If you're supplying your requirement and it's being changed by the supplier the best thing to do is just send it back and inform them that if they don't supply you with a quote that matchs your requirement exactly they simply won't get the business. Suppliers do this sort of thing all to often and it really is up to the customer to make sure they get what they want.Originally Posted by witch
I'll happily take a look at it for you as well.
Oaktech (19th January 2012)
One day I will learn to spell (off not of)You do realize that all educational facilities get about 40% of kit from Dell
RTFM (19th January 2012)
apologies, i assume your first post was meant to say "40% off kit" not "40% of kit".
It then read that 40% of the schools all bought kit from Dell
Well, dependant on what roles it has or will have can affect the specification.
File server = RAID + HDD space
MIS (SQL)= RAM
For me I found that having hardware SATA RAID instead of a more costly alternative made very little impact on speed as we only ever get a maximum of 30 PCs logging on at any one time.
What speed is your core network?
Savings made in one area of your server could be spent on as others have said (NAS backup etc)
Even on a small network, i would definitely consider splitting up your storage from the server onto a NAS (as i said before, it doesnt have to be anything snazzy, just functional, that Netgear NAS for under £1500 for example). With the sort of budget your talking about I'd have thought it would be possible to fit it in (mainly depends on labour costs though I suppose).
Not that i am trying to make your life any more difficult
I have to agree, you can't beat Dell - we support c.30 schools and use them for everything. The build quality and service is faultless IMHO.
@witch -
Just done 2 quotes for schools, server/software/time both under £3k - for £5k you should be getting some really good kit! I liked the earlier suggestion of a decent NAS, the server is a glorified file server so doesn't need much, but storage and backup should be your priority.
Look at Symantec Backup Exec System Recovery - it just WORKS!! we had one site back up and running within 3 hours the other month!
The problem with a spec for the server is that I don't really know what I want - only in general terms -and the three quotes seem to all match what I asked for, more-or-less!
The NAS solution at £1500 sounds a bit expensive for me. One of my quotes does include Backup Exec so that's good, isn't it? (she whined)
No one has quoted me for a Dell server - I did say HP as a passing comment but I would expect to be quoted for a Dell if they are that good and as cheap?
My network has a gigabit backbone and most of the switches are gigabit, with just a couple of lower spec ones.
I'm not getting any less confused. Someone just tell me what to do.
Can't even attach something to a pm either - its all going wrong...
It's ok having backup exec but what are you backing up to? Have you got any backup procedure in place currently for your data?
Dell or HP doesnt make a difference at the end of the day, both will do a good job, its down to people personal preference i always find. We had Dell and now have HP and havent had issues with either company. It's down to value for money.
When i mentioned a NAS at £1500 thats maybe overkill, you might bring it in for £1200'ish (NETGEAR ReadyNAS 2100 2TB Advanced Rackmount NAS (4 x 500GB) (RNRX4450-100EUS) - www.misco.co.uk) a quick look on misco shows something like this for example.
edit; apologies if by mentioning a NAS i am adding to the confusion, it wasnt my intention at all.
Last edited by RTFM; 19th January 2012 at 11:41 AM.
Come on @witch. Deep breaths... stop panicking. Time to PM those offering and ask for email addresses so you can send stuff to them.
If you spec a server with a decent chunk of RAM, a good hardware raid controller and some decent drives the rest is irrelevant.
The Westmere Tower Advanced (It can be your supplier of choice btw)
Add a decent RAID controller and Server 2008 R2 and that would suit you down to the ground.
With the money you have left get a HP Microserver and set that up as a NAS for backups and your sorted.
No company can as you have to login with the school details (password) to get the massive discounts.No one has quoted me for a Dell server - I did say HP as a passing comment but I would expect to be quoted for a Dell if they are that good and as cheap?
I would take a look at DELL, I just got a quote from them much cheaper than HP for a new server with 12 cores, 32GB RAM, 5x 2TB HD's and full ILO for less than £4k. Can put you in touch with an account manager if you like?
All LA's have a set of passwords for the Dell premier sites and should have set each school up already if not you can call Dell direct and set one up for your school. They have regional education managers that only deal with schools.
Right - thanks to everyone, particularly the ones who slogged through looking at the quotes for me. I *think* I have a better idea now of what I want. Installation still a bit of a sticking point -but I think I can see a glimmer of light.
RTFM (20th January 2012)
good to hear witchRight - thanks to everyone, particularly the ones who slogged through looking at the quotes for me. I *think* I have a better idea now of what I want. Installation still a bit of a sticking point -but I think I can see a glimmer of light.
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