New server advice please

[Jobos]

I'm starting to plan a new server for next year so went on the Dell website and got into a muddle trying to find the most cost effective solution.

 

The current server is running server 2012r2 with 8 VMs and is fast approaching 5 years of age when the warranty expires. So far I have replaced 4 of it's drives under warranty and find Dell support very good.

 

Dell PowerEdge T620

2 X Intel® Xeon® CPU E5-2620 0 @ 2.00GHz

32 GB memory

NetXtreme BCM5719 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe

PERC H710 Adapter

2 X SAS 300GB 6Gbps 15K RAID 1 for OS

5 X SAS 600GB 6Gbps 15K RAID 5 for data

5 year Dell ProSupport for IT and Next Business Day On-Site Service

 

I’m finding storage space fine but having problems with lack of memory so new server will need 64 GB. Licencing is going to be an issue as the school doesn't have any EES agreement so will have to watch the core count on the CPU.

 

Maybe the current server is overkill, I don't know as this is a primary school 300 NOR with 60 desktops.

[3s-gtech]

Could you just upgrade the RAM and save a ton of cash?

[Jobos]

Could you just upgrade the RAM and save a ton of cash?

 

Maybe but I wouldn't want to be without the backup of a warranty and I'm not sure if Dell would offer one on a 5 year old server but it's an option.

[Norphy]

You might get a couple of extra years but Dell would probably charge as much for the warranty extension as they would for a new server.

[jmak]

Maybe but I wouldn't want to be without the backup of a warranty and I'm not sure if Dell would offer one on a 5 year old server but it's an option.

We upgraded our warranty from 5 to 7 years with Dell. Same terms as the original and wasn't expensive. There are third parties who will do up to 14 years [emoji33] but that scares me a bit.

[3s-gtech]

Understandable. Might still be worth doing the upgrade and keeping that (still capable) server anyway for redundancy/testing/mining/illicit gaming. I'd just be looking at the closest equivalent to that currently available, perhaps taking advantage of enterprise SSDs and a bit more RAM.

[ITGURU]

The server still looks of good spec - just renew the warranty if you can.

I'm still running 12 x HP servers with a mix of ML350 G5's and G6's - came with their 3 year warranty, never renewed so out of warranty - only had the odd HDD failure.

HP servers are rock solid. It's all I've ever had.

[sparkeh]

I would probably look at extending the warranty and upping the RAM.

Take a look at 3rd party warranties as well to save some cash. We moved our old server over to 3rd party warranty when the manufacturer got too expensive.

[Mistert89]

Look at contingency of buying second user with high spec RAM. We use Rock Hall Ltd. they have an eBay site, but will also deal direct, proper vat receipts etc (that our finance rules demand)

[AceDaz]

Try ServerSource - Server Source - Europe's Leading provider of Refurbished Dell PowerEdge and PowerVault servers

 

I have just ordered my last server from there and it came with proper Dell warranty, you can sometimes get a free identical server too

[Joanne]

I'm in a primary and am in a similar position to you. Our server warranty runs out in March. It is working fine, but currently on 2008 R2, so I want to upgrade.

 

I've been getting prices for the power edge T440, bronze processor x2, 64GB RAM and the storage I want. Save pennies on processor (originally I was getting quotes for silver) and also save on the warranty (I've gone with 5 year basic, which is perfectly fine for my needs).

 

This server will easy run what I need it to (3 or 4 VMs).

 

ps/ I got an extended warranty quote and I came out at £220 I think for an additional year from MendIT.

Edited November 17, 2017 by Joanne

[mikkydoos]

I agree. Keep it for a few years. More RAM and buy a couple of spare discs.