Choosing the Right Server

an

Networking eBook

contents] [
Choosing the Right Server
Paul Rubens is an IT consultant based in Marlow, England, and has been writing about business technology for leading US and UK publications for almost 20 years.

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The Evolution of the Server Working Out Your Server Requirments The Availability Question

Choosing the Right Server, An Internet.com Networking eBook. 2009, Jupitermedia Corp.

Choosing the Right Server

The Evolution of the Server

By Paul Rubens

n the early days of corporate data processing, computers were large, expensive machines that were housed in their own dedicated computer rooms and operated by teams of white-coated technicians. Programs and data were stored on special cards, which were fed into the machine to be processed. Later on these machines could be operated from "dumb terminals": Teletype machines or keyboard-andscreen devices that allowed users to share the processing power of the mainframe computer.

But personal computers don't do all the work: they need help. That's why in most organizations they are now connected to computers called servers, which as the name suggests, provide services such as sending and receiving e-mail, and file storage. Servers are the unsung heroes of the corporate computing environment, working behind the scenes to help get the maximum benefit from the personal computers that people use every day.

What is a Server?
The term "server" is a confusing one, because it is used to mean two quite distinct things: A software application that provides a specific set of services to other computers A computer that provides services to other computers
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The computing landscape began to change radically in the early 1980s with the introduction of the personal computer the desktop device we are familiar with today. With a personal computer there was no longer a need to share processing power: users could install and run whatever programs they needed on the machine on their desk. Today, personal computers have become ubiquitous in the workplace, but they no longer work in isolation. In a typical office scenario these computers are connected to each by a local area network (LAN) that runs throughout the building.

For example, a server computer may run an e-mail server application and a Web server application. In this case, the server (computer) could be said to be running two servers (the e-mail and Web server applications). Just to confuse things further, a server computer running a single server application is often known by the name of the application, so a server computer running an e-mail server application will be

Servers are the unsung heroes of the corporate computing environment, working behind the scenes to help get the maximum benefit from the personal computers that people use every day.

Choosing the Right Server, An Internet.com Networking eBook. 2009, Jupitermedia Corp.

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called "the e-mail server."

Choosing the Right Server

For the purposes of this eBook, the term "server" will be used to refer to server hardware the physical computer that is acting as a server.

Why Are Servers Necessary?

If you just have a single personal computer in your organization, then you probably don't need a server. In fact, even if you have two or three computers working independently, you still may not need a server. But once you have two or more computers, it's common to connect them over a network. That's because networking allows computer users to share files and information easily. A document stored on one computer can be accessed and worked on from another, and duplication of work can be avoided. A network also allows one computer user to print out documents on a printer connected to different computer on the network. A network, in other words, can increase the productivity of the people using it, and allow people to share resources such as a printer. But there are downsides to this type of networking. Whenever one computer user accesses a document stored on another computer it causes that computer to slow down. If many users are trying to retrieve or store documents from the same computer they may find they have to wait an inconvenient amount of time. Anyone actually trying to carry out his or her own work on that computer is also likely to find it too slow to be practical. Far from increasing productivity then, a network can slow everything down, actually reducing productivity. At a certain point, it makes sense to relieve the burden of any individual user's machine by having a dedicated computer that is capable of providing file storage and print services or any other services that may be required to all the users in the organization quickly and reliably, so that productivity can go up, not down. This is a server.

the special requirements of a server mean this is usually not practical. In general, a server needs to have the following attributes: Speed. A server is expected to provide services to many client computers at once, and the purpose of having a server is defeated if doesn't have the power to provide these services quickly. To do this, servers are often equipped with microprocessors that are more powerful than normal desktop computer processors, and more random access memory (RAM). Large storage capacity. If a server is to act as a central storage repository, it needs plenty of disk space to accommodate everyone's needs. While a desktop computer will typically have just one disk drive, it's not uncommon for a server to have four or more. Reliability. When a server breaks down, many people in the organization may be unable to do their work, and the business as a whole may not be able to function. Servers are usually built using highquality components that tend to be more expensive than normal ones. They are also usually built to be fault tolerant many are supplied with an extra power supply that can take over if the primary one fails, for example and have "hot swappable" parts that can be removed and replaced without having to turn the server off. A technology called RAID is also usually employed to ensure that data is not lost even if a hard drive fails completely. Server operating system software is also designed for maximum stability to minimize the chances of crashing, and to minimize the need for rebooting the system. Security. This can include a lockable case for physical security, as well as a server operating system that has been hardened to minimize the chances of intrusion by malicious hackers. Additionally, it's usually desirable to have a long and comprehensive warranty and service agreement. Because of all of the above, it should be no surprise that servers generally cost more than desktop machines, and it's usually wise to stay away from lowcost servers from unknown vendors: the extra cost of buying a good quality server from a well-known manufacturer is likely to be insignificant compared to the cost to your organization if a server fails and prevents you from carrying out your business. I

