My suggestion is that if you really have a number of machines with wasted resources, you should be looking into more virtualization. So say you have 10 boxes that are only being utilized at 10% CPU (i.e. file servers, web servers, etc....). Start building a small farm and P2V those under utilized machines into VM's. Then take that hardware you just freed up, and add it to the farm. Then just keep adding VM's to the farm until you see that you need more hardware.
YMMV Chris Bodnar, MCSE, MCITP Technical Support III Distributed Systems Service Delivery - Intel Services Guardian Life Insurance Company of America Email: [email protected] Phone: 610-807-6459 Fax: 610-807-6003 From: "Jim McAtee" <[email protected]> To: "NT System Admin Issues" <[email protected]> Date: 11/03/2011 03:39 PM Subject: Re: How much processing power do you need? (WAS: So, my Mac Mini server arrived today...) I've run Win2k3 Server on a dual-core Atom. Mostly just file serving. Runs fine. SuperMicro makes some server class Atom systems, so it's not a crazy idea. Just depends on what you need to do, how much you want to spend, and how much headroom you want for future needs. There are limitations, though. First, you're sacrificing a lot in clock speed over most desktop or server class processorts. You're limited to 4GB of RAM, with no support for ECC. Unless it's a purpose-build server motherboard, you're limited to two SATA devices. Virtually all motherboards, including those from SuperMicro, are mini-ITX form factor, so you generally have just one PCI-E slot. Small size and low power usage are usually the biggest reasons to use an Atom (or AMD Fusion) solution as a server. Makes a nice little application server (such as a music server) for the home that can be tucked away almost anywhere. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Matthew W. Ross" <[email protected]> To: "NT System Admin Issues" <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2011 12:46 PM Subject: How much processing power do you need? (WAS: So, my Mac Mini server arrived today...) So, since this has come up, I'm curious on how much processing power is actually needed for most services? I have some Quad-Core Xeons which are absolutely underutilized. They are doing their jobs (usually serving user home folders and standard Active Directory duties) with plenty of horsepower to spare. So it makes me wonder: Has anybody tried Windows Server on an Atom? Take all the other bottlenecks out of the equation: Plenty of RAM, fast HD or SSD... does the 1.8 dual core Atom (or the Socket 1155 Celeron) handle most tasks just as well as a Dual 6Core Xeon? Aka, could I be getting away with less expensive hardware to do the same duties? I realize if I'm encoding or rendering, the hefty Xeon is a much better bet. Or if I'm trying to run VMs, the Atom's not even an option. ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin ----------------------------------------- This message, and any attachments to it, may contain information that is privileged, confidential, and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use, dissemination, distribution, copying, or communication of this message is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail and delete the message and any attachments. Thank you. ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin
