BR Forum

I have a client (end user) who is looking to replace his ancient Windows NT computer and upgrade to a newer PC. His primary concern is just that the Windows NT machine is old, and more likely to eventually fail. Its not like they have any performance problems running BR.

He's only running BR on his server and right now its all running over Windows File Shares, so technically he could probably run his system using nothing more then a NAT (Network Attached Storage) for his server. But I'd like to eventually get him running under Client Server and set up a web interface for his clients to use to look up simple information about their accounts.

Thing is, I can see no reason why he shouldn't just buy something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6883108659

It should have plenty of processing power to run BR Client Server and Wamp and a simple web site.

The only thing I would change about it is to give it two hard drives so I can setup RAID 1 Mirroring on it.


When I look at servers, just buying the OS costs $750. But I don't see any reason to spend a bunch of money when all the extra features of a Business OS usually just get in the way of running BR and Wamp.

So here's my question: Is there any reason to buy an expensive server when you're just running BR and a couple other things on it?

Gabriel

I was curious what an "Entry Level Server" costs.

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/ ... oc=besw5t2

This server was $1,395.00, when compared to the Lenovo $299.99, it's quite a bit more!

So the thousand dollar question, why go for Small Business Server?

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-c ... fault.aspx

Your all-in-one network solution, designed and priced for small businesses with up to 75 users. SBS 2011 Standard delivers enterprise-class server technology in an affordable, all-in-one solution. SBS 2011 Standard helps protect your business information from loss by performing automatic daily backups. Additionally, it allows users to be more productive with features such as e-mail, Internet connectivity, internal websites, remote access, and file and printer sharing.

In addition to the server software, the hardware in a "File Server" is actually different than that in a desktop, particularly a low end desktop. Servers are designed to work 24 x 7, and essentially work "Forever". They usually have "Redundant components" (Like dual power supplies, RAID ARRAYS), and other features.

Now, specifically looking as Business Rules and Client Server, the $299.99 PC is probably just fine!

I do have a caution with the E3400: http://ark.intel.com/products/42772/Int ... MHz-FSB%29 This CPU only supports 2 threads, and client server will be "Choppy" if you load more than a few users on it.

The "Entry Level Server" has a E3-1220 CPU: http://ark.intel.com/products/52269/ (4 Thread Solution)

For $230.00 more, the dell server can be configured with an E3-1270 CPU: http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/ ... oc=besw5t2 (8 Thread Solution).

Intel has a nice comparison page that shows the 3 CPU's compared to each other: http://ark.intel.com/compare/52276,52269,42772

It took me a while to figure out the "Inexpensive Desktop Market". For some reason, they won't say this is the "Cheap & Junky System". Looking at the Lenovo Series, the M48 uses "Lower End Components" (A safe way to save money), but I get the impression that they also use "Cheaper Components" (A not so safe way to save money).

Take a look at the hard disk, Dell sells: 300GB 15K RPM Serial-Attach SCSI 6Gbps 3.5in Cabled Hard Drive [$449.00] Why is this hard disk (All by itself) more money than the entire M48! It's roughly the same same storage. (PS: That is the drive that I go with)

So the answer to the question, and the reason to go with an inexpensive desktop is to save money upfront. The hope is that none of the components will fail, leaving you without a server. Having Mirrored drives + a good backup means that when the server fails, you can buy another one to replace it.

The worst case scenario is repeated downtime, rebooting of the server, etc. And of course loosing data from the hard disk. The business question is what does 3 days of downtime cost my business. (Re-Order, Re-Install & Recover backup after a disaster).

I choose this server for my small home office with 3-4 workstations

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004CV ... 00_details

It's just under $500. Seems to be working pretty well. It's designed tobe up 24x7 also. I also have a pimp power supply and a terabyte usb drive i use to archive backups.

It will host USB printers and probably other USB devices. It does not have a monitor port. It's administered through my web browser. Pretty simple really.

So far I'm pretty happy it.

You just reminded me about a NAS device I bought a while ago.

http://www.amazon.com/Iomega-StorCenter ... 798&sr=8-1

$265.99

This model has 1TB of usable storage.


RAID Support: RAID 1 (mirror) with automatic RAID rebuild. JBOD mode also available
Gigabit Ethernet connectivity with Jumbo frame support and high performance embedded architecture
iSCSI target provides block-level access for the most efficient storage utilization
Simple three step setup - Simply plug into your router, power on, and install the software CD
Warranty - 3 year limited warranty with product registration