Need reccomendations on a 40-50 user server

[Strigol]

Our IT guy retired this year, and we're looking to upgrade our work server

I've been looking around at some of the pre-built stuff, and I have a guy that could custom build one

The problem is neither of us know just what we'd need. We could put one together or order one but I dont want to waste money on something that we don't need


We're looking at 40-50 users daily on a file share / application type server

We'd need atleast 1TB storage, preferably a bit more

Would also like to keep it around 4,000



If anyone has any suggestions we'd appriciate the imput

 

[calinkula]

How old is the old server? Any idea on the specs?

If it has 2 single core CPUs and 4 GB of RAM, pretty much any modern server will blow the old one away.

It's given your looking at a RAID setup for fast access to a 1 TB of data. Will you need 2 TB or more storage within 3 years?

I would start with determining the amount of storage you'll need in the near future and then fill out the rest of the budget with RAM then CPU.

 

[Strigol]

Current server is going on 8 year old now, single core, single cpu with 4 gigs of ram

the problem we have isn't that we dont know to upgrade, but how much to upgrade to

1TB would be the minimum needed as we're currently at around 500GB (Dont know the exact number) 2 TB's would be to future proof the thing for the next 5-10 years

I was looking at the HP DL360 G6

2x Quad Core Xenon X5550 2.66
8x GB of ram
1-2 TB of HD space in raid array



The main question I have, is weather or not that would be too much/little for a 40-50 users running 24/7/365

 

[keytthom]

for 40 - 50 users it is not going to need to be particularly powerful.

i dont have a lot of experience with servers, but the main server for all students at my school has only a dual core pentium d, and 4gb RAM, we never have any problems really, but thats not to say it couldnt be better.

that hp should be ok, but it is better to seek professional help, it would easily be powerful enough, and you can easily add new drives should they be needed.

 

[mrossco]

What kind of applications? Pre-built may be the way to go only because of support. You can do fairly well with an entry-level server which is often not much more than a desktop-grade PC with better storage options for a multi-user environment.

 

[calinkula]

Coming from a single core CPU I think you could easily run everything you need with one quad core. Not only will you get a speed boost with getting modern CPU architecture but you'll still have 3 more cores than you currently have. No need to spend more on a dual CPU server.

I would say if you don't want to think about getting a new server for a long while get 16GB of RAM and 2TB of hard disk space.

Go with 8GB of RAM and 1TB of disk space if you want though. You may have to reevaluate the server sooner though. Not sure on the specifics of the files/applications you are using, but things are bulkier than they once were.

 

[enzo matrix]

You could also consider a magny-cours 12 core system. 12 cores with a motherboard and 12GB of memory comes to about $1200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819105266
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131643
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220408

As the "desktop server" alternative comes to about $800 providing 6 more powerful cores and 8GB of memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103849
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131649
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226095

The advantage of the server option is that you can add a second CPU (for 24 CPU cores) and a lot more ram as you need it down the road. The longevity with upgrades might be worth it.

I of course didn't include things like a case, power supply and your hard drives.

You could also build an even cheaper desktop server that would still blow away your old server.

 

[Strigol]

Thanks for all the replies. We have a good starting point to get this thing running now