do a DIY for cheaper than that with similar parts (Xeon/ECC being the biggies).

 

[Falcon_CMH]

He is buying 1 server and 4 desktops. Thats 5 of the same MB if he buys my recommendation.
Way more desktops are built/sold and the parts are way more pevalent/available than servers especially low end Xeons and the parts are way cheaper. And the Dell you list is way less capable and performance wise slower than what I configured for him. Not to mention the Dell is way to low on drive space for his needs. He wants it to last 7 years not 2-3 years. And the PSU in that Dell isn't near the quality of what I recommended which will be used less than 80% capacity which will last a very very long time. Also most all the warranties on the parts I recommend last way longer than the Dell some are lifetime.

The OP listed his requirements it seems some of you decide to ignore them and tell the OP what he should do.

My suggestions are just that recommendations for the OP to make his own decision but I listened to his requirements and met or exceeded them. I am sure he doesn't like the cost of what I recommended but I felt the obligation to meet his requirements.

Most of my larger customers use Blades for LIntel/WIntel deployments. The OP seems to be a smal business owner to me.

 

[danman]

eh, have you ever tried to get a warranty replacement from Asus, Gigabyte, or the rest? Takes weeks. You want onsite, 24 hour replacement for a business.

For a desktop a white box might be ok. For the brain of the operation you want rock solid and tested. Is you recommendation a tested platform? The OEM's test these systems and have additional patches and reg keys from MS for stability and performance. I'm sure the user doesn't have the time or patience to peruse Google for potential HW incompatibility or HW issues.

 

[Falcon_CMH]

Umm the Sandy Bridge platform is Intel's premier business desktop platform. And either your living old school or haven't built a system recently DYI its easy and compatability is not such an issue any longer. And you want any releases tested by OEMs before you put it on your servers/workstations and we get exactly what they get from MS just a wee bit later but no preferential treatment. And the Parts Mfgs support their hardware with driver releases unlike OEMs who rely on these same part manufacturers for driver updates because they don't build drivers. So the drivers stagnant within a few months. Where as the parts Mfgs are releasing new drivers all the time for better experiences.

Oh personally lately I get cross ship from all my Vendors, ASUS included, at their cost and it takes at worse case a few days. Once again he has backup parts locally in my recommendation. Or can buy locally.

 

[ChrisBenn]

He is buying 1 server and 4 desktops. Thats 5 of the same MB if he buys my recommendation.

Yeah, but that means he has to take another computer out of comission - it's not 4 spares laying around, it's more like he can pick which computer he wants to do without. (Which is a valid point). An entire "hot spare" computer would be a different matter, but it doesn't look like the cost savings are anywhere near significant enough to allow for this.

Way more desktops are built/sold and the parts are way more pevalent/available than servers especially low end Xeons and the parts are way cheaper. And the Dell you list is way less capable and performance wise slower than what I configured for him. Not to mention the Dell is way to low on drive space for his needs.

I wasn't actually suggesting he spend 330 and call it quit - that was more of a base price, and add drives/memory as needed.
The dell with the same 2TB hard drives you addded and 8Gb of ECC memory comes to 650, so within the noise of what you spec'd. You really think the Xeon 3430 is "way less capable" than a SB i3-2100? Raw performance wise they look pretty comparable, so probably depends on your load - the Xeon does have 4 hardware cores, no HT, the SB i3 has 2 hardware / 2 HT cores. Either way the difference is again, in the noise. I really wouldn't build a server without ECC - you can get by most of the time, but really, why take the chance?

He wants it to last 7 years not 2-3 years. And the PSU in that Dell isn't near the quality of what I recommended which will be used less than 80% capacity which will last a very very long time.

On what basis do you assert that the dell server is less reliable / is going to last less years than the setup you put together? On what basis do you assert that the power supply in the Dell is going to to fail before the one you linked? I think those are pretty bold assumptions.

The OP listed his requirements it seems some of you decide to ignore them and tell the OP what he should do.

I would actually disagree with that - the way I read his post he was asking about the advisability of going pre-configured vs. DIY - heck, his last line was "If I did the preconfigured route what should I be looking for?".

My suggestions are just that recommendations for the OP to make his own decision but I listened to his requirements and met or exceeded them. I am sure he doesn't like the cost of what I recommended but I felt the obligation to meet his requirements.

Yep, I just happen to disagree that a DIY is the best option for him, that's all - yours is certainly a valid route.

