I know I mention linux here but its not internet facing so I hope it=20 meets your requirements its also something of a mind dump. Any single computer system will fail in the case of that computer=20 failing which is still depressingly common, thats below the SLA my=20 clients need. My current "mission critical" system base is a pair of dell R210 IIs http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=3Dbect122d&c=3Dus&l= =3Den&s=3Dbsd&cs=3D04&model_id=3Dpoweredge-r210-2 looks like about $1200 gets you quad xeon xeon, 8gb ram and 2x 500gb=20 hdds (i'd look at getting the system without the hdd's, dell charge=20 obscene amounts for them). I run linux (ubuntu) as the virtual machine host using ganeti for the=20 hypervisor managment and KVM for the hypervisor itself. It takes care of mirroring the disks over the network with DRBD so even=20 a physical machine dying isn't a big deal. live migrating all the virtual machines from one host to another is a 1=20 liner if i want to say upgrade the ram/os/whatever on one of the hosts. similar case when recovering from a dead machine. (there is also a web interface to ganeti, but i havent used it much) I don't raid the disks inside the machines i get better seek times this=20 way (i have 2x disk io intensive VM's and i run one on each disk, but i=20 run them on different hosts), policy is to replace the disks yearly as a=20 preventative measure. live migration is nice, I have a pbx running in a VM, i've moved the PBX=20 to the other server whilst it was running about 4 calls through it and=20 nobody noticed. hardware raid is bad in my eyes, if stuff goes pearshaped you are=20 dependant on getting that same raid controller in order to get your data=20 back. This setup is nice, I have all the features you get with a high price=20 VMware setup with an expensive SAN for ~$2000 in hardware, they also=20 come with a BMC that lets you get a serial console over lan to them. For you I'd stick your iis into one VM and run sqlserver in another,=20 give each of them 3.5Gb ram (or whatever seems good) and have them=20 running by default on different physical hosts. In case of dell being dell live migrate if you can to the working=20 machine, if not then fail the first machine and boot everything again on=20 the second. Get the first machine fixed then migrate stuff back onto it, business=20 interruption can be 0 in a good case, and a bad case is as long as it=20 takes you to diagnose a machine is dead and then get it started on the=20 other one. I like also that its not like having a "spare" machine, in that most of=20 the time its hardware is wasted, this way your getting the performance=20 of 2 machines when both are working, and then you just get degraded when=20 one breaks. If hdd failures are your issue, then set up raid1 under it, all your=20 data is then on 4 hdd's spread over 2 computers it should be safe from=20 most physical failures ;-> A general observation, most of your page serving time is going to be=20 seek time for your drives, have you looked at SSDs? They are soooo much faster for most stuff, get the intel ones though for=20 line of business and make sure to backup. On 18/02/2012 8:52 AM, James Newton wrote: > The server is dying, long live the server! > > SUMMARY: I'm looking for review, and advice from those with M$ server > experience, and am willing to pay a fair amount (e.g. $100) for qualified > professionals who are willing to spend a few minutes looking this over an= d > offering suggestions. This is (another) big investment, and we just can't > afford to screw it up. > > BACKGROUND/SERVER RAID FAIL: So we appear to have a busted server due to = a > "punctured stripe" issue on our raid array. Nate said this is Dell for "w= e > sold you a cheap-assed RAID controller with awful firmware" and I'm incli= ned > to agree. Google "RAID punctured stripe" if you care to know more. If you > know how to fix that without downing the server and reformatting / > reinstalling, we would pay good money for a solution. > > SERVER REPLACEMENT: According to Dell, fixing it would mean downing the > server for many days (at the speed I could rebuild it) so we have no choi= ce > but to purchase a new server. Obviously, it ain't gonna be Dell! We've ha= d > good luck with ASUS, HP, and IBM machines in the past, so those are my > current preferences, but I'm open to other suggestions. I hear HP overhea= ts, > and IBM is way over priced. We love our ASUS laptops and workstations. No > problems. > > M$ ONLY: The machine must run SBS 2k8 pro with Exchange 7 and IIS 7 as th= at > is what we have licensed and what I know. Just to be clear: NO! *nix is N= OT > an option. Period. Thank you, but no. > > Here is the current setup I'm looking at: > > ASUS TS500-E6/PS4 Pedestal Server Barebone > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=3DN82E16816110045 > > 2x Intel Xeon E5520 2.26GHz LGA 1366 80W Quad-Core Server Processor > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=3DN82E16819117185 > > Patriot Signature 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM Server Memory Model > PS312G13ER3K-E > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=3DN82E16820220423 > > 2x Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 3.5" SATA 6.0Gb/s Internal Hard Dri= ve > -Bare Drive > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=3DN82E16822136929 > > Total price just over $2200. ...which is pretty good... but still painful= .. > ,o) > > Concerns: > > -- RAID: Concern has been expressed about the RAID system. The SATA > Controller is an IntelR ICH10R with 6 SATA2 300MB/s ports and IntelR Matr= ix > Storage support for software RAID 0, 1, 10& 5. I would be running RAID 1= .. > The current server with less processing power never exceeds 20% and avera= ges > under 10. Any advice? > > -- RAM: Concern has also been expressed about the memory. The server says= it > supports: > Total Slots: 6 (3-channel per CPU, 3 DIMM per CPU) > Capacity: Maximum up to 48GB (RDIMM); Maximum up to 24GB (UDIMM) > Memory Type: DDR3 1066/1333 Reg DIMM/ Unbuffered DIMM with ECC > Memory Size: 1GB 2GB 4GB 8GB (RDIMM); 1GB 2GB 4GB (UDIMM) > > The memory is: 240-Pin Dual in-line memory module 2 Rank Double-sided mod= ule > 7.8US Refresh Interval (8192 CYCLES/64MS) Auto and self refresh capabilit= y > Serial Presence-Detect (SPD) PCB height: 1181(mil) RoHS Compliant JEDEC > Compliant Compatible Server board: Asus Z8NA-D6C Tyan S7025AGM2NR Intel > S5520HC Tyan S7002G2NR-LE Intel S3420GPLC. > > Customers have reported success with several ASUS systems including the > TS500 and the RS700. If you can see a problem, please speak up. > > -- DRIVES: Concern has been expressed about the Western Digital drives. > Apparently they have a reputation for running hot? This model appears to = be > made to address those problems: "The 2.5-inch WD VelociRaptor is enclosed= in > a backplane-ready 3.5-inch enterprise-class mounting frame with a built-i= n > heat sink that keeps this powerful little drive extra cool when installed= in > high-performance desktop chassis." It's also the only drive I could find > with a 5 year warranty... But I'm very open to switching to a different > drive, but I want an ultra fast drive as the HD's are almost always the > major bottleneck in any system, and more so in a server. > > ACTION: Your input is valued and appreciated. Anyone with any comment wil= l > be welcomed. Please pass this on if you know someone who has experience w= ith > this stuff. If you are a server professional, or know one, who would like= to > get paid to advise us, please send a link to your online CV or Resume. > > > -- > James Newton > jamesnewton@piclist.com > 1-970-462-7764 > > --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .