BETT Server project. Your ideas please

[Dos_Box]

Ric and I are working on a little project for BETT. It is a 'server-room-in-a-box'. This is going to be a complete network setup containing, server, switch, firewall and Ruckus wireless, all mounted in a 19" wheeled rack (similar to those bands use). We have all of the components apart from the server. What we want you to do is suggest a 1u rackmount server chassis (short type), motherboard, processor RAM etc.

 

We plan to use the server to run virtual servers, terminal services and all the required network services for the stand. If anyone remebers the mess our stand usually looks like by the end of the week you will understand why we need something more compact and 'tidy' that we can pack away and take with us for future use.

[Soulfish]

I take it your looking for component parts rather than a prebuilt server chassis?

[jedmondson]

dont know if these will be any help Bristol Wireless News Blog Archive The Mk. II cabinet arrives might make the place look less untidy.

[Dos_Box]

I take it your looking for component parts rather than a prebuilt server chassis?

 

If there is a prebuilt 1U unit out there with a short length the feel free to recommend it.

It is going to be fitted into something like this:

 

http://www.flightcasewarehouse.co.uk/content/productpics/2870_0_z.jpg

[plexer]

X-Case RM 100 S Short 1u case

 

Ben

[Soulfish]

Final question hopefully How short is short?

[Cools]

How about this you can put them any where..

Silent Server Cabinet Experts - unbiased advice on a soundproof quiet rack cabinet from the UK's Independent Specialists

[plexer]

I think the sort of flight case Dos-Box allready posted a picture of is good enough and robust to be packed away in a car etc... you have to think of how it's going to be transported.

 

So they need a server to fit in one of those.

 

Ben

[Dos_Box]

This is a pretty good case. It also has 4 hot swap SATA bays

 

http://linitx.com/viewproduct.php?prodid=12276

[Dos_Box]

How about this you can put them any where..

Silent Server Cabinet Experts - unbiased advice on a soundproof quiet rack cabinet from the UK's Independent Specialists

 

In a car or on a train?

[john]

But uses a mini-itx board you don't really get any decent server features on them, but is that a comprimise thats worth taking?

 

Could you not do what I did a while ago, I've got a rucksack strap set for carrying towers, so I can carry a HP Proliant ML110 on my back and if you then use that rack case for the Smoothwall UTM, Ruckus Wifi, Switch, Fibre converters etc you will have a smart system.

[Soulfish]

As John says I think if you go really small you won't be able to get any server class (or even mid-high end desktop class) motherboards.

 

If you haven't got the flight case yet then perhaps something like this might work: Computer Server Rack Flightcase 10u

 

With that sort of case you could get something like the Sun x2100/x2200/x2250/x2270

 

The x2270 for instance is 1U, capable of taking 2 x Intel 55xx chips, has 12 ddr3-dimm slots for a max of 96gb RAM, can take 4 hot swap drives and is a sun server Best of all it's only 650mm deep.

 

Looking around the shallowest "server grade" hardware I could find is an Intel SR1630GP system. Intel Server Systems SR1630GP and SR1630HGP - Specifications

It's 508mm deep (20in) and according to WOC Pricelist - category: Server Cases is £359 for the chassis.

[Ric_]

We were thinking of mini-ITX with either dual core Atom or Core2Duo and a bunch of RAM.

 

This machine doesn't have to be amazingly powerful - it just has to run a couple of VMs for demonstration purposes.

[john]

My Atom runs VMs pants thats a 1.6 with 2GB ram and its not good really I'd got for the ML110 and the rack-strap system myself then you can get a quad core and 8gb ram and know it will do the business

[Ric_]

My Atom runs VMs pants thats a 1.6 with 2GB ram and its not good really I'd got for the ML110 and the rack-strap system myself then you can get a quad core and 8gb ram and know it will do the business

 

You have the rubbishy Atom though - the 330 is a dual core 1.6GHz and even has x86-64 extensions.

 

LinITX.com - Asustek AT3N7A-I ATOM 330 nVidia ION Dual Core Mainboard and LinITX.com - ZOTAC IONITX Intel Atom N330 Dual Core Mainboard are cheap as chips and could be loaded with 4GB RAM.

[Chris_Jones]

Possibly one of these boards LinITX.com - Intel DG41MJ Classic Series Mini-ITX Mainboard with either a Core 2 Duo, or even a high end Dual core Celeron would do the trick.

 

If you do go for an atom board, I wouldnt go for an ION based one - the Chipset wont add anything to the server and it costs more (unless of course you plan to re-purpose it after the show into a media PC )

[Lee_K_81]

You're thinking of paying for it? surely LinITX would lend a (fully branded) full system considering the flood of extra traffic they've just had and the fact it will be showcased to geeks with budgets at bett.

[marekbrad]

How about this one for a short case ... only 14.33" deep... used one for a dj pc that easily slotted into a 19" ABU rack case... http://www.acme-technology.co.uk/acm236.htm

1U version here http://www.acme-technology.co.uk/acm135.htm

incidentally always found Gator cases to be the best .. little more expensive but worth it... great build quality and tough as old boots... 2 or more stack very well together too

Edited October 1, 2009 by marekbrad

[steveg]

How about something like this Steatite Embedded - Previously ICP (Industrial Computer Products) - Compact industrial 1U rack-mount PC with Mobile Core 2 Duo 2.16GHz CPU

 

More pc than server, but should be up to the job? They've got a few other specs on there as well, all 230mm deep.

 

Steve

[Messa]

X-Case RM 100 S Short 1u case

 

Ben

 

Seconded.

 

Using one of these for some of our internal services with custom components.

[Dos_Box]

Well, the server case arrived today, and we have all of the bits we require. The server will be of the following spec:

 

2U Short rack mount case: X-Case RM 204 Short

Gigabyte micro ATX motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EQ45M-S2

Core 2 E8400 Processor

6GB DDRII 800 RAM

2 x Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB drives (to be mirrored)

SATA DVD Burner

 

Gator 8u rolling rack case - GATOR CASES

 

16 Port 10/100 low depth switch

Ruckus Zone Director 1000 (thanks Net-Ctrl)

SmoothWall UTM (thanks SmoothWall)

 

All in all, we have made a full portable network setup for less than £600 thanks to shopping around, reusing some old kit and donations form our friends in industry. I shall also in the future be adding a 1U rackmount atom powered workstation to the array, but for now this will save us a great deal of time and effort when we get to BETT.