Server Upgrade

Ice hearted killer said:
looks sweet, shame about the drive size but if its only a web server looks good.
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I'm not. It was never intended to be used in a fileserver role to be honest. At the time the server was built (2006/2007), 10K RPM Raptors were the highest performing SATA drives available. I needed and chose the performance of the the smaller drives because I didn't plan on needing tons of storage space.

Three to four years later, however, I am slowly depleting my hard drive capacity.

But! It's in the works for at least one 1TB drive. My plan is to use Windows dynamic disks to RAID1 the two 74GB drives, and have a 1TB main drive and a 1TB backup drive. I can't justify the cost for a SATA RAID card, although I am contemplating getting one from my host. Either way, my overall goal is to reformat and reinstall the server to take advantage of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise 64-bit.

I do wish that my motherboard and CPU's were newer so I could take advantage of the HPET support of Windows Server 2008...
 
reflex99 said:
any particular reason for using 1U case? (2U?)
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More expensive for a bigger case. Usually the provider will charge per 1U space because it reduces their maximum capacity for each rack.

Plus, it's the "standard" form factor server size. Larger cases (2U and 3U or more) have an advantage in room for bigger addon cards, more drives, bigger heatsinks, etc.

There is basically no advantage or disadvantage in power consumption either way as 1U cases can support redundant power supplies, multiple CPU's, etc. However, I do think that 1U cases have better cooling because there is a more direct airflow from the front of the case to the back, and 1U cases use 10K/15K RPM fans. My server has 4 x 10K RPM fans and in the back you can feel a massive amount of air being pushed through.

Oh, and the 1U cases from Supermicro are easier to install and remove, and when I have to transport the server it's not cumbersome. I can move it around holding it in one arm under my shoulder.

So yeah, that's why I use 1U cases.
 
HWG said:
Actually, it runs great. One of the best servers I've had the privilege to use, and it's incredibly stable for us. I think CrazyKiller has only had to reboot it a handful of times, and it's usually when I screw something up.
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And I have to fix it
 
CrazyKiller said:
More expensive for a bigger case. Usually the provider will charge per 1U space because it reduces their maximum capacity for each rack.

Plus, it's the "standard" form factor server size. Larger cases (2U and 3U or more) have an advantage in room for bigger addon cards, more drives, bigger heatsinks, etc.

There is basically no advantage or disadvantage in power consumption either way as 1U cases can support redundant power supplies, multiple CPU's, etc. However, I do think that 1U cases have better cooling because there is a more direct airflow from the front of the case to the back, and 1U cases use 10K/15K RPM fans. My server has 4 x 10K RPM fans and in the back you can feel a massive amount of air being pushed through.

Oh, and the 1U cases from Supermicro are easier to install and remove, and when I have to transport the server it's not cumbersome. I can move it around holding it in one arm under my shoulder.

So yeah, that's why I use 1U cases.
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wait so the server isnt at your house?

1U cases are usually really loud and hot. I was trying to ask why you didnt just use some cheapo desktop case that would probably be quieter and cooler.
 
reflex99 said:
wait so the server isnt at your house?

1U cases are usually really loud and hot. I was trying to ask why you didnt just use some cheapo desktop case that would probably be quieter and cooler.
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No, this is professionally hosted in a datacenter. Why would I host a server in my house?

And, I use 1U cases because desktop cases are not designed for servers (don't confuse desktop cases with 3U/4U server cases). 1U cases are also more professional compared to using a desktop case. From my experience, hosts will also charge you a lot more for using a desktop case because it doesn't conform to server form factor specifications, or have a way to mount it to the rack thus requiring a server shelf to be installed.

Plus, most reputable hosts will laugh you out of the datacenter and tell you to come back with a real server.

I also don't know what 1U cases you have worked with, but none of the quality 1U cases I have ever worked with ran hot, and they are quieter than you think. Just with 30 - 40 servers per rack, it can be a bit loud when they are all together. I believe my server is currently sitting at 15C under a full load right now. Don't forget you have to take in account of the cooling scheme of the datacenter as well.
 