Most of my larger customers use Blades for LIntel/WIntel deployments. The OP seems to be a smal business owner to me.

Would you really *ever* advocate to any of your customers that they should roll DIY boxes/servers instead of picking up one with support? In my mind if you are going to support a server in a business critical environment (one that you built yourself) then you probably aren't going to be asking for advice if it's a good idea or not - you already know enough to judge the viability yourself. But, as always, it's just an opinion

 

[Falcon_CMH]

Where I disagree with you and others is his requirements are not just a choice between DYI and OEM. He wants 7 years, he wants 4TB max, he wants reliability/stability, etc etc. He has asked for many requirments that are ignored by you and others thats all I was saying.

And I fully support small businesses DYI and knowing their own hardware and software for best support.

Large companies just pay employees for this. The parts and how long they take to get their are generally not relevent since they have redundancy and can afford it. Not relying on single servers but clusters of servers for various functions/roles and one going down means nothing but even with in those servers mission critical have redundancy in the servers like dual PSUs, NICs, etc. Bottom line they have people physically located with the hardware/software that know it. To not have this is great pain for anyone. Large companies just like other large companies to have accounts with for single source business.

But overall I like the desktop approach for cheap servers that can be thrown out w/o care over the Blades personally especially for small business. I think Google operates their business this way with low cost DYIs (Don't quote me but I read that somewhere pretty sure).

 

[ChrisBenn]

Where I disagree with you and others is his requirements are not just a choice between DYI and OEM. He wants 7 years, he wants 4TB max, he wants reliability/stability, etc etc. He has asked for many requirments that are ignored by you and others thats all I was saying.

well the 4TB is just an issue of buying the hard drives - the price I tossed out included the same ones you spec'd. I would be open to discuss the 7years and reliability/stability - specifically why you feel the parts you linked will outlast the dell server parts? (Or, to flip it around, why you think the dell server parts will not last as long as the parts you linked). The chipset you linked is fresh on the market (as are the mobo's) - so there's not really any way we can have useful reliability metrics?

But overall I like the desktop approach for cheap servers that can be thrown out w/o care over the Blades personally especially for small business. I think Google operates their business this way with low cost DYIs (Don't quote me but I read that somewhere pretty sure).

Well the google approach/case is a bit of a red herring as they get the redundancy at the box level, not the hardware level - and no one is suggesting that is appropriate for this use case (they also have special software, etc. to support this). I don't disagree that it can work, I just (a) disagree with our dismissal of the OEM server option and (b) don't believe (based purely on personal opinion derived from reading the OP) that self supporting a business critical server is a good call in this case. (Especially for, as we demonstrated, no significant financial difference - well it will cost more when you add in Next day 24x7 on premises service - probably ~300 more, but that's not an option you can get with a whitebox setup)

 

[Falcon_CMH]

Warranty is a huge difference like I said he wants 7 years. One can get whitebox as you call it support locally but I wouldn't anymore than I would pay Dell. It's insurance on parts that already have warranties if you buy the parts individually which in cases last longer than Dell's support. I just don't buy into needing Dell to fix a small business server or desktop unless you have no one in your company that knows anything about PCs. In today's world it's too easy my 11 year old daughter can do it. And I know a 14 year old that DYI the hardware and Windows Server 2008 R2 deployment along with other softwares for his mom's office with 15 people.

We all have our own opinion's and its up to the OP to read these posts along with his own research and make his own decision. Bottom line it's hisa decision and he has to live with it either way he goes.

 

[junglicious]

To be honest, if you don't have more than 10 devices connecting to the system, you don't need a server operating system. Unless this application specifically requires that you run Server 2008, I would just opt for Windows 7. Use the extra money for better hardware. If, however, you actually want to setup a domain then yeah you'll need a server OS. However, in that case, the server would actually be a domain controller in addition to running this application. (And Exchange if you decide to set that up.)

We had a domain setup in our other location (7 computers/1 server) and compare to our workgroup in the main location (10 computers/1 server), I didn't see the need for a domain or the benefit of a domain. I'll have to look more into domain.

Here is the workstation I suggest (Very similar, same case Antec 200 or such. Also there are plenty of very cheap monitors but Dell makes good monitors, Samsung or Asus would be my choice):

I already did a workstation build from my other thread. Please feel free to look it over. The only thing I'll most likely add are wireless network cards to the workstations.

Here is my new revised list. I am down to $600 shipped per workstation. Inputs welcome. All from Amazon.com.

