Servers! These wonderful machines have the capabilities to suit the needs of anyone and potentially anything, ranging from proxy servers, web servers, database servers, mail servers, and so on. Depending on what you intend to use it for, the most important factor is what you put in it.
Server CPU
Like any system, for it to function the way you want it to, you need to make sure that the specifications match its intended use, for instance; CPU or also known as "central processing unit" clues in the name! This is the primary component of a system so making sure that we choose one that is powerful enough is important otherwise the server won't perform as well as we would like it to. However, the CPU alone cannot perform without the other key components within a server. Servers are also made up of the following parts: motherboard, memory, hard drives, network connection, raid card, and power supply. Unlike most desktops (other than the more high-end units) servers are a little bit pernickety about what goes into them.
Server RAM
Most servers only take error-correcting ram (ECC) which is simple enough but annoyingly some units require it to be either registered or unregistered. Most hard drives are compatible, but the downside is making them physically fit, this is just dependent on what server you have, same goes with raid cards, network cards, and power supplies.
RAID Controllers
Having the right memory is one thing but having the right raid card is another. This is where things start to get specific. Raid (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) is essentially storing and backing up information across multiple low-cost drives. This is done by setting up a "RAID". There are different types but what one you decide to choose falls on what kind of server you are configuring.
For instance, there are five commonly used raid types: Raid 0, 1, 5, 6, and 10. Each one has its own process – Striping, Mirroring, and Parity, some may have more than one. There are a few things to take into consideration when you are choosing which raid type; what kind of server is it and how many hard drives it has. Lets say you're configuring a web server, typically Raid 5 is the most used type due to its high performance and reliability but to configure this, your server would need to have at least three HDDs or say you want to set up a gaming server, then Raid 0 or 1 would be the most suitable because of its low cost with only needing two HDDs. A lot to think about!
Servers sound scary and intimidating but, they're no different from a normal desktop, just a bit louder and bigger!
EuroPC
At EuroPC, we specialise in Refurbished Dell PowerEdge Servers, both rack, and towers. We take out the stress and time of having to check which parts are compatible, we also build them too! On our website, we have a handy online server configuration tool that you can use to build your own PowerEdge server. This way you can add whatever memory, hard drive, raid card, and power supply that suits the server, and of course you!
Still unsure? Don't worry, our team is suited to answer any queries you have such as memory/ram configurations, raid configurations, or just any general questions or concerns that you may have. Please feel free to contact us via email, telephone, or web chat.
