Army.ca Server Hardware Replacement Program

[mysteriousmind]

ill send some also later on...tomorrow or monday

 

[Mike Bobbitt]

Thanks guys, but please don't feel compelled to, as the char shows, we're exceeded our goal. I'm now trying to find the best deal for the money we have, and I'll tell you: we're looking pretty good.

 

[armyvern]

Thanks guys, but please don't feel compelled to, as the char shows, we're exceeded our goal. I'm now trying to find the best deal for the money we have, and I'll tell you: we're looking pretty good.

Apparently you may need the extra cash to invest in some real beer !! I never knew there was such as beast as blueberry beer. 

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Brucie don't like slow site, Brucie get mad when slow site, Brucie think $30 less than broke keyboards, Brucie not as good as Paracowboy in talking in the third person.......

 

[Mike Bobbitt]

...and for the record it was currant beer.

 

[armyvern]

...and for the record it was currant beer.

Seen. That sounds so much better!!  ;D

 

[Mike Bobbitt]

Folks,

Time for a quick update on this. I am now looking at a couple of different systems as our potential replacement:

Option 1

Proliant ML530
SRV CPQ Proliant ML530 G2 - Dual Xeon 2.8GHz DUAL
4GB RAM, CD, 8MB VID
2 x PROC CPQ XEON DP 2.8GHZ / 512K L2
CRD CPQ SMART ARRAY 5302/64 2CH U3
NC 3121 Dual NIC 10/100
ACC HOT PLUG 600W POWER SUPPLY
ACC CPQ RACK TO TOWER KIT ML530
2 x MEM 512MB DDR ECC
4 x MEM 512MB REG DDR ECC
2 x MEM GEN 512MB DDR ECC
6 x HDD HP 72.8GB 15K U320 UNI HDD HOTSWP

Total: $2921.18

Option 2

Motherboard: AS-DSBF-D/SAS  ASUS DSBF-D DUAL XEON SK771 DDR2 ECC SAS
RAM: 4Gb KVR667D2N5K2/2  KVR667D2N5K2/2G KINGSTON 2G DK DDR2-667
DVD Drive: LG-GSA-H22NBK  LG DL 18X BLK DVD/RW/CDRW/CD IDE
Case: ANT/TITAN550  SERVER BOX ANTEC TITAN 550W EATX
Drive: ST3400620AS  SEAGATE 400G 7200RPM SATA-300 16M
CPU: BX805565140A  XEON DC 5140 2.33GHZ 2x2M SK-771 1333FSB

Total:  $2,371.33

Option 1 is true server grade hardware with hot swappable drive bays, but it's used and probably ~3 years old. Option 2 is brand new and certainly server capable, but a little less robust. I'm struggling a bit with which option to go with, so I thought I'd solicit opinions from fellow geeks.

 

[GAP]

Option 1...the server. If it was replaced because of an upgrade of the former owner, should be no problem, plus it gives growth potential.

 

[charlesm]

Mike,

  This is the supplier I use in Vancouver

http://www.atic.ca/index.php?page=Products&cat=56

Have a look around and you can get a good estimate as well.

They also sell New HP Servers

You can see the cost of New HP or Intel Servers that are mostly 1U Rack mountable.

Dual Xeon 500 with 2 Gig and 3 * 400 Gig SATA Drives seems around $2100

I Use HP a lot, but after 3 years I find that you have problems with the drives, and with out a warranty I would be careful

My 2 cents Worth


thanks

 

[Mike Bobbitt]

I should point out that when I say option 2 is a little less robust, I mean it has faster CPU/RAM, but the chassis etc. is designed for a real server. Here are some photos to show you what I mean:

1:

2:

 

[p_imbeault]

No. 1 looks like a beast, I'd say get the best you can afford, something that will be easy to upgrade or add on memory. In the long run it'll probably be better. No matter what you get though it'll be obsolete within a couple years though  >. The older one will probably serve you just as well as long as your not planning any big changes in the running of the site I'd imagine 

 

[Mike Baker]

Number one.  ;D It looks cool.

 

[proudnurse]

Mike

I know that my subscription is probably due.... possibly overdue by now! I have decided to subscribe again, probably send you my payment within the next couple weeks. I know it is not much, but hopefully my little bit will help toward the upgrade.

~Rebecca

 

[GAP]

Mike,

  This is the supplier I use in Vancouver

http://www.atic.ca/index.php?page=Products&cat=56

Have a look around and you can get a good estimate as well.

They also sell New HP Servers

You can see the cost of New HP or Intel Servers that are mostly 1U Rack mountable.

Dual Xeon 500 with 2 Gig and 3 * 400 Gig SATA Drives seems around $2100

I Use HP a lot, but after 3 years I find that you have problems with the drives, and with out a warranty I would be careful

My 2 cents Worth
thanks

Is it a interface SATA drive problem, undue wear on the HDD's, or what. It sounds like the Server is OK, but it tends to crash HDD's...any input would help.

 

[geo]

Mike,
I've used a server similar to the one in option A... xcept it was a quad xeon processor - t'was a great machine.... though I am no longer working for the company, the server is working like a charm... and has not chewed up more than 1 hard drive (defective).

I was running a terminal server operation where users has relatively dumb terminals that had no HD, no floppy, no USB and no CD on their personal desk.  Everything that was to go thru the server was cleared thru antiviral software.

The way I had my setup the ML was a program server & I had a separate machine as a Data server (remember - dumb terminals) - and the two machines were linked by fibre optic... worked like a charm.  never had a contamination issue - except for the boss' son and his laptop. Bonus was that I never had an employee who would screw up the configuration for his "desktop" cause - I could reset his profile in 10 seconds


One suggestion:

Make sure your "server room" has good ventilation though - cause option 1 does generate a fair bit of heat.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

One suggestion:

Make sure your "server room" has good ventilation though - cause option 1 does generate a fair bit of heat.

Well it is next to the beer fridge and so it does get a lot of cool breezes .....

 

[GAP]

Well it is next to the beer fridge and so it does get a lot of cool breezes .....

Yeah, but that poor fridge is pounding it's heart out trying to cool the beer that keeps getting replenished, so it must be throwing out scads of heat into the face of the server. (Who then dutifully picks it up and tries to use it, but overheats and crashes) hehehe

 

[Mike Bobbitt]

geo,

Thanks for the info, it's good to know that's a reliable server. And my office could use the extra heat, it gets pretty cold in there at times.

Bruce, I had to move the fridge after your last visit where you went to get me a beer and ripped out the power supply by accident.

 

[Mike Baker]

Bruce, I had to move the fridge after your last visit where you went to get me a beer and ripped out the power supply by accident.

Hope he don't do it again  : Looks like option one is the best choice.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Sorry, I just thought bringing the fridge onto the deck would save valuable walking time.