Thanks


Logitech PS/2 Optical Wheel Mouse
$7.54

Lite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive IHAS424-98 - Retail (Black)
$22.99

Antec EA-430D Power Supply EA-430D
$44.99

Crucial CT2CP25664BA1339 4GB 2GBx2 240-pin PC3-10600 DIMM DDR3 Memory KIT
$44.99

Samsung 1 TB Spinpoint 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.5 inch Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive HD103SJ
$60.29

MSI H61M-E23 (B3) Intel H61 Micro ATX DDR3 1333 Motherboards
$69.99

ASUS VW193DR - 19-Inch Wide LCD Monitor
$103.24

Cooler Master Elite 360 RC-360-KKN1-GP ATX Mid Tower/Desktop Case (Black)
$39.99

Core I3-2100 Processor
$129.99

KeyBoard ROSEWILL RK-7300 USB RETAIL
$14.99

How important is uptime, and how skilled are you in troubleshooting? You can save a few hundred, maybe a thousand, building your own server if you feel you have the technical prowess to do it yourself. If something goes wrong, are you confident enough to fix it in a few hours?
If your answer is yes, build it yourself, and skip the server grade stuff.
If the answer is no, I'd suggest going the OEM route. From there, it comes down to how paranoid you are. If you are very paranoid, go with something like the mentioned Dell T310 which gives you hardware RAID (for up time), and redundant power supplies. If you are less paranoid, consider something like the Dell T110 which has software raid and no redundant power supply option.
It wasn't mentioned, but include a plan for data backup. You mentioned 2-4 TB of space, but how much of it is data and not the OS or program software? If it's less than 100GB, I would consider maybe an online option, and/or if it's more, consider using hard drives and store them insecure locations.

Up time is very important and as long as the server doesn't stop working I'll be fine. If one of the workstations go down I'll have 3 more that are doing the same job. The workstation are just for pulling info from the server using the furniture program

I don't think most of you guys know how business works. There's a reason they buy OEM systems - for the support.

Minutes/Hours/Days of downtime is lost revenue or profit.

If his system is down can he still process orders? Checkout users? Design systems? Pay his staff?

A few hundred dollars for a support plan is a small price to pay for on site support when something breaks. What if his MB breaks 2 years down the road? Will his local shop still stock the old socket boards? What about a HD crash? Power supply failure?

What is your backup plan?

if the system goes down, orders will be process with pen and paper. Checkout users, I don't know why I would need to checkout users? Design system, what is this? We have an accountant that do all our payroll and we will have a time card system for the hourly people. If the motherboard breaks and one isn't available can't I just buy a new motherboard and cpu to match? Like I mention, as long as the server doesn't go down I'll be fine. If it does then it will be all backed up. If the workstations crash, not a big deal. That I'm sure I can fix same day if needed. HD can be purchase at any B&M. Same thing goes for power supply.

Sure they will - within 24 hours with the same board to ensure compatibility. One or two years down the road - will the mom and pop store have the same retail board available? If not, then what?

Look at how tough s775 boards are to find these days. They are scarce and not cheap.

Can't I just purchase a new motherboard and cpu to match? The 24hrs to my door won't cost extra? I know when we do damage claim for our furniture they will charge us extra if we want the next day and it ain't cheap.

Sorry Falcon but I have to respectively disagree in this particular case. While I more than support DIY white box type of plans for personal use, I don't particularly agree with it for business driven purposes. The larger you go, the less and less you see white box, and at a certain point, (maybe $200k+ of revenue?) you see it completely disappear. Yes, it costs money, but it is a well worthwhile business expense that you can write off too. If the OP believes his business will grow, he should absolutely consider OEM as it will only get more complex.

And to be honest, don't take this the wrong way OP, if you really have to ask the above questions, even if you are confirming them, you really shouldn't be doing these types of things yourself. If something breaks, I really hope you don't think HardOCP could be a replacement for OEM support.

I won't put down the true numbers but the company does over $1 million a year, easily. I don't know what this store will do but it is not our main store even though its right next door. This funiture store will work a little different than our main store. I don't see this as such a large scale network. 4 workstation and 1 server is like a home network to me which now a days people already do in their house. Even our main store doesn't have a big network, its on a workgroup. Our football field size warehouse has no network, only 2 computers, for now anyways. We been in business for 20+ years and this is how we always did things. We always try to do it ourself first. If all else fail then we'll hire someone. Keeping cost low and still making high profits. I am not taking anyones advice the wrong way. Feel free to be blunt with me and I'll take what everyone say into consideration.

