[TriLUG] Cheap Dell Server

[Jonathan Hassell]

These servers, I'm sure, are meant primarily for the SMB market, not for
enterprise use.

I don't think you do the machine justice: it does have the well-respected
ServerWorks chipset, a solid chipset found in most server-class machines.
There is also:
* 64-bit PCI slots
* a more well constructed case
* ECC RAM
* -three- embedded IDE channels (for software RAID)

I don't see how my five person consulting company needs 15k SCSI drives and
Gigabit networking and multiple hotswap PCI cards on independent busses.  I
do see that my five person consulting company needs a reliable machine that
can withstand some high loads, is a name brand, and has a solid motherboard
behind it.

For $349, you get a machine that is (admittedly, but still usefully) a
value-level server class machine, and not a "desktop with a server sticker."

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kevin Flanagan" <kevin at flanagannc.net>
To: <trilug at trilug.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2003 8:51 PM
Subject: Re: [TriLUG] Cheap Dell Server


> On Tue, 2003-04-22 at 11:55, Jonathan Hassell wrote:
> > For those of you looking for a cheap but reliable name brand server, I
> > recommend the following.
>
> I wouldn't call that a server, it's IDE, no RAID, no mention of if you
> can get a redundant power supply.
>
> > Dell has a deal where, for $349 plus shipping and tax, you can get:
>
> This kind of offer just confirms that Dell is still driving servers to
> the bottom of the market.  You can get as good a system that is in a
> desktop chassis, but has better video, about the same kind of price.
>
>
>
> If you need a server, you generally need things like
>
> Hardware SCSI RAID
> Hot Swap disks
> Agents that will predict failure of components
> Multiple PCI busses may be good if you have lots of I/O
>
> The most common exception to that would be a farm of low end servers,
> for web or the like where you have several of the same system, then you
> have fully redundant configurations at the system level.
>
> If you have a desktop system, call it that, not a server.
>
>
> I know that it comes off kind of snobbish at times, but don't expect a
> desktop system with a server sticker to do the job of a server.  Call it
> what it is, that's not to say that there isn't a market for this kind of
> thing, but they are driving smaller businesses to be short sighted in
> purchasing this kind of system when they really need a server with
> higher end features.
>
>
>
>
> Just my $.02
>
>
>
> Kevin
>
>
>
>
> --
> Kevin Flanagan <kevin at flanagannc.net>
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