On Dec 28, 2011, at 9:30 PM, V G wrote:

> Update: I'm probably going to go for a prebuilt server

That seems like an uncommonly sensible idea.  With a maintenance contract, =
perhaps.
Is there a nearby department who already has a similar system?  What would =
"central facilities" want you to have, if they had to take over maintaining=
 it?

As far as I've been able to tell, a "server" is usually a pretty standard P=
C with better disks and lesser graphics card, compared to a desktop.

You didn't mention the budget, which is usually a significant factor.  Home=
built budget systems are for departments with no cash and a steady throughp=
ut of computer-savy students or longtime employees to maintain things.  Giv=
ing up "system management" to a separate team is usually a significant and =
traumatic event in the life of a small company.

Or the type of files being served.  8TB (even losing 30% to raid) is an awf=
ul lot of storage unless you're serving up video.

RAID is reported to frequently be more trouble than it's worth.  For a read=
-mostly server, a second full backup system synced across the net may be mo=
re useful.

Document everything.  (or not!  do you want to work there the rest of your =
life?  University environments are temptingly pleasant places to work... :-=
)

BillW


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