Why is a Server Different from a Personal Computer?

In a small business with just a few users, it is possible to use a "spare" personal computer as a server, but 3

Choosing the Right Server, An Internet.com Networking eBook. 2009, Jupitermedia Corp.

Choosing the Right Server

Working Out Your Server Requirments

here are a number of requirements you need to explore before purchasing your server. They include: server role, form factor, operating system, processor, and storage. Before buying a server, it's vital to decide exactly what you want your server to do both now, and in the foreseeable future. Here are some typical roles that a server can fulfil:

Print Server
Significant savings can be made by allowing many users to share a printer connected to a print server instead of providing each user with his or her own printer. Typically, the roles of file server and print server are combined into a single file-and-print server.

File Server
A file and print server provides a place for users to store files, which may or may not be shared with other users. One advantage of using a file server rather than storing files on individual users' PCs is that it is much easier to back-up a single file server than it is to back up the files on many different personal computers. Backing up a server can easily be automated and scheduled for a convenient time (such as the middle of the night) while backing up individual computers can be complicated if they have been switched off or, in the case of laptops, disconnected from the network and removed. The data on a single file server is also much easier to protect against theft or intrusion than multiple machines throughout the organization.

E-Mail Server
In small organizations, e-mail is typically received and forward by a third party usually an Internet service provider (ISP). Medium and large organizations frequently run their own e-mail system often Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino, or Open-Xchange on a dedicated e-mail server.
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Other Roles

Web Server: making Web pages available over the Internet Intranet Server: publishing information for internal use within an organization Database Server: holding corporate information from one or more corporate applications Application Server: running applications that are

Before buying a server, it's vital to decide exactly what you want your server to do both now, and in the foreseeable future.

Choosing the Right Server, An Internet.com Networking eBook. 2009, Jupitermedia Corp.

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Form Factor Chooser
Single server required Total number of servers in organization Limited floor space

Choosing the Right Server

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Blade Not suitable 40+

Tower Suitable About 10 max

Rack Mounted Not suitable 10+

Not suitable for more than small number

Suitable

Suitable

accessed by users with special client software running on their personal computers, or simply via a Web browser such as Internet Explorer.

tain power supplies and efficient cooling systems to dissipate the heat that such a large concentration of computing resources can produce. The advantage of the rack-mounted server form factor is that large numbers of servers can be accommodated in a small area of floor space. Rack mounting can also significantly simply power and network cabling requirements. Blade Since the standard rack-mounted server form factor is 1U, this is, in theory, the smallest form factor a rackmounted server can have. In practice there are even smaller servers, called blades, which can be rack mounted. Blade servers are extremely thin, stripped down servers, which are fitted into a blade enclosure. A blade enclosure may have a 10U form factor but could contain 16 blades. The blade enclosure itself often contains components such as network adapters and power supplies that are shared by all the blades in the enclosure, allowing the blades to be made as small as possible.

