Server setup questions

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Hi All

Dunno if this is the appropriate forum for this and i apologise in advance if its not.

At college we have been given a mock project to setup a small network with a server(s) with 12 clients. The company is hosting its own website in house.

My questions are?

Which would be the best server setup scenario?
A. 2 identical servers with RAID 5 and backup facility with 1 acting as a failover


B. If both are identical and one is acting as a failover, can it do other functions in the meantime instead of just sitting there


C. 1 quite well speced server and 1 less speced server doing the hosting


D. If option C above can the less speced server take over networking functions like DHCP, DNS etc if the main server fails, and can the less speced server backup to the main one.

Confusing i know but any help would be appreciated

 

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Not confusing at all... but shouldn't you know the answers to these questions from what you've learned in the course?

 

We have only just started server 2003 in a stand alone (typical first server) environment and there seems a few options here.

 

Whats your reason for this?

 

OK. Sounds good but the company is hosting its own website selling IT products to the public. So am i right in saying that if the server goes down, and we only have one, then they lose the website and the local network therefore becoming totally non productive.

We really dont wanna lose that website or the lan. Hence my enquiries on a 2nd server setup.

Keep it coming guys

 

It depends how much redundancy they want, if there were a hardware failure other than a drive then the entire network would be down.

Depending how important the networks and it's functions are to the business will clearly decide this. I wouldn't want all my employees twiddling their fingers for possibly a day or more and I wouldn't want my website to be offline either

I'd go for the two identical, they both have to be capable of running all services should the need arise to failover

With 12 clients and a webserver they don't need to be too high spec either to break the bank

 

For the project we have to assume that the website is popular and that the appropriate WAN connection is already in place. These items we can ignore as they are not required for the project. We can just start with the servers. And outsourcing the webhosting is not an option.

As for email it states that all staff should have internal/external email access

 

That the only option? We dont wanna get too complicated here.

 

So 1 high speced server with most if not all points of failure covered.

 

OK

Here is my proposed spec. Let me know what you think and thanks for your help on this. Its much appreciated.

PowerEdge SC1430
2 X Dual Core Intel® Xeon® 5110, 4MB Cache, 1.60GHz, 1066MHZ FSB
4GB FB 533MHz Memory (4x1GB dual rank DIMMs)
PERC 5/i Integrated RAID Controller Card
C7 Add-in SATA/SAS HW Raid 5, using the PERC5i controller, 3 Hard Drives
4 X 250GB, SATA, 3.5-inch, 7.200 rpm Hard Drive
PV100T 36/72GB Dat72 Int TBU with 39320A Controller and cable
5 x DAT72 TBU Media Cartridges, Dell-branded
56K Internal Modem, Conexant, Unleaded
Broadcom NetXtreme 5721 Single Port Gigabit Ethernet Teaming NIC, Cu, PCIe x1
APC Smart-UPS 750i, 480 Watt, Tower Mount
Microsoft Windows Small Business Server R2 2003, Standard Edition with 5 Client Licenses - English
European - Microsoft Small Business Server 2003, Additional 20 CALs

£3757 EX VAT

Budget is £10k with still 12 PCs and 5 printers plus any network kit still to get

 

I guess it all depends on whether this is a business critical server which I would guess it was and in which case I'd always personally prefer the option to failover

 

Why do I need another server? I thought creating one with full fault tolerance would be enough. I have found another, cheaper, better server with 2 of everything including a redundant PSU for £3525. Say another £500 for my 5 printers leaves me £6000 for my 12 PCs, a switch(s) any any cabling.

What do you think?

 

New server spec:

Dual Intel 5030 (DC2.67GHz) 667MHz 2x2MB Cache Xeon Processor (Active)
Intel S5000VSASATA Dual Xeon Server Mainboard with integrated LAN
Integrated On-Board 16MB ATI Video Controller
4GB FBD 667MHz ECC Memory
Pedestal Pilot Point IV Chassis with Redundant 1+1 650W PSU
Fixed 5.25" Bay 1 - Black DVD-ROM Drive
Sony AIT-E Turbo (20/50GB) ATAPI Tape Drive
Host RAID 5 enabling key for Intel S5000VSA platforms
Additional 6 HDD SATA Hot Swap Container
No Floppy Drive Included
Hard Drive Bay 1 - 160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive
Hard Drive Bay 2 - 160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive
Hard Drive Bay 3 - 160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive
Hard Drive Bay 4 - 160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive
Hard Drive Bay 5 - No Hard Disk
Hard Drive Bay 6 - No Hard Disk
Integrated 2x Intel PRO/1000 Server Adapter
Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 Premium Edition inc 5 CAL's
Microsoft Small Business Server Operating System Installed
US Robotics 56k V.92 USB Fax Modem
Microsoft Black Keyboard (PS/2)
Microsoft Black Optical Mouse (USB)
3 Years On Site Maintenance Warranty with Next Business Day Callout

With SBS Server 2003 Premium Edition (Exchange, ISA and SQL included I think) with additional 20 CALs

 

I bet your server doesn't have 2 mainboards?

How important is it that this box is up and running 24/7

Would the company be carrying out servicing and carrying onsite spares such as a mobo or are you going to include a 4hour response service 24/7

I guess you can go to extremes with ensuring redundancy, business continuity and disaster recovery precautions.