Server for $3500

V

vroom_skies

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Sep 25, 2005
Messages
1,390
Hello all,
Well a friend came to me asking for some advice.
He is in the market for a server, he said he has about $3500 to spend.
I don't know servers to well, so I was hoping you guys could just give me some basic advice.

Some one recommended this system to him (How they configured it came to over $3000 or so):
http://www.penguincomputing.com/products/linux/server/configurator/amd/altus1650SA

Anyways, if you would be able to give me a recommendation or two, that would be much obliged. If you have any questions feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer them.

Thanks
Bob
 
Didn't read full post. Dell T300 is a great deal, sas drives redundant psu and hot swap with os should bne under that
 
Whoops forgot to add, it doesn't need an OS and it has to be rack mountable.
Thanks though Marley.

Also:
In regards to the CPU, I know Intel is dominating on the consumer field, does that hold true in servers as well. Is AMD falling behind in this realm also, or is either a safe choice?
 
Go to dell and take a look at the rackmount, the 2950 III is a great server or even the lower end ones. Don't be scared by price usually have deals like save 1600 when server is over 4grand.

Come to me if u want, I'm dell reseller can get u even better deal just gets drop shipped.

3 year warranty next business day good stuff!!!
 
marley1 said:
Go to dell and take a look at the rackmount, the 2950 III is a great server or even the lower end ones. Don't be scared by price usually have deals like save 1600 when server is over 4grand.

Come to me if u want, I'm dell reseller can get u even better deal just gets drop shipped.

3 year warranty next business day good stuff!!!
Click to expand...

I agree with the 2950 or a 2900 if space isn't an issue. OP how many u's can it be?

Also depending on function look at the dell outlet. You can get some really good deals their. Most of the servers hardocp uses are ones kyle picked up through the dell outlet to save some cash.
 
Thanks you guys,
I'll give the Dell outlet a look.
It doesn't matter how many U's it is.

Thanks for the help so far.
 
rack it low in your rack...those versa/rapid rails are a pain to do by yourself when done chest high or higher.
 
Dell or HP, never heard of that other site, def go OEM mainly for warranty and support, dell buisness side is FAR FAr better then dell home and such.
 
If I had the cash I would go for a DL380 from HP.

Its a bit of an odd question really as its hard to say without actually knowing what he needs.
 
Jay_oasis said:
its hard to say without actually knowing what he needs.
Click to expand...

Exactly..."What will be running on this server" Depending on what your applications needs are....you configure you server differently. You shoulnd't just "pick any old generic server and shove your application into it".

What roles will the server be doing?
How many users?
What application(0) will be hosted? What database engine do they use? This will guide your disk configuration and RAID controller selection and setup, CPU and memory.
Will backup hardware be needed? This punches a bit hole in the budget..but it's important.
Battery backup unit? There's another 700 bucks
Antivirus for the server...plus any mail server component if needed? Another chunk out of the budget.
 
Thanks a lot you guys.
I'll try to find out the software side.
Off hand I know they don't need a UPS and I don't think AV is needed either.

Do you mean back up hardware as in a whole second server or just spare hdd's and key components?
Also, I know you need a lot more info for this, but in a VERY rough estimate how many users would a mid specked DL380 be able to support?

Thanks everyone,
Bob

Update:
It looks like the software side will be composed of:
- cold fusion
- linux
- apache
- mysql
- pearl
 
vroom_skies said:
Do you mean back up hardware as in a whole second server or just spare hdd's and key components?l
Click to expand...

A means for removable backup, so that they can do daily backups of the server. Such as tape drive or removable disk, and at least 6x removable media cartridges (M-F plus end of month).
 
O, duhh lol.
Don't worry about any of that for now.
He hasn't mentioned that to me, so I take it he has some plan for it.
 
so are you his consultant?

we still need to know how many users and such.

just comparing to specs of that server he posted, you can do alot better from an OEM.

get some dual quad xeon, as much ram, some SAS drives and your good to go.

start pricing shit out, go through a dell var and you will save money on top or go outlet if you dont mind it.
 
O no, not at all.
I'm just trying to help him out.
However I hardly know anything with this stuff, so that is why I came over here.

I don't know a exact number, but I would think around a few thousand.
Think in terms of facebook as in information exchange/ networking.

Thanks again,
Bob
 
if your talking around a few thousand of users i dont think a $3500 server is gonna work for you

and i doubt something like facebook has a single server.

i think you need to give lots more details, even bumping the thread, most of the consultants here have posted, we need tons more info. i dont even get involved with thousands of users so im not so sure what to even recommend but, lots of memory, as many cpu as possible if the program/application can support it.
 
marley1 said:
if your talking around a few thousand of users i dont think a $3500 server is gonna work for you

and i doubt something like facebook has a single server.

i think you need to give lots more details, even bumping the thread, most of the consultants here have posted, we need tons more info. i dont even get involved with thousands of users so im not so sure what to even recommend but, lots of memory, as many cpu as possible if the program/application can support it.
Click to expand...
That number is just a guess, I figured it would be best to over shoot rather then under shoot. This server is just a starting point, if the need arises for more equipment, I'm sure he would take care of it then.
Also, I was only using Facebook as a reference to what the basic logic would be, not that it is going to be a Facebook clone.
Pretty sure I've answered all the questions so far, if you need more info go ahead and ask and I'll do my best to fill you in.

Lugztaz said:
Yea, I think this needs to be thought out a bit.
Click to expand...
That's what is going on here. I'm trying to get input for what would be needed and what would be the best move. I don't know this stuff, if I did, I wouldn't be here asking questions.

YeOldeStonecat said:
Oh...this is a web server? Totally different hardware specs from a business network server.
Click to expand...
Care to elaborate on what the "totally different hardware specs" would be?

Thanks
Bob
 
well a webserver wont need massive back end raid arrays and tons of harddrives where a network office rig may need such things.. alot of websites can be run on lower end CPU's, we used to ruin our companies website off an old dual PIII 1Ghz rig with 512 of ram....

now that can depends on what kind of webserver, is it running any back end coding langauges like ASP or something that could use some more power.....

will it use any type of database server, which should be on it's own server.
 
I think they went silent because we don't have enough details to give you any information. It seems that he is running some application on a LAMP stack. If everything is on one server (including the database for 2k+ users), you are going to want to max out that $3500 budget. Depending on exactly what the application is and how its written, you might want to build up 2 servers, one for app/web, and another for database, depending on its usage. Without knowing exactly what the application is and what it does, any recommendation is just a wild guess.

Once we get some actual information, we can give more ideas on where to spend money. Some servers/apps need cpu (financial calculations), some need disk and/or memory (databases, very interactive web apps), some need nothing special.

Your question can be seen as "What race vehicle should I buy?", and we have no idea if its 2 or 4 wheel racing, road or dirt, truck or car, etc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top