Server recommendations

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Gofaster

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I am looking to purchase some used Dell servers. I need some basic specs on what to look for. I am looking to purchase 3 servers. Two of them I need to purchase with a legal license. This is to prepare myself as much as possible for all the exams I plan on taking soon. Yes this is going to cost a little bit but its much cheaper then the 26K Centriq wanted for classes.
They probably dont have to that powerful do they?
1 for Windows Server 2003 to practice for my MCSA
1 for Windows SBS- To practice setting up a exchange server/blackberry server
1 for Windows Home server- this one is for me, I just want to try it out.

What should I look for in processor spec,memory, hard drives?
 
You don't need to invest in used Dell servers.

Throw together a cheap box with multiple drives for RAID and have at it. A cheap Intel dual core with 2GB RAM would be fine.

Then get the best deal you can find on SBS2003. Either demo, partner pack, student discount, Ebay, whatever.
 
why not get one fast server and run a bunch of virtual machines to learn on?

first os make it your domain controller handling dhcp,dns, active directory etc, vmware server next guest os being exchange server, next guest os being blackberry server

or look in dell outlet/ebay/craigslist
 
For your application pretty much anything that functions will work. There wont be any actual users on it so a single core will be fine, I would try to stick to 2GB of ram however. Servers like ram and SBS can be a bit of a pig. That being said a single server running ESX or even VMware server (free) would mean less hardware and a lower powerbill. With an added bonus of learning about virtualization which is very big right now. If you need any help picking between a few servers shoot me a PM and I'll help you more.
 
Gofaster said:
What about software?
Click to expand...

Most people don't sell their old licenses when they offload old hardware... You may be able to find someone offloading old licenses, but as always it's buyer beware... You may be getting a not quite legal copy.

I think all of the software you're looking for can be downloaded from Microsoft as 120 day trial editions. If you're just building a learning lab, 120 days may be good enough......

If that's not good enough, you can look at a Technet subscription that gets you time unlimited trial software of Microsoft's most popular software (though I'm not sure if SBS is included, but Windows, Exchange and SQL definately are).
 
I agree with Marley1. Purchase a Dell Poweredge 1900 with 4GB RAM, a quad core xeon, and call it a day. All for under $2800 or less if you buy now with the discount and through a reseller (*cough* marley1 *cough*)
 
AMD_RULES said:
I agree with Marley1. Purchase a Dell Poweredge 1900 with 4GB RAM, a quad core xeon, and call it a day. All for under $2800 or less if you buy now with the discount and through a reseller (*cough* marley1 *cough*)
Click to expand...

lol =)

i think he wanted used tho.

but yes im a reseller for alot of good stuff (freedom9, aten, ESET, Dell, HP)
 
marley1 said:
lol =)

i think he wanted used tho.

but yes im a reseller for alot of good stuff (freedom9, aten, ESET, Dell, HP)
Click to expand...

ya, but for the PR$CE of three used servers he can get a pretty good new server for cheap, even under $2k...
 
exactly =)

btw, ive been trying to get a price on procurve gear for you, but the hp reseller program sucks compared to Dell, alot of BS gotta fill out. so im still waiting to get access to the HP Source.

also i had my training on the freeguard100, its a fucking pimp firewall for small buisness, has so many features its great. take a look into it, they also make a wireless access point but its a bit older (maybe discontinued, but its like 150 bucks)
 
one other thing for the OP, the hdd size is up 2 you.
I'd stick with a minimum of 146GB or higher.
 
I build my own VMWare server:

1x Xeon X3210 (4x2.13GHz) $245

1x Asus P5B-VM MB $102

2x 4GB PC6400 Memory Kits 164


Pickup as many HD for raid as possible. I have 2 HDD mirrored for the host OS and 4 HDD stripped for VM's.

I spent about $1200 total on the whole server with PS and case. I run 10-12 VM without any issues.
 
Since this is for you personally and not for a business, warranties aren't generally an issue. With that in mind, building one yourself and using something like VMware's 60-day evaluation of ESX/VirtualCenter may work for you. On the other hand, building one yourself doesn't often allow you to familiarize yourself with server grade components and engineering. Not that there's much difference, mind you, but there are differences.

That said, I'd look for some used 1750/1850/1950 or 2650/2850 or may even some 1550's on the lower end. Dual-PIII will work for a lab environment but won't be blazing fast either. I'd look for 64-bit processors though you won't typically find that on anything except the last generation or two. You might be able to find some 2600/2800 non-rack servers for cheap as well.

