How To Assess Your Server Needs
How To Select A Server
A handful of leading vendors provide online guides to help you select servers that will meet your needs (see page 4 of this How-To Guide). Using the information you've gathered about projected business growth, user needs, and application access and availability, these online tools can aid your purchasing decisions. However, keep in mind that each vendor guide will -- of course -- favor its own products over competitive offerings.
How To Use The Results
Whatever you do, don't take results at face value and call in an order. Plug in different variables and see how your results change. Compare the results across different vendors in terms of pricing and features. (In some cases, the hardware price may not include the operating system.) If possible, find out which servers are used in offices similar to yours.
After you've made an informed evaluation of your needs and have determined the servers that match your requirements, you're ready to talk to a live salesperson.
Final Note: Virtualization
The previous recommendations were based on the assumption that you'll follow the common practice of putting one application on one server. Doing so simplifies installation and maintenance.
However, virtualization technology makes it possible to put multiple server applications on one machine. With virtualization, each application on the server is tricked into believing it is the sole owner of that server. The server has to be powerful enough that each application on the machine will get enough horsepower. The result is that you will need a machine bigger than anything that the aforementioned Web tools would recommend.
Virtualization is a broad topic, and implementing current virtualization technology requires broad technical expertise. For more on server virtualization using VMware, read "How To Virtualize A Server," bMighty.com's three-part series that walks you through the entire process:
Whatever your ultimate decision turns out to be, determining what kind of server you need can be a straightforward process -- as long as you ask the right questions.
Server How-To Blog
SMBs Loves Them Some Virtualization
Small and midsize businesses may have been a bit late to the virtualization station, but falling prices have them moving quickly to catch up with larger enterprises. So says a recent Gartner survey of companies with 100- 999 employees.
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New Intel Xeon 3400 Processors Lead To New Dell SMB Servers
The new 3400 series Xeon server processors are designed for 1U entry-level servers, and Dell has responded with four new 1-socket servers using the new chips, starting at less than $600. Plus new NAS storage and 28 new power supplies.
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