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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=928443516-11042007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>I second the stick with the existing platform/vendor. Work
the support side too and make sure you have a good warranty. Extended warranties
are 50/50 for a device that is a backup. For primary roles, get 4 hour on site.
For a backup, look at a longer time for response, but also a longer contract
time.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=928443516-11042007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>It doesn't make for long term sense to start lowballing
everything and then getting into the issue of multiple vendors, multiple backup
drives, multiple remote management tools etc etc.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=928443516-11042007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>If you have IBM, stick with IBM but see if you can put
Linux on it. IBM should be able to help you out there. Also, since you are an
educational facility, all vendors have special pricing for edu.
</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=928443516-11042007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>For the hardware specs, the reality is that anything
current will suffice for your environment. It's the planning for the future that
will throw a wrench in the works.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=928443516-11042007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=928443516-11042007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>Brent</FONT></SPAN></DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT><BR>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left>
<HR tabIndex=-1>
<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> wplug-bounces+rust=lucasware.com@wplug.org
[mailto:wplug-bounces+rust=lucasware.com@wplug.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Michael
H. Semcheski<BR><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, April 11, 2007 11:30 AM<BR><B>To:</B>
General user list<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [wplug] Server
choice<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>Here are my thoughts:<BR><BR>First, if you predominantly have a
particular platform (eg, you have all BrandX computers), stick with that.
<BR><BR>Second, think carefully about what warranty you get. You can save
a nice chunk of change by getting 9-5x5 support instead of 24x7. If you
aren't going to be monitoring it 24x7, then why bother paying more for it?
Of course, sometimes you need it. <BR><BR>Third, figure out how much disk space
you need. Then, get a fast disk. If you only need 50GB (which is a
lot of trouble tickets), get a 150GB 10,000RPM SAS disk or SATA disk.
Don't bother with a 750GB 7200 RPM drive if you don't need the space. And
don't trouble yourself with a RAID array if you don't need it. Its a great
thing when you need it, but it can be a pain too. It complicates things.
<BR><BR>Finally, I always look for the sweet spot in processors. You don't
need to get the cheapest one, but generally you can see the fastest or the top
two processors cost a lot more. At one price point, you're paying $50 more
for 10% more speed. That might be OK. At a higher price point,you
may be paying $200 more for 5% more speed. That's not necessary most of
the time. <BR><BR>And of course, don't skimp on things like RAM or a DVD
drive. They're going to come in handy at some point in the life of this
machine. Think about what this machine will be doing in five years.
<BR><BR>It depends a lot on your organization and how you do things.
Personally, I pinch the pennies, and we keep our machines in service for a LONG
time. Some people replace them more frequently. Some people have
racks, some people like towers. <BR><BR>
<DIV><SPAN class=gmail_quote>On 4/11/07, <B class=gmail_sendername>Kevin
Squire</B> <<A
href="mailto:gentgeen@linuxmail.org">gentgeen@linuxmail.org</A>>
wrote:</SPAN>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote
style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid"><BR>This
year I used an spare desktop machine to set up a trouble ticket<BR>system
(Request-Tracker) and a jabber server for our school staff.<BR><BR>Now that my
direct boss (the IT director) has seen it running for a<BR>year, and the CFO
has heard all the great reports - I have a green light<BR>to get our first
DEDICATED Linux server into the back office (WOOT!)<BR><BR>Anyway, they are
asking for my input on what machine to get. (The IT<BR>directory has only run
Windows machines, so he wants my input since I am<BR>the resident "Linux
Expert") Since I have never worked with server<BR>hardware, I
really don't have much input to give - so I am turning to <BR>you
all....<BR><BR>The server will run Debian stable - will serve as school wide
Trouble<BR>Ticket system, Jabber Server and POTENTIALLY (not 100% on this part
yet)<BR>a secondary email server. (we already have a very good, and stable
email <BR>server, but the CEO wants a "fall back" system for those few times
when<BR>#1 goes down).<BR><BR>Ultimately I want to get the biggest bang for
buck here. The more I can<BR>show off what we can do with Linux
servers in the back office, the <BR>better off we are going to be over all
(right now we pay big bucks and<BR>are depending on a number of different
outside vendors - the more money<BR>we can save on the IT side, the more money
we can get sent over to the <BR>"student" side - my real goal)<BR><BR>I have
been given a price range of ~ $2,000, the IT director has said to<BR>me
- "In the past I have always gone with X series on IBM "e"
platform<BR>servers" but "I have a good rep and some great pricing
for an HP\Compaq <BR>Proliant .... Proliant has an awesome reputation and I
can not neglect<BR>the price points."<BR><BR><BR>So those of you with server
experience --- if someone gave you 2-3k to<BR>buy any setup you wanted, what
would you get? <BR><BR>--<BR><A
href="http://gentgeen.homelinux.org">http://gentgeen.homelinux.org</A><BR><BR>#############################################################<BR>Associate
yourself with men of good quality if you esteem<BR>your own reputation; for
'tis better to be alone then in
bad<BR>company. - George
Washington, Rules of
Civility<BR>_______________________________________________<BR>wplug mailing
list<BR><A href="mailto:wplug@wplug.org">wplug@wplug.org</A><BR><A
href="http://www.wplug.org/mailman/listinfo/wplug">http://www.wplug.org/mailman/listinfo/wplug</A><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR></BODY></HTML>