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<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Rocky,
it is a common misconception that you need a rocking CPU for a server.
That is absolutely not true. There are a few 'purposes' of a server, and
not all of them require massive processor speeds, or tons of
memory.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003></SPAN><SPAN class=505384614-03032003><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>1 - File Sharing</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>2 -
Domain Control</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>3 -
Network 'Service' Server (Proxy, Email Server, Web Server,
etc).</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>4 -
Server Computing (Hard data crunching)</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>5 -
Server Side databases.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>You
need to realize the real limiting factors on a server. First is network
bandwidth. a 100 megabit line is roughly 12 megabytes per second.
That is not a lot. It is a fraction of the speed of a typical IDE
drive. If you go to a gigabit line, then you have a much larger data
transfer rate (10x, so you are talking roughly 120 megabytes per second...which
is faster then your typical IDE drive, but it is still less then a SCSI Raid
configuration). So, if you are just setting up file transfers, then you
don't need much of a machine to do it. It can have minimal CPU Speed (even
Pentium or Pentium II....though I personally wouldn't go lower then a Pentium
III to be on the safe side), and memory doesn't have to be whopping (256 megs
would do). This is because the file sharing is going to be slower then
actual file usage used locally (do to the pipe the data is going through).
A faster CPU or more memory isn't going to push the data through
faster.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Domain
Controllers don't need to be whoppers either. I think we are running a
Pentium II (desktop) for a Primary Domain Controller here. No
problems. It doesn't have to do all that much as far as processing
goes.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>Network services. Well, it depends. We run everything but our
mail server on Pentium III desktops. (Proxy, web, intranet, etc.).
It all runs fine. Again, it is going to boil down to the network tunnel
involved. With a webserver, a common misconception is that you need to
have a huge machine to handle massive transactions. Absolutely not
true. In a web server, you have an even smaller pipe (we have a T1 here),
so the data is being sent through an even slower connection. Now, if you
have a lot of Server Side scripting, where the server is creating pages on the
fly, then you do need a decent CPU, and the more ram you have, the more pages
that are 'cached'. But again, you don't need a Cray. Email servers
can require a bit more power though. We use an Exchange Server. It's
got a dual processor, with 2 gigs of RAM. The real catch is how heavy it
is used internally. (for in house comms).</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Server
Computing. This is where the most power is needed. There are
software packages out there that use server CPU time pretty heavily. For
example, we have a package called FlowTherm, and FlowStress. These
packages perform massive heat calculations, over and over and over. If you
run this software on a server, obviously the more CPU and memory you have the
better.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Server
Side Databases. You do need power on these. But again, you are
limitted by your network speed. However, your processor is going to do a
lot of work independant of the network traffic, so it probably should be pretty
fast, with lots of memory to boot.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Just
my two cents.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=505384614-03032003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>Drew</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> Rocky Smolin - Beach Access
Software [mailto:bchacc@san.rr.com]<BR><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, March 02, 2003
12:06 AM<BR><B>To:</B> AccessD@databaseadvisors.com<BR><B>Subject:</B>
[AccessD] OT: Server Needed<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dear List:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Excuse the OT please but I know someone will know
the answer:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I have a client who wants to upgrade the server
on his network. There's about 10 seats on his network, of which maybe 6
are being used. Seems to me that he could use any good, fast P4 box with
1/2 gig of RAM , etc. Which is well under $1000 these days from dell, or
gateway, with three years on-site.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>A local, old, fairly reputable company in San
Diego - Datel - is quoting him $1457 for and Intel entry level server with a
P4 (speed unknown), 512MB RAM, 80GB HD, with DUAL LAN RAID - whatever that
is. Plus another $775 for "WIN 2000 SVR W/5 CLIENT SP3 OEM-CD".
Plus something between 5 and 10 hours of installation charged at a price
unspecified in the quote.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Right now his "server" is an old Win98 box, slow,
but effective.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My question is, what is the difference between a
box that someone like Dell calls a server and an ordinary computer? Does
he need a server?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>MTIA,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Rocky</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>