Blade-server, mainframe, ou pas?

[Draxx]

I've been considering what I should get...should I get a blade server, mainframe, or just try to make my own custom computer?

[foxyloxley]

Depending entirely on your own expertise ..........

Build your own is the ONLY way to go .................

If it F**ks up, remember, it was YOU who built it

[Draxx]

Hmm...interesting. Would you know any resources on building a mainframe, and on building a blade server?

[foxyloxley]

Oh Jeez .......
Now you're asking ..............

I feel safe on building for myself, and maybe for clients [PC only]
servers take this to a different level, in that you are building to a 24/7 runtime.

also they require a higher standard of kit, again because of their constant use.

I could only suggest search the archives here at AO, or maybe someone better equipped to respond will drop in.

But, just to throw it into the mix ?

IBM certainly do a damn fine TV advert for their blade technology.

not an advert here, just a link :
http://www-1.ibm.com/servers/eserver...more_info.html

[SDK]

What do you need? I'll build you one. It depend what you need..

[Draxx]

Heh...an ambitious project is what I have! I want 4(yes, 4)Blade servers. I want them to store data and such(acting as a hyped up computer accessed through a router), but I want one to be used as a server for the internet. And then...would you like to make the blades(I might be able to do it)?

[SDK]

So basically, you want for 50,000$ of hardware to
1) Store Data?
2) WebServer?

How much data do you need to store? Raid 5? How much users will access your server from the Internet? What kind of website do you store? PHP/SQL?

If you want your hardware to fulfills the job at 100%, you need to tell us exactly the big line of your project in detail and what you except your server to be able to handle in data, processing, etc.

[Draxx]

Hmmm...I think I'll go with one blade server for holding data right now, since I can't afford otherwise :lol: How much space and how many servers do you think I could [potentially] have?

[Tim_axe]

Draxx - There are still a lot of questions that you need to answer before we can suggest good specifications for your uses. (I think SDK will use this information to make you a bid on building it for you -- of course you could build it yourself if you are comfortable and know how to go about doing this) A computer that may make a good Office PC would probably never be an awesome 3D gaming PC. To provide specifications/recomendations that are meaningful for you, we need at least:

* Use for the Computer ( Home PC / Gaming / Graphics-Video-3d Workstation / Headless Server / Etc)
* Storage Space Needed / Use ( General Home Use / Small Business Use / Video Editing-Processing / Gaming / Home Media Server (HTPC) )
* Type of Storage Needed / Use ( General Home Use / Small Business Use / Video Editing-Processing / Fast-Loading Gaming / Archiving Business Information )
* Special Notes ( Web Server / FTP Server / Operating System / Home Media Server (HTPC) / Portable / Redundancy / 64bit Processors / Anything you can think of )
* Expected Budget


Basically, tell us what you will use it for. The more we understand what you want it to do, the better we can tell you if it can be done:

Will this be the server that will hold DVD quality video for Home Theater PC Nodes? Will this hold critical business information on it? Will this beast be hard at work doing video processing, and is there a centralized location for that video (and do you need one built also?)? Do you want a gaming computer to run the latest games silky smooth (or will you play older games comfortably) or is this going to run PowerPoint/Excel/Word?

[nihil]

Hi Draxx,

Tim and Foxy are right, we would need a lot more information on functionality requirements.

Please do not think me rude, but what experience do you have of building hardware?

Seriously, forget about building a mainframe..............................415v triple phase?...........I would personally look at second user mid-range machines like the IBM AS/400.

Have you considered clustered servers?

It all depends on what you are wanting to do.................