I went back in the discussion, couldn't see why he would have 5 spare motherboards laying around in the house though?

I was looking a building a server and ended up going with a Dell T110. Really, 330 bucks for case/power supply/server chipset mobo (3400)/Xeon X3430/2 Gigs ECC/250Gb HD. I added 8 gigs of ECC ram for just under 100 bucks, so 430 out the door. If you want different hard drives, well, they are the same price either way (don't buy them from dell). I really couldn't do a DIY for cheaper than that with similar parts (Xeon/ECC being the biggies).

Does this include Windows Server 2008 because I know that alone cost $800~. I've seen in Dell's servers that they had an option to upgrade to an i3 at least but I don't know much at Xeon cpu. They seem to be server grade cpu?


Thanks for all the advice everyone. I really do appreciate your time. I didn't mean to start a big debate about this.

 

[Falcon_CMH]

I really like the Workstation I gave you better to last 7 years. It has 8GB memory, and a superfast hardrive w/o moving parts. Faster and better quality memory and drive. Your PSU, monitor and case are ok. I would not get a DVD drive for every PC you can build the PCs from a USB stick. Those DVD drives will sit and waste.

With 4GB guaranteed you don't last 7 years. Your configuration is a 2-3 year configuration at best IMO.

Also I would look into getting a network cable layed between the two sites and share your existing server. So much better to be connected.

 

[dashpuppy]

Good thread, i do agree with some of the comments, if you can build your own server and maintain it and trouble shoot it, do it. IF not buy a ready made unit.

I build my server for less than 500$

I3 dual core
12 gigs ram
intel server board ( dual g0bit nic's)
6 x 500 gig hard drives raid 10
4 u rack mounted Norco case
450watt psu


Motherboard & ram were BRAND new not opened off ebay for 200$

OS is running 2008 r2 with hyper V as it's main role.

 

[ChrisBenn]

Does this include Windows Server 2008 because I know that alone cost $800~. I've seen in Dell's servers that they had an option to upgrade to an i3 at least but I don't know much at Xeon cpu. They seem to be server grade cpu?

Nope, doesn't include the server 2k8 license - like you said, that's more than the hardware cost. Check out

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&model_id=poweredge-t110

for configuration options.

 

[marley1]

Dell T110 - 3 Year Warranty, Foundation Edition. Should be cheap, let me know if you need help, I am Dell Rep can get you under public pricing.

 

[dashpuppy]

Dell T110 - 3 Year Warranty, Foundation Edition. Should be cheap, let me know if you need help, I am Dell Rep can get you under public pricing.

Good person to know

 

[J-Will]

OP YGPM

 

[J-Will]

Dell T110 - 3 Year Warranty, Foundation Edition. Should be cheap, let me know if you need help, I am Dell Rep can get you under public pricing.

I'll have to keep that in mind too

 

[junglicious]

Dell T110 - 3 Year Warranty, Foundation Edition. Should be cheap, let me know if you need help, I am Dell Rep can get you under public pricing.

Before I even read this I was thinking of going with the T110 since it has WS 2008 Foundation which is only available in pre-built. I talked to the Furniture Wizard (program company) and they told me all I need was WS 2008 Foundation.

What I wanted to know was can I add more hard drives when I get it. The base system only comes with 250GB and I need at least 1TB but Dells upgrade to 1TB is really high ($300). If I could and I installed the program on the added hard drive would it make a difference then installing it on the hard drive with the OS on it? Would the X3034 CPU be enough. I would like this to last for a long time without any slow down, run smoothly. I also have a Dell business account, is there a better pricing I can get?

Please let me know, thanks.

I really like the Workstation I gave you better to last 7 years. It has 8GB memory, and a superfast hardrive w/o moving parts. Faster and better quality memory and drive. Your PSU, monitor and case are ok. I would not get a DVD drive for every PC you can build the PCs from a USB stick. Those DVD drives will sit and waste.

With 4GB guaranteed you don't last 7 years. Your configuration is a 2-3 year configuration at best IMO.

Also I would look into getting a network cable layed between the two sites and share your existing server. So much better to be connected.

Both store are going to be using different furniture programs so I don't think that would be a good idea to share severs. The two stores are not connected either, they are both separate buildings. Also the server we have is very old, 6 years. I'll compare the workstations build.