CrazyKiller said:
No, this is professionally hosted in a datacenter. Why would I host a server in my house?

And, I use 1U cases because desktop cases are not designed for servers (don't confuse desktop cases with 3U/4U server cases). 1U cases are also more professional compared to using a desktop case. From my experience, hosts will also charge you a lot more for using a desktop case because it doesn't conform to server form factor specifications, or have a way to mount it to the rack thus requiring a server shelf to be installed.

Plus, most reputable hosts will laugh you out of the datacenter and tell you to come back with a real server.

I also don't know what 1U cases you have worked with, but none of the quality 1U cases I have ever worked with ran hot, and they are quieter than you think. Just with 30 - 40 servers per rack, it can be a bit loud when they are all together. I believe my server is currently sitting at 15C under a full load right now. Don't forget you have to take in account of the cooling scheme of the datacenter as well.
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Whoa 15C full load? Do you live in Canada or something? lol
 
Ph?bus said:
Whoa 15C full load? Do you live in Canada or something? lol
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Celcius is the international standard, and I used to work with international customers. So, I usually use Celcius when talking about system temperatures.

Habit!
 
ya 15c is pretty amazing and for all you Americans for some perspective 20c is average room temp so 15c is very good.
 
CrazyKiller said:
Celcius is the international standard, and I used to work with international customers. So, I usually use Celcius when talking about system temperatures.

Habit!
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I know what you were talking about, but geez is 15C full load very cold. Full load for my computer is like 28C, but my ambient is around 15-18C. What's your ambient?

Passerby said:
ya 15c is pretty amazing and for all you Americans for some perspective 20c is average room temp so 15c is very good.
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I just lost all respect for you.
 
Ph?bus said:
I know what you were talking about, but geez is 15C full load very cold. Full load for my computer is like 28C, but my ambient is around 15-18C. What's your ambient?



I just lost all respect for you.
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and your post has the same point to it. I mentioned that to make it easier for people since when ever someone says something in Fahrenheit i always end up having to due the math in my head to get a Celsius value to actually get a idea what the number means.

i generally never deal with imperial measurements since i deal with mostly Canadians and Europeans.

also 15c at load is prolly due to the room having AC since that is below comfortable room temp.
 
You probably could host a Decent Counter-Strike: Source or Team Fortress 2 Server on it or perhaps a Day of Defeat: Source server :thumbup1: Looks very fine too :p
 
Ph?bus said:
I know what you were talking about, but geez is 15C full load very cold. Full load for my computer is like 28C, but my ambient is around 15-18C. What's your ambient?



I just lost all respect for you.
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That is actually the ambient system temperature. The cores I believe are around 20 - 22 Celcius under full load. Unforunately I can't check core temperatures unless I restart the system and go into BIOS right now.

Passerby said:
and your post has the same point to it. I mentioned that to make it easier for people since when ever someone says something in Fahrenheit i always end up having to due the math in my head to get a Celsius value to actually get a idea what the number means.

i generally never deal with imperial measurements since i deal with mostly Canadians and Europeans.

also 15c at load is prolly due to the room having AC since that is below comfortable room temp.
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Yep. The server floor is kept below room temperature. I believe it's around 60 - 62 degrees on the floor. I can't remember.

| FAKE | said:
You probably could host a Decent Counter-Strike: Source or Team Fortress 2 Server on it or perhaps a Day of Defeat: Source server :thumbup1: Looks very fine too :p
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I host a lot of things, gameservers included. Unfortunately I have milked as much performance out of this machine as I possibly can for my gameservers. The only course of action now to increase performance is to purchase newer hardware that uses Windows Server 2008's HPET support.

I am going to upgrade to Server 2008 regardless in the near future, but I can't use HPET with my current generation of hardware :(
 
CrazyKiller said:
Usually, Dave? Always.

Actually, Windows Server is a very stable and secure platform for hosting.
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I speak as someone who has been doing this for a long time, and I'm sure you'll agree, that is a fairly recent development. Anyone who was running NT would want to reboot once a week. But I concur, Microsoft has made great progress in reliability.

That's just my two cents.
 
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