Form Factor
Form factor is the term given to the overall size and shape of the server, which is determined by the case or housing into which all the components are fitted. These include: Tower If you are only intending to buy a very small number of servers, and are unlikely to need more, then a tower form factor is probably the best choice. A server with a tower form factor is a self-contained unit that looks much like a standard desktop PC -- although it is likely to be slightly taller, allowing it to accommodate as many as 10 disk drives. In fact, there are a variety of tower form factors, which in descending order of height include: Full tower, mid tower, mini tower, micro tower. Rack-Mounted Server Bigger organizations that require larger numbers of servers tend to choose a more compact and easy-tomanage rack mountable form factor. The standard rack-mounted form factor is 19 inches wide, and 1.75 inches deep, which is known as one unit, or simply 1U. Servers and other equipment are made with a depth or thickness of multiples of 1.75 inches, so a server may have a 1U, 2U, or even 6U form factor. Rack-mounted servers are housed in a standard server rack that is 42U high. A server rack can therefore house 42 1U servers, 21 2U servers, or combinations of rack-mountable devices with a combined height that does not exceed 42U. Server racks usually con5

Operating System
While desktop computers use an end-user operating system such as Microsoft Windows XP or Vista, or SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, servers run operating systems that are tailored to the special needs of servers. In general, a server operating system is designed for: Stability Reliability Security Ability to offer services to multiple client machines simultaneously

Choosing the Right Server, An Internet.com Networking eBook. 2009, Jupitermedia Corp.

Choosing the Right Server

Your choice of operating system may be largely determined by the use to which you intend to put the server. For example, if you intend to use the server as a mail server running Microsoft Exchange, you will need a Windows server operating system either Windows Server 2003 or Server 2008. Similarly, if you want to run the popular open-source Web server Apache, you will need to run a Linux operating system such as SUSE Linux Enterprise Server or Ubuntu Server Edition. For less specific applications, such as running your server as a file server, the choice of operating system is much wider. Even if the majority of desktop computers in your organization are running Windows operating systems, the file servers can run: Windows Server Any flavor of Linux server operating system, Mac OS X Server operating system (this can only run on Apple Macintosh hardware, and would normally only be run in an organization which uses Apple Macintosh desktop computers.) In very large organizations it may be preferable to run Unix operating systems such as Sun Microsystems's Solaris or HP's HP-UX.

In general, the main considerations that determine the choice of server operating system are: Skill sets of your staff. If no one in your organization is familiar with Linux then it is not a practical choice Total cost of ownership. Linux software is freely available while Windows software involves both server and client access license fees. However, license fees are only a component together with support -- of the total cost of ownership of a server operating system. Compatibility with any applications you wish the server to run.

Processors
Linux and Windows-based servers usually run on processors made by either Intel or AMD. It is possible to run a server using a standard Intel or AMD desktop processor, but in practice it is more common to use a more powerful processor specifically designed for use in a server. Intel Xeon Server Processors Intel offers three lines of Xeon processors: 3000 sequence Dual or Quad core

Operating System Chooser

Windows Predominantly a Windows environment, small organization Suitable Windows Small Business Server 2003 or Windows Small Business Server 2008 Suitable Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008 Not suitable Linux Suitable if staff have Linux skills Mac OS X Server Not suitable Other Not suitable

Predominantly a Windows environment, medium or large sized organization Predominantly Mac OS X environment Running a particular server based application 6

Suitable if IT staff have Linux skills

Not suitable

Suitable if IT staff have UNIX skills

Possibly suitable if IT staff have Linux skills Depends on application

Suitable

Depends on application

Depends on application

Depends on application

Choosing the Right Server, An Internet.com Networking eBook. 2009, Jupitermedia Corp.

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Processor Chooser
Intel Small business

Choosing the Right Server

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Other

AMD Opteron 1000 range

Xeon 3000 sequence Dual or Quad core Xeon 5000 sequence Dual or Quad core

Medium sized business / standard business applications Large business / high performance data or transaction intensive applications Mission-critical high end computing

Opteron 2000 range

Xeon 7000 sequence Dual or Quad core

Opteron 8000 range

UltraSparc T1

Itanium 2 9000 sequence

UltraSparc T1 / T2

5000 sequence Dual or Quad core 7000 sequence Dual or Quad core In addition, it offers the very high-end Itanium 2 9000 sequence AMD Opteron Server Processors AMD offers thee lines of Opteron processors 1000 range 2000 range - up to two per server 8000 range up to eight per server Other Processors Linux, and Sun's Solaris Unix-based operating system can also be run using Sun Microsystems's UltraSPARC processors.

ince one of the key attributes of a server discussed earlier is reliability, it follows that the server's storage system must be reliable. For this reason it is very common for a server's hard disks to be configured using RAID technology to introduce redundancy. When disks are configured in a RAID array, one or more disks can fail and be replaced (often without the need to shut the server or storage device down) without any data being lost. RAID works by copying the contents of the disks in an array to one or more others in the array. When one disk fails and is replaced, the contents of the failed disk can be rebuilt onto the new disk from the content stored on the other disks. The capacity of a RAID array is always less than the sum of the capacities of the disks that make up the array.

