Choosing a Server for Colocation
I'm in the process of setting up and testing a 1U server that will become my corporate application/web server. This 1U server will soon be shipped to a colocation facility next week, after I finish stress testing.
After I made the decision that colocation would be best for my business, I sat down and started to research the requirements for a web server. I quickly found that there is a vast range of choices for 1U servers, with extreme differences in pricing. 1U servers (with desktop motherboards) can be purchased for as little as $395 new. Used 1U servers can be had for a song on eBay, where you can simply swap the drives and away you go. Additionally, on the more expensive side, Dell, HP, Sun, and IBM each have a mix of 1U servers at various price points and configurations.
Only Sun has a program (that I could find) which targeted startups (See Adam Kalsey's Sun Startup Essentials Pricing). The program is called Sun Startup Essentials, which offers startup companies discounts, training, and support. Those I found who joined had nothing but glowing things to say about Sun, especially in the storage area.
I wanted maximum uptime, and stability, and was willing to pay a reasonable premium for it. Because the server will be located in another city, it would take me a full day to get to the server if there was a problem. More than likely, because of the airline schedules, it would be minimum of 2 days (but given the recent changes in the airline industry there is no guarantee that I would get there in a timely manner).
Hardware Requirements
Below are the "must haves" that I chose when picking out which server to purchase.
- Intel dual core or quad core CPU. The easiest way to be able to compare servers between vendors is to lock in on a single CPU -- dual or quad. Ultimately, I chose the quad Xeon. That made comparing price/features a little easier, otherwise I got into paralysis through analysis mode. Note: While I have been more than happy with AMD products in the past, I've simply lost touch of the power/performance of their products (and I've heard some very disparaging things about their newest multi-core product), so I decided to go Intel only this time around.
- Hot plug disk drives. Should a drive go bad, I want to simply be able to mail the colocation facility a new disk drive and have them swap the drives without powering the system down (or cracking open the case).
- Hardware RAID-1. I decided I wanted two drives, in a RAID-1 set. More importantly, I wanted the ability to pull a drive, replace it, and see the hardware rebuild the array without powering down the server -- without any effect on the system. That is, to state it another way: I can pull out one of the drives and the system will keep functioning without any issues. When I place a new drive in the system, it should automatically rebuild the raid array.
- Automatic power on. The server must boot automatically when power is on. Should the power go of at a colocation facility, the server must automatically boot when power is restored, without having requiring someone to press the "power" button.
- Remote control/virtual presence. I want to have complete control as if I was in front of servers in the colocation facility or remote site. IBM, DELL, and HP sell hardware that redirect the mouse, keyboard, and video over the network so you can control the box from power up, change BIOS settings, etc.,. This is a worse case scenario to rebuild a system.
Ship it!
After looking at the various vendors and applying back-of-the-napkin calculations to the various servers, Apple and Sun were the most expensive. I also looked for a 1u server on eBay, but in most cases, the servers are way overpriced or simply to old (and too expensive).
In the end, I chose the HP DL 320 G5/Quad Core Xeon with a Smart Array E200, 2GB RAM, 2 x 160 hot plug drives. After shipping the system clocked in at $1700. This was way more than I wanted to spend, yet much less that I could have spent. Spending the cash now will keep me from having to spend time and money later.
Quite frankly, this is more machine than I could probably use in the near future. I rationalized the system would be "good enough" for 10 years, and would easily handle 1,000 concurrent users. I figure if I max out this system, then it would be a good problem to have.
Labels: Business, Consulting, Startup, Web development
