Hello,

I'm thinking about buying a new server from Dell.

Dell currently has a $200 of special, the funny thing is that when you order the system you have the ability to turn off the special .... yeah sure.
Special Offer-Dollars Off
O None
O Special Offer- $200 Off

Anyway, can someone briefly explain some of the benefits of certain options, as I am not too familar with some of them.

- For hosting other web sites, what would a good memory amount be to go with? Also, what is the difference between 512MB SDRAM - 1 DIMM as opposed to 512MB RAM 2X256MB SDRAM DIMMs, besides price?

- What is the Primary Controller (for internal hard drives) for?

- Hard Drives:
18GB,1.0 in,15KRPM,ULTRA3 [add $470]
36 GB 1" SCSI Hard Drive 10K RPM [add $340]
Why is the 18GB priced higher? What is the advantage of it?

- Can someone tell me a little about First Network Adapters?

- What benefit do Tape Drives give?

- How hard would it be to add additional equipment (i.e., a new hard drive or upgrade the RAM)?

- For colocation, how important is hands on access. Also, if Dell offers next day on site repair, would that mean they would go to the datacenter and fix the problem?

They have many very good features but I'm not sure if they will all be needed. I need the system to be stable and be able to host around 400 sites.

Thank you very very much for anyone who takes the time to help answer some of these questions!!! I really appreciate it.

Regards,
Kevin Stratvert

I'm just going to answer part of this question :) You asked about ram, Dell offer very good servers however over priced ram. your best bet with them is to only get 64 megs of ram, and buy your ram later on from somewhere else.

Originally posted by KevlerS
Hello,
- For hosting other web sites, what would a good memory amount be to go with? Also, what is the difference between 512MB SDRAM - 1 DIMM as opposed to 512MB RAM 2X256MB SDRAM DIMMs, besides price?

Try to get as much memory as possible (may be very expensive, though since you are getting it through Dell). Now, 512MB in one package (1 DIMM) is usually more expensive thatn 512MB in 2 DIMMs. But since your motherboard can only take about (let say, just for example) 2GB of memory in 4 memory slots, then going with 512MB in 1DIMM means you have more room to expand than if you go with 512MB in 2 DIMMS. Using 512MB in 2 DIMM means you can only have up to 1GB of memory, though your motherboard support 2GB. So sometimes, the extra money might be worthed if you plan to upgrade your memory later.


18GB,1.0 in,15KRPM,ULTRA3 [add $470]
36 GB 1" SCSI Hard Drive 10K RPM [add $340]
Why is the 18GB priced higher? What is the advantage of it?

Becuase your 18GB is faster than the other drive. It is spinning at 15000 rpm (rounds per minute) instead of 10000 whcih mean the drive is capable of transfering data in shorter time. I don't know about the controller you use, you may just call Dell about this.


- What benefit do Tape Drives give?


For backup purposes... Your data in the HD might be safely backed up to the tape drive and then you can ask the NOC to rotate the tape (change the tape every day or so) so that you will always have a hard copy of your data that can be placed safely. Without a tape drive, then your data might we screwed up if somebody hacks into your server, or if somehow your HD fails to work.


- How hard would it be to add additional equipment (i.e., a new hard drive or upgrade the RAM)?

I don't think it would be hard. You can always ask the people in the NOC to do the upgrade for you. Usually they are pretty knowledgable about this kind of stuff so you do not have to worry.


- For colocation, how important is hands on access. Also, if Dell offers next day on site repair, would that mean they would go to the datacenter and fix the problem?


I don't think that is really important (hey, that's why you are co-locating the server). The most important thing is to have technical support on site 24x7 so that if your server is down, they can restart it, fix it, or do something with the server. Again, I'm not sure about Dell's on site repair policy, but you have to remember, you will probably want to colocate a server at an NOC that will allow physical access to the facility 24x7. Even if they allow this and you really get an on site repair from Dell, you have to make sure that the guy from Dell will have permission to enter the NOC.


They have many very good features but I'm not sure if they will all be needed. I need the system to be stable and be able to host around 400 sites.

Probably more important that the number of sites hosted are:
1. Are you expecting a lot of CPU intensive program running on the server? (Like Perl/CGI, etc).
2. How much data transfer do you think you will be using monthly? 100GB? 200GB?

Moderate server like Raq3 (only has 32MB of memory and 300Mhz AMD processor with IDE HD) is capable of handling millions of (simple) page request per day and hosting ~200 accounts per server. So it's all depend on what the server is gonna be used.

Good luck...

cheers,
:beer:

I'll answer what I can.

The amount of memory needed depends on several factors, form the number of sites hosted to the types of programs they will use. Some programs (like many forum programs) require additional memory due to concurrent use. 512 is ample for many purposes (not all, though). You can probably never have too much memory.

The difference in the memory you cited could be as little as having one more memory slot available for additional memory later. Memory has speeds also and some chipsets are better than others (more tightly integrated). Some will have a single row of chips on one side whereas others will be double sided. I've even seen some that had two rows on both sides for the same capacity.

The Primary Controller (for internal hard drives) is the interface and controller for hard drives to the motherboard. Once upon a time, a separate controller card was necessary for either IDE (later EIDE) or SCSI hard drives. For a few years now, however, most motherboards come with the controllers built onto the motherboard. There are often two, hence one being designated as the primary.

- Hard Drives:
18GB,1.0 in,15KRPM,ULTRA3 [add $470]
36 GB 1" SCSI Hard Drive 10K RPM [add $340]
Why is the 18GB priced higher? What is the advantage of it?

A higher rotational speed means faster data access and transfer. It costs more due to the engineering of the disk, as a race car costs more than a regular car and for similar reasons. It costs more and it goes faster. The suspension and other components have to be reinforced (beefed up).

- What benefit do Tape Drives give?
They allow for multiple backups of your data and other files. There is a very recent discussion about backups. You may want to look it up for more on advantages (and disadvantages) of tape drives.

- How hard would it be to add additional equipment (i.e., a new hard drive or upgrade the RAM)?
It's easy to do physically. The server will be shut down for a bit while those items are added. Hopefully, it can be done during off hours. At any rate, it shouldn't take long (less than an hour at most, and likely half of that, including configuration of the new drive.

- For colocation, how important is hands on access.
It's not if you have a RAID array, a spare drive sitting in the computer or data center, can have them replace any items for you (at a charge, of course)

"Also, if Dell offers next day on site repair, would that mean they would go to the datacenter and fix the problem?"

It probably means someone at the data center would fix it within a day. Look them up on the forum. They outsource to Interliant. I have a friend that has a server with them and dedicated server support has not been available.

"They have many very good features but I'm not sure if they will all be needed. I need the system to be stable and be able to host around 400 sites."

Check their pricing carefully. At a quick glance, they seem cheap enough. However, when you start figuring additional costs, (IP addresses, bandwidth, upgrades, etc.) they get expensive really fast. You can do better elsewhere.

A search will reveal several reputable companies with better overall pricing.

I was just signing up with Dialtone Internet last year when a friend told me about his server with Dell. The pricing looked attractive until I started looking closely. At that time, Dell had only been in the business 6 weeks. I went ahead and got the server with DI. His experiences (and those of others), as well as the service at DI proved my decision was the right one. There are some other reputable companies besides DI, and you can find them mentioned here.




[Edited by Duster on 03-01-2001 at 07:29 PM]