If you're in the Baltimore area, I've got a couple 1750's I'm looking to get rid of relatively cheaply. :)

The downside to purchasing a "real" server, used or not, is the use of SCSI/SAS disks. For instance having a few servers would be great for a permanent lab, but if you want to use one of them as your home file server down the road - well, you're stuck buying expensive disks or building your own.

So, in the end, building a beefy box or two and installing VMware on it may be a better option for you - considering this is a lab environment anyway.You could either get away with running windows/linux and the free VMware server product or run the 60-day eval of ESX/VirtualCenter.

And hey, you could even kill two birds with one stone -- learn MS and VMware at the same time. :)
 
Wheres the best places to get a cabinet? Seems ones on evilbay are as much as a server?
 
If you are interested in dedicated servers to play on, let me know, I rent them out (massive connections) :)
 
Gofaster said:
Wheres the best places to get a cabinet? Seems ones on evilbay are as much as a server?
Click to expand...

A good cabinet will run you about the price of 1 server. APC sells full size 4 post open racks (no doors or sides) for about 500 before shipping.
 
If you're looking for an excellent server cabinet, look no further than HP.
Go on ebay and you can find them pretty cheap. I'm gonna be purchasing a HP 22U cabinet soon off of ebay. They can be found for around $500-700; some sellers even offer free shipping which can cost well over $150-200.
 
I want to thank everyone for there help. I think I have narrowed it down to that maybe I just need to buy one server.I think I will just build one for Windows Home Server when I get to that point. Right now I just need to worry about getting my MCSA and other certs. Since I have narrowed it down to just needing one server, what can I get by with? I am also purchasing Cisco routers for my CCNA and CCNP so I would like a rackmount server. Brand probably isnt as important as price since this will not be used in a production enviroment and when I am done with it I will just make it a web server or maybe a ftp server, who knows, cross that bridge when I get there.
 
We need to know your hardware requirements/needs and a budget to further meet your needs.

I would suggest going with something like a Dell Poweredge 2650.
For starters, here's a good server. Only $999. It has plenty of space for some vm servers and also has raid and redudant power supplies.
http://cgi.ebay.com/DELL-POWEREDGE-...ryZ51227QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

If you plan to do any vmware servers that have 64 bit operating systems, you'll need to spend significantly more money for 64bit cpus on a different/more recent poweredge server or build a server.
 
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Craigslist is where I would go for the servers if they have a local site for your area.

There's a guy here in Austin who sells PowerEdges on the cheap on craigslist. I picked up 2 PowerEdge 1550s for my ESX lab, and they work OK for messing around with. At the time, I got them for $125 each. Now they're going for less due to more stuff coming into his warehouse. I wouldn't trust more than 3 or 4 vms with minimal use on them. They are Dual 1gb P3 Xeons with 1gb ram each server. 1U rackmount, and the 220w PSUs don't hurt either. Just for messing around with the OS'es you mention, I would think something like those would be adequate.
 
Craigslist?

I just bought 2 HP DL360 Dual pIII 1.3/ 1.5gig ram/ no hard drives for $100. $100 gave me 4x 74gig 15k Fugi drives. Works fine for my webserver and such.
 
E-Bay is your friend. I have purchased plenty of them over the years (lol- still have the old HP's and Compaqs from years ago... packrat). But seriously, you can pick up some pretty serious hardware, STILL UNDER WARRANTY for e-cheapo. Last December, I picked up a PowerEdge 2600; 2.4Xeon; 2Gb; dual power supplies; Perc4 Raid; and EIGHT (8) 36Gb SCSI drives, etc., under warranty until 2011 !!! for $400. Four Hundred bucks. Top that. And if you look carefully, and are patient, they're out there like that all the time. Picked up another 2600 for my buddy's shop, same thing- 3 yrs addt'l warranty, (2) Perc3-Di's :eek: ; 4-36Gb, dual Xeons; blah blah blah for under 500.

If you think this is BS, here's mine :D

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150185331356

ps- FWIW, if you're putting these in your house, I would avoid most 2U servers for one reason- noise. Most of them (like Dell 2650's, HP DLs) have high-velocity fans, required due to smaller diameter, and they are very loud. Good hardware, but you could never tolerate them running in a home office. My 2 cents.
 
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slickdeals had a 199 server, nothing special but brand new, pretty much a desktop machine but could get a bunch and run em.
 
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