Redundant Array of Inexpensive (or Independent) Disks (RAID)

Storage
All servers need a storage subsystem to hold the operating system, applications, and data that they need. This normally takes the form of one or more hard disks, and these can physically be located inside the server case, or externally, connected to the server by a cable or network connection. The most common type of hard drives are: Serial ATA (SATA) drives Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) drives SATA drives tend to be cheaper than SCSI drives, but 7

There are a number of types, or levels, or RAID, including: RAID 1: mirrors the contents of one disk onto another (and sometimes more than one other).

continued

Choosing the Right Server, An Internet.com Networking eBook. 2009, Jupitermedia Corp.

Choosing the Right Server

SCSI drives are much faster, allowing a server to provide services to clients much more efficiently in a busy environment. Hard drives are commonly available in capacities ranging from about 80GB up to 750GB or more. Larger capacities are often achieved by increasing the areal density (i.e., the bits per square inch) of the disk's storage platters, and there is some evidence that disks with very high areal densities are less reliable than those with lower densities when used in an intensive server environment. Given this, is it wise to specify a larger number of lower capacity disks (350 to 500GB) than a few very high capacity disks (750GB+) Internal Hard Drives The simplest storage option is to use hard drives fitted inside the server. Servers may sometimes house six or more hard drives, giving a storage capacity of between 2 and 6 TB without RAID. External Hard Drives Many servers use storage disks that are physically located outside the server case. Devices that provide external storage include: Direct Attached Storage (DAS): a device that contains one or more hard drives, connected to the server. Network Attached Storage (NAS): a device containing one more hard drives, connected to the same LAN as the server. The server may have exclusive use of the NAS, or the NAS may be used by one or more other servers or client computers.

Redundant Array of Inexpensive (or Independent) Disks (RAID)

No data is lost as long as at least one disk is functioning. The capacity of the array is equal to the capacity of one disk; so two 500GB disks configured using RAID 1 result in an array with a capacity of 500GB. RAID 5: the most common RAID level, RAID 5 uses three or more disks in an array, and distributes and copies the data across the disks in such a way that no data is lost if a single disk fails. RAID 6: this is similar to RAID 5, but can tolerate up to two disks failing without any data being lost. I

Storage Area Network (SAN): a storage area network is actually a complex system which connects an array of disks (or other storage devices) to a server in a way that makes the storage look (to the server) as if it is attached directly. They tend to be expensive and the preserve of large companies. When assessing your likely storage requirements consider: How much data you have now How much new data you are likely to create every month

Storage Chooser
Internal disks Single server Multiple servers Storage requirement <6TB Storage requirement 10TB to 100TB Storage requirements >100TB Y Y Y DAS Y NAS Y Y Y Y SAN

Y - multiple DAS devices required

Y -multiple NAS devices required Y multiple NAS devices required Y

Choosing the Right Server, An Internet.com Networking eBook. 2009, Jupitermedia Corp.

Choosing the Right Server

The Availability Question

ervers usually play an important role in a business, and if one or more is unavailable (i.e., is not working) it can be anything from inconvenient to disastrous.

Asking the following questions may help you get an idea of the importance of server availability: How costly would it be for your business if a server were unavailable for an hour, a day, or a week? How much time can you afford for a server to be unavailable? How much time and money would it take to fix any problems caused by losing data if a server failed unexpectedly? Depending on your answers, it may be worth paying a premium for a high-availability server system. These include: A hardened standalone server: this is a server that is fitted with extra parts such as an extra power supply and RAID storage, making it more reliable than a normal desktop machine. Companies such as HP offer fault tolerant memory subsystems with spare

memory modules, mirrored memory or hot-pluggable RAID memory. A server cluster: this involves two or more servers that are linked together and to a shared storage device. Usually one server, or cluster node, is put into operation, while the other waits as a standby machine. If the standby machine sees that the other has failed, it takes over the duties that the failed machine was previously performing. Sometimes both nodes in a cluster can work at the same time, but will take over the duties of the other should it fail. A fault tolerant server: fault-tolerant servers are designed from the ground up to work continuously, even when components fail. They do this by duplicating almost all of their components, so that any or all of their vital parts can fail withJupiterimages out causing the server to stop operating. The components are "hot-swappable" so they can be replaced while the server is running, and software monitoring alerts administrators when components are beginning to fail so they can be swapped out as quickly as possible.

A hardened standalone server: this is a server that is fitted with extra parts such as an extra power supply and RAID storage, making it more reliable than a normal desktop machine.

Choosing the Right Server, An Internet.com Networking eBook. 2009, Jupitermedia Corp.

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Comparison Chart
Cost Frequency of downtime

Choosing the Right Server

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Fault tolerant server Relatively high cost

Standalone server Very low cost Quite frequent

Failover cluster Low to moderate cost

Relatively frequent, but Almost never only for very short periods Usually not more than a few minutes Should never happen except during a catastrophe Software needs no modification

Recovery time after a server failure

Hours or even days

Technical measures

Software needs no modification

Some applications may need modifying to become cluster aware. IT staff need to manage cluster Two or more servers, could be in a rack

Space required

Single server

Single server

Server Virtualization

The benefits of server virtualization are: Lower hardware costs: virtualization obviates the need to purchase one or more physical servers Lower maintenance costs: fewer severs means less components to go wrong Lower power consumption: running a single physical server near to its full capacity is more energy efficient than running multiple servers at lower capacity Less floorspace required Higher stability: running separate applications on their own virtual servers instead of on the same server reduces the likelihood that changes to one application can adversely impact another

Using virtualization software available from companies including Microsoft (its Hyper-V virtualization system is bundled with most versions of its new Windows Server 2008 operating system) and VMware, it is possible to use a single server to host multiple virtual servers running different operating systems a Linux virtual server running Apache Web server software, and a Microsoft Windows server running Microsoft Exchange, for example.

f you think you need more than one server, you may be able to cut your costs significantly through server virtualization running two or more virtual servers on a single physical server computer.

HP, Dell, and others will effectively be bundling Hyper-V when they supply servers running Microsoft Windows Server 2008 to their customers, and some vendors including HP and IBM are also offering the option of embedding VMware's ESX Server 3i virtualization product on their servers on USB storage or a flash memory card that can be inserted to start the virtualized environment. I 10
Choosing the Right Server, An Internet.com Networking eBook. 2009, Jupitermedia Corp.

On the other hand, running many virtual servers on a single physical host server makes them all vulnerable should the physical host break down. To counter this problem both Hyper-V and VMware offer a system suitable for larger organizations that can transfer the states of all the virtual servers to a backup physical host and resume their operations very rapidly.

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Server Buyers Checklist
Server Role

Choosing the Right Server

Options File and print server Mail Server Email server Web Intranet server Database server Application server Other server Tower Rack mounted Blade Windows Server 2003 or 2008 Windows Small Business Server 2003 or 2008 Linux Server Mac OS X Server UNIX / other Intel Xeon AMD Opteron SPARC / other SCSI or SATA disks+ DAS NAS SAN Redundant components Cluster system Fault tolerant system Many options available 1 year, 3 year, 5 year 1 hour response, same day, etc

Form Factor

Operating System

Processor

Storage

High availability features

Management software Service / warranty

As the number of servers in your organization grows, so too does the time and skills needed to manage them. Keeping a single server running efficiently and ensuring that the latest operating system and application patches have been applied is a very different matter to managing a large number of servers. That's why many companies offer server management software to help automate and simplify the management process. These products include HP's Insight Control and Microsoft's System Center family of management products (and System Center Essentials software for smaller companies.) Management software enables server administrators to monitor all servers from a single management console, spot and fix potential problems, ensure servers are fully patched and virus-free, and reduce downtime and management costs.

Management Software

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Choosing the Right Server, An Internet.com Networking eBook. 2009, Jupitermedia Corp.