Rack server questions/recommendation

Looking to add a 1U rack server to run Win server and MS exchange. A bunch I see I like (via ebay) however due to cabinet mounting restrictions, I need one around 19" deep - which is an issue for most HP's and Dell's that are in the 27" range.

I've seen some of the Supermicro atom based servers which have the physical size I need, but are they generally ok for very light server work...as above?

Eventually I'll be adding in Cicso IP phones and 3845 router, but that's about the extent of "the network".

Not looking for data center prices, just something to play with and get all the family email, contacts etc sync'd if I can

does it HAVE to be a rack mount? why not a ATX Tower of the same power as a larger 27"?

something like this: Dell PowerEdge T605 Tower 2X Opteron Quad 2378 2 4GHz 8GB 2x146GB DVD PERC 6 I | eBay

^ ^ ^ BEAUTIFUL Price for something like that

can you link me a "atom" server? id like to see some specs on those. honestly.....what ALL is going to be running?

Looking to add a 1U rack server to run Win server and MS exchange.

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I dunno if you would be able to find a 1U in the price range that you are willing pay with the horsepower you would want. I recently racked some 1U R720's that were O so sweet but they were pricey.

PJH said:

I've seen some of the Supermicro atom based servers which have the physical size I need, but are they generally ok for very light server work...as above?

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A coworker of mine is all about the atom processors for his stuff at home. He has a couple of DNS servers on Scientific Linux but outside of that I don't know what else he is doing on them. I did get the impression that it was not much.

That said, seems like you are thinking of doing what I have done.



My home Active Directory / Exchange 2013 environment is running inside of VMWare on a 2950 4Tb with 16Gb along side two R200's. One R200 is a BSD pf firewall and the other is a Sophos UTM for content filtering for the family surfing. I have a FreePBX server for VoIP and a Plex media server that kids access via a roku box. PoE switch for VoIP phones ties it all together.

The PDU display in the cabinet flips between 4 and 5 amps.

Not knowing your skill level, if you set up an exchange server .. avoid the rookie mistake of failing to configure backups for the exchange server. Only a backup will clean up the log files.

Pretty much exchange only. I have dedicated audio servers (three audiotrons for my audio locations). Eventually video, but going to use raspberry ip's for that.

VoIP eventually will be handled by a Cisco unit, so nothing that should require server resources.

Couple of nas's that I just map to the computers that need them but may make them available via VPN when I travel. That's about as much as I see doing.

I'm using an enclosed cooper b line adjustable rack, but 19" deep is about as far as I can take it due to the switch. It's located in my utility room near the water lines so id like to keep the cover on in case something let's go. I believe I can get 3 more in out of it but that would require removing the front door. Most servers I've see are around 25-27 in.

any consideration to my option? i am curious

It's all in this thread. It needs to be rack mounted.

was just wondering.... for that kind of CPU and rack power, it would be very hard to squeeze a 19" chassis.

id still like to see some of the ATOM based you were looking at.

not bad actually

I have been looking to do the same thing, I picked up a half rack from auction and am planning on setting up a similar group of things.

Let me know what you end up going with.