Building a small datacenter

[John C. Frickson]

Hi all,

I've been tasked to build a small co-located datacenter. Budget is
limited. My needs are approximately:

1 Windows machine, average speed (2.8 - 3.3 GHz) 1-2GB RAM, 72GB disk.
1 machine for web server (Linux/Apache) 1GB, 72GB+
1 machine for database (Linux/MySQL) 2GB, 72GB
1 machine for net services (Email, DNS, POP, IMAP) 1GB, 32GB
1 machine for development & QA (2 would be nice, but...)

Everything must be completely remote manageable. Should have
redundant hot-swap power & fans, RAID. Dual NICs for at least two
of the machines.

At this point, I don't think I need any dual processors or dual core
CPUs, but I'd like to keep that option for future expansion.

I've looked at Dell and Compaq rackmount systems. New systems
configured as specified (without O/S) would run about $2,500 to
$3,500, which blows the budget. It looks like I could save around