File Server

[loginix]

Hey, i was setting up a file server for a job i have and i wanted some advice on best dell servers you have used i was looking at getting a tower server. they just need it to save files on and as a backup and to work off of it. i am looking to spend 2,000

 

[Johnathan Lyman]

Hey, i was setting up a file server for a job i have and i wanted some advice on best dell servers you have used i was looking at getting a tower server. they just need it to save files on and as a backup and to work off of it. i am looking to spend 2,000

If all you need to do is save and backup and it's just for you, a full blown server may be overkill.

You would be able to save a lot of money with a home server powered by WHS or even just a NAS box.

Home Server option: Newegg.com - HP MediaSmart EX490, Windows Home Server w/ Intel Celeron 2.2 Ghz 2GB DDR2 1TB HDD installed (three open bay), 4 USB & 1 eSATA expansion ports , Mac Compatible, TiVO support

NAS option: Newegg.com - Open Box: BUFFALO TS-X6.0TL/R5 6TB TeraStation III Network Storage

They're not comparable, just two options I could think of.

 

[loginix]

Yeah, but it's not for personal use he has good business and needs to be able to handle volume of files would this be good? i was just wondering cause i was thinking of is an affordable dell tower server's and getting quad-core 8+ram 500 gigs and expandable for more if needed.

 

[loginix]

Also thanks for this one i like this as a personal server i have a client that needs a media server handling blu-ray and would be great as a sever.

Hey, i was setting up a file server for a job i have and i wanted some advice on best dell servers you have used i was looking at getting a tower server. they just need it to save files on and as a backup and to work off of it. i am looking to spend 2,000

If all you need to do is save and backup and it's just for you, a full blown server may be overkill.

You would be able to save a lot of money with a home server powered by WHS or even just a NAS box.

Home Server option: Newegg.com - HP MediaSmart EX490, Windows Home Server w/ Intel Celeron 2.2 Ghz 2GB DDR2 1TB HDD installed (three open bay), 4 USB & 1 eSATA expansion ports , Mac Compatible, TiVO support

NAS option: Newegg.com - Open Box: BUFFALO TS-X6.0TL/R5 6TB TeraStation III Network Storage

They're not comparable, just two options I could think of.

 

[Johnathan Lyman]

8GB of ram is a lot for a straight file server.

You could build out or buy a tower server. If this is a small business a tower server would work well as well. a Rack is a big undertaking.

ZT Reliant Tower Servers -- an option.

 

[pparks1]

i was just wondering cause i was thinking of is an affordable dell tower server's and getting quad-core 8+ram 500 gigs and expandable for more if needed.

It's usually not necessary to have high powered CPU's and high amounts of RAM in a file server. What's really important is a nice RAID controller card, with lots of Cache connected to 15,000RPM SAS or SCSI drives in a RAID array for the highest amounts of file I/O that you can get.

 

[loginix]

so for this type of job what would be better to get a tower server or rack server? also they own a store in another state which needs to be able to remote and they will open another store so i would need to be able to handle multiple connections

 

[Johnathan Lyman]

so for this type of job what would be better to get a tower server or rack server? also they own a store in another state which needs to be able to remote and they will open another store so i would need to be able to handle multiple connections

Both will work, a rack will cost more. A full-tower server can hold between 6-8 hard drives (of the 3.5" vareity) and a rack-mounted unit (depending on the size) can hold 12-16 (of the 2.5" variety). You will definitely get much faster I/O with a rack-mounted SAS (not many SAS cards for towers, I don't think) but the cost will be much higher.

To give you an idea...

Take this: Newegg.com - HP ProLiant DL370 G6 E5540 2.53GHz Small Form Factor Rack Server - Server Systems @ $4400

and add Newegg.com - HP Enterprise 512545-B21 72GB 15000 RPM SAS 6Gb/s 2.5" SFF Internal Hard Drive @ $379 for 72gb @ 15k RPM X 14.

You get 1TB of storage for $10,000. You could get 10K 146GBs for $299 but you get my drift.

Having a tower in a RAID 5 configuration would suit well. You could use 10K SATA drives like the WD Velociraptor (300GB) and do a RAID 10 for speed+fault tolerance; should one or even two drives drive fail the array is still intact and functioning. To figure out what the usable capactiy is for a RAID 10 calculate (N/2) x S where N is the number of drives and S is the size of the smallest drive. having 8 300GB drives would: (8/2) x 300 = 1200GB or 1.2TB.

I hope that gets you off in the right direction!

 

[brady]

Would get an High Availability NAS device - 2k is cutting it close.

Buffalo:

Products - Network Storage | Buffalo Technology

Gigabit for high transfer speeds, HA drives for backup and file locks

 

[pparks1]

so for this type of job what would be better to get a tower server or rack server?

Depends upon whether they utilize server racks or not. In the places I have been at, it's always rack mounted servers. The very last thing we would want in the server room would be a stand alone tower server.

I'm usually a fan of the HP Servers, like the DL380 Gen 6 series....and the Dell R710 chassis have done a great job for us at our office. Been extremely happy with the Dells on the price, service, noise and heat output fronts.

 

[loginix]

I Really think i might use Dell R710 chassis Thank you. this one is a great find and the price range i was looking for... so how much work would i expect setting this up?

 

[pparks1]

Depends, do you have experience setting up file servers? I'd say 1 hour or so to rack, cable and power it. Another hour to install the OS. Then the rest of the time will be spent setting up the shares, permissions, etc. That will take x amount of time depending upon your local office needs.

 

[loginix]

Thanks looked at Dell R710 Chassis i like this one meets price range and everything i need thank you.

 

[loginix]

Depends, do you have experience setting up file servers? I'd say 1 hour or so to rack, cable and power it. Another hour to install the OS. Then the rest of the time will be spent setting up the shares, permissions, etc. That will take x amount of time depending upon your local office needs.

i actually don't have any experience setting up file servers but i have been doing networking, computer repair, and all types of work since i was 12 and now 25 i looked at window server 2008 and seems pretty reasonable to install the only trouble i will have is probably connecting pc's from different stores and in california. i got RDS server 2008 to help me do this, i just would like to know if i will have trouble with windows xp professional 32 and windows 7 professional 64 bit computers

 

[Johnathan Lyman]

I think you should be fine. As long as you and a system in place to bridge the gap, Windows won't know the difference. All it cares about is being able to see the other end you want it to see. How it gets there is less important.

If you've never set a server up be prepared for it to take a bit longer than you probably want it to just in case you come across a roadblock or something you are unsure of how to do (GOOGLE).

Good luck!

 

[loginix]

I think you should be fine. As long as you and a system in place to bridge the gap, Windows won't know the difference. All it cares about is being able to see the other end you want it to see. How it gets there is less important.

If you've never set a server up be prepared for it to take a bit longer than you probably want it to just in case you come across a roadblock or something you are unsure of how to do (GOOGLE).

Good luck!

Yeah, We'll thanks everyone for all the advice after i have everything up and running i will post my results