[Tfug] Inexpensive 1U Server Suggestions

[Adrian]

On Thursday 02 February 2006 10:52, John Morrow wrote:
> Hey All,
> 
> I'm working on a personal web project that requires a 1U rack mount server.
> I've got a budget of about $750. I want to run Debian (unstable) with the
> usual open source Internet suspects (Apache, Postfix, Squirrelmail, etc...).
> I don't envision a whole lot of use as it's for a family web project. I've
> been looking to build it myself but would buy an off-the-shelf solution if
> it met my needs. Can anyone recommend a case/motherboard/cpu combo that work
> together well? I only need room for 2 3.5inch hard drives - no cdrom.
> 
> Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
> 
> John Morrow
> 

Well, I know everyone here seems to hate them for some reason... But I have 
always found Dell servers (no... not the "SC" rebranded desktops) to be very 
reliable and unbeatable in price, either by other integrators or home-built 
solutions. Dell does do custom motherboard size, power supplies, and case 
layouts, but everything else (add-in cards, CPU, memory) is off the shelf and 
easy to obtain. Likewise, replacement MBs/etc. are easy to get cheap off Ebay 
and other online retailers, even brand new. Ordering a cheap server from Dell 
and then bumping up the memory and adding some extra drives always seems to 
beat anything else in my book.

Several months ago Dell had some really cheap 1Us, but they've gone back up a 
little bit. You can get a PowerEdge 880 with 2.5GHz Celery, 512MB RAM, and an 
80G harddrive for $780 currently. Another $75 bucks to bump it to a real 
2.8GHz P4.

Likewise, you can pick a Poweredge 650/750 with a 2+GHz P4 and a couple ATA 
drives, or a PowerEdge 1550/1650 with dual 1+GHz P3 and a couple SCSI drives 
for $500-600 off Ebay.

Adrian