[K12OSN] Server grade vs Desktop grade hardware

"Terrell Prudé Jr." microman at cmosnetworks.com
Sun Nov 18 23:31:01 UTC 2007


Timothy Legge wrote:
> On Nov 18, 2007 3:06 PM, Robert Arkiletian <robark at gmail.com> wrote:
>   
>> I wonder about reliability though. How would it compare to my current system?
>>
>> dual Xeon 2.8Ghz 512K cache/cpu (533Mhz FSB) slow and hot Netburst arch
>> Top of the line E7505 Intel Server MB (with Adaptec SCSI controller)
>> 4GB Registered ECC PC-2100 (266Mhz)
>> 2 x 36GB 10K rpm SCSI (raid 1)
>>     
>
> Power supplies are one area where some desktops fall down when in a
> server role.  I have lost a couple over the years.  Ram is a lot
> cheaper for desktops and typically faster (no ECC etc.).   I believe
> SCSI still beats SATA in performance/reliability but I am not sure.
>   

Power supplies indeed can be an issue.  For that reason, I stick to
top-quality units.  My favorite type at the moment is Antec's TruePower
series.  They deliver the current as advertised (and then some), they
don't go down on me, and they're readily available at my local Micro Center.

SCSI will always beat SATA in performance.  However, SATA RAID is fast
enough now that the cost/performance ratio makes SATA arrays very
compelling.  They're also hot-swappable, just like SCSI.  Furthermore,
many SATA RAID controllers also take SAS (Serial-Attached SCSI) hard
disks, and yes, you can mix them in the array if you need to.  That
means that upgrading to SAS from SATA, should you need to, becomes
relatively painless.

--TP
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