Spec for new curriculum server

[chiller]

I am a teacher and part-time ICT manager in a 450 pupil primary school. We currently have a 5year old 76 GIG RAID server + 450 GIG external hard drive (total used 120 gig). I need to get quotes for a new curriculum server but unsure of what to go for.

 

We have about 200 computers, good AD & group policy setup, most children have own logon and folders, so would only be looking to migrate data + AD etc - I just need more data storage space (including for video files) and faster logons.

 

I only have about £6,000 to spend. I would appreciate any advice on what to go for.

[K.C.Leblanc]

£6k should be more them enough (you could probably get two servers for that). However if performance is a big issue you should no just be looking at your server but also your switches (particularly if they're the same age as your server). I take it you're also going to need some sort of backup solution.

 

What OS are you planning to run and will it be 32 or 64bit?

[FN-GM]

£6,000 will be more than enough.

 

You will probably want Raid on your server. If a hard drive breaks you wont loose any data that way. I would personally go with Dell and buy the 4 hour warranty. If your server develops a problem someone will be on site within 4 hours to fix the problem.

 

Another point i would keep you old server and also put AD on it so you have 2 AD servers incase something happens to the other.

 

Something like the attached spec will be a starting point.

 

32 or 64 bit isnt an issue 99.99% of new servers can use both. You want to decide what OS version such as Windows Server 2003 or 2008

 

Simon at CPLTD will sort you out with a price.

Find a Laptop Desktop Server Printer Software Service or Monitor at Dell..pdf

[Butuz]

For your £6k you should be getting the following:

Dual CPUs each with Quad cores.

8-16GB RAM

5 x 300GB (or 10 x 147GB) 15,000rpm SAS drives in Raid5 with hot spare.

3 Year Warranty at the least, preferably 5 year.

 

That should keep you going for a while, and significantly improve speed too!

 

Butuz

[Ric_]

If the existing server is not too old (i.e. no more than 3 years max) and you can extend the warranty on it, you may find the Sun 7110 Unified Storage Solution will suit your needs. This way you can leave your current server intact (moving the user data across) and simplifying the solution. This should come in under budget and is easy to manage. PM 'Linescanner' (Cutter Project's Andy Trevor) for more details.

[budgester]

At the moment I am buying HP DL380 Servers, the build quality is excellent, and they just recently won best in class in PC Pro magazine