Database Servers Ordered

We ordered our database servers from IBM. These have less RAM than the Dell machines we ordered as web servers, but they have much more processor. I didn't even think about the Itaniums in the Dell's being 64 bit when I placed the order, so they were more CPU than I thought, but that's nothing compared to what I've got going on here.

Base Model

The base model is an Opteron powered 1U server with 1GB of RAM, 1 Gb card, and a SCSI adapter on-board.

Memory Upgrade

We upgraded the RAM on each of these to be a mere 4GB each.

Processor Upgrade

We went from the base model Opteron to dual Opteron 275's (dual-core) in each machine.

Hard Drive Upgrade

Databases are only as reliable as their drives, so we went with mirrored storage.

Another NIC

I also added in a second NIC for total redundancy (one for each switch).

Warranty Upgrade

IBM seems to have more confidence in their servers than Dell, because for a little less than what Dell's 3 year warranty was we're getting 5 years on the IBM's with 24x7 4 hour response (instead of the 9x5 4 hour that Dell is giving us). The 24x7 seemed more appropriate since I can only afford 2 of these servers instead of the 3 I got from Dell.

Let the Fun Begin

It'll be interesting to see what I can get working to make the websites scream. Hopefully, I can make it totally fail-safe and have next to no downtime once they're all up and running. Anyone with advice on making for a fool-proof, bullet-proof system let me know. I'm excited about moving form our underpowered system and starting to do some real number crunching in a scalable fashion. :-D

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