Servers are no more than big fancy computers with extra capabilities. By capabilities we mean, you can add multiple hard drives, oodles of RAM, network ports galore, redundant power supplies and something that is more attune to an action packed movie, RAID drives. This however is not the topic of discussion today, but instead we are here to discuss the differences between RACK and TOWER servers.
The reality is if you are looking for a server, you perhaps already know about this information, but everyone starts somewhere, so we've put together a short guide below to give you the basics.
Tower Servers
Lets start by talking about the physical differences. A Tower, is very much the same as a computer desktop tower. It can sit on the floor, or on a desk, or anywhere that is suitable. Like a computer desktop it can lie on its side too. The case will generally be constructed of steel or aluminium with a plastic fascia. Ultimately it's a standalone item with the structure to allow it to be placed anywhere you need it.
Rack Servers
This is where it starts to get interesting. A RACK form factor means that the computer layout has been designed in such a way that all the components are spread out over a flatter surface. The aim is that the computer can "slot" into a rack. So unlike a TOWER, Rack servers indicate more the structure that holds them rather than the physical characteristics of it's self. Racks can often be described in Units, 1U, 2U, 4U e.t.c. This simply defines how many of the slots on the rack it takes up.
What to choose?
So when deciding what type of server you require, it will very much be decided by what physical structure you already have in place. If your company has it's own server room, or even an existing server cabinet, it would make sense for more than one reason that you continue to utilise that space and buy a Rack Server.
If however you are a small to medium sized business that isn't quite big enough to have dedicated server storage facilities, then a Tower would be right for you, giving you the benefits of a server, but without the additional expense of a Rack.
But wait there's more...
There is one caveat with a Tower vs a Rack server that is worth bearing in mind, which will ultimately be determined by the resource you require. Tower Servers, despite their physical size, often cannot take the same number of components a Rack server can take. This is most noticable with regards to memory. Quite often a tower server will only support a maximum of 64Gb RAM, whereas a rack server will support 4 times that, and more. The same can apply to number of CPUs as well which we can discuss further in a future blog post.
In the meantime, if you need further help discussing your server requirements, please reach out and speak to one of our server experts. Either by LiveChat, email or telephone, we're always happy to help.
