[Systems] Server proposals

[Bernie Innocenti]

Yesterday I digged around For possible hardware for our new primary
server, the one that is going to replace (or augment) the aging
solarsail. Our budget is just about $2000, but we should benefit from
tax exemption.

As usual, all the high-profile server vendors overcharge for RAM and
HDs, but we're going to buy these separately from Newegg. Too bad they
don't let you do the same for the CPU.

We're looking for a 1U or 2U rack-mountable machine with fast
processors, at least 8GB of RAM and at least 1TB of fast storage on
RAID1 and simple remote management (reboot, access to text console).
I couldn't find anything with redundant PSU in our price range.

I used to be a good customer of cheap servers by Supermicro, but I've
learned not to buy their crap the hard way. I've checked Dell and IBM,
but I wasn't particularly trilled by their current offerings. The HP DL
series seems to provide the best trade-offs, and includes nice remote
management.

Here's a first draft of what we could end up purchasing. Alternative
proposals are very welcome.

== Storage ==

These cheap drives were amazingly fast when I benchmarked
a bunch of them at the FSF:

 Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA  3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive 
 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148337

2 x $109.99


== Server option 1 ==

 Configurable-HP ProLiant DL160se G6 Hot Plug Server
 HP ProLiant DL160se G6 Hot Plug SAS/SATA Server
 Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor E5504 (2.00GHz, 4M Cache, 80 Watts, 800MHz)
 HP 8GB PC3-10600E 4x2GB 2Rank Memory
 HP P410/ZM Smart Array Controller
 HP 4-bay Hot Plug Backplane
 Embedded HP NC362i Integrated Dual Port Gigabit Server Adapter
 HP 500W Non-Hot Plug Power Supply
 HP Lights-Out 100i Remote Management
 Protected by HP Services, 3-Year Next Day Part Replacement, 0-Year Labor, 0-Year Onsite support with next business day response.

$1,819.00


== Server option 2 == 

 581772-001 HP ProLiant DL165 G6 Non-Hot Plug SATA Server - Smart Buy
 HP ProLiant DL165 G6 Non-Hot Plug SATA Server
 Six-Core AMD Opteron™ Processor Model 2427 (2.2GHz, 75W ACP)
 HP 2GB REG PC2-6400 2x1GB Memory
 HP Embedded SATA Controller
 HP 250GB 3G SATA Non-Hot Plug 7,200rpm 3.5 inch MDL Hard Drive (1-year warranty)
 HP Embedded NC7782 Dual-Port gigabit Server Adapter
 HP DVD-ROM Drive
 HP High Efficiency 500W Multi-output Power Supply
 HP ProLiant Onboard Administrator and Lights-Out 100i
 Protected by HP Services, 3-Year Next Day Part Replacement, 0-Year Labor, 0-Year Onsite support with next business day response.
 This product is pre-configured. Additional options ship separately

$1,039.00

 Six-Core AMD Opteron™ Processor Model 2427 (2.2GHz, 75W ACP)

$499.00

 HP 8GB REG PC2-6400 2x4GB Dual Rank Memory

$299.00

 
== Notes ==

 * I couldn't remove the useless Smart Array RAID controller from
   the first option

 * I couldn't remove the stupid 250GB HD from the second one

 * The AMD Opteron 2427 seems to outperform the Xeon E5504 in benchmarks

 * We need 3 memory banks to get the full bandwidth on the
   triple-channel Xeon

-- 
   // Bernie Innocenti - http://codewiz.org/
 \X/  Sugar Labs       - http://sugarlabs.org/