You have different options when it comes to selecting a
server.
Blade, Rack, Tower or a hosted service are the
choices for seting up your server based networking
environment.
Servers are designed to store and share
files, control access to network resources such as file and
print, manage the computing environment. In order to do this
they are constructed to run 24/7. As a result they are
equipped more robustly than regular PC's. They are equipped
with multiple processors, redundant hard drives, redundant
power units, hot-swappable components such as hard drives
and power units. They are designed to be scalable so that
you can add capacity to meet future needs.
If you
have 5 or more computers in your environment you should
consider implementing a server-based network. The benefits
of a server-based network includes:
(1) File sharing
(2) Print sharing (3) Central Database management
(4) Security management (5) centralized data backups
and recovery (6) Increased reliability (7) faster access to shared data,
etc.
The best way to implement a server environment
is to hire a consultant who will do the assessment, identify
the equipment needs and will smoothly implement it for you.
Below is a list of server brands and vendors that
provide the equipment to choose from.
Cisco offers a range of Blade
Servers that comes with the Intel Xeon family of processors,
up to 1.5TB or DDR3 RAM, up to 24 internal drives, up to 4TB
of storage capacity.
CISCO offers a range of Rack
Servers that comes with the Intel Xeon family of processors,
up to 1.5TB or DDR3 RAM, up to 24 internal drives, up to
36TB of storage capacity.
Dell has a line of PowerEdge Rack
servers that are ideal for small businesses. They come with
the Intel Xeon, Pentium or Celeron Processors, up to 348GB
DDR3 RAM, uses SATA or SAS drives. Operating system and hard
drives are additional costs. Price vary based on what
features you select.
Dell line of Tower Servers are
ideal for hosting database, file and print sharing, email
and Intranet for small businesses. They come with the Intel
Xeon family of processors, can have up to 768 GB of DDR3
RAM, and ot swap drive bays. Operating system and hard
drives are additional costs. Price vary based on what
features you select.
The HP servers are
ideal for small business computing needs. They come with the
Intel Xeon or AMD family of processors, up to 1TB of DDR3
RAM, uses SAS, SATA or SSD drives, and comes with the HP iLO
security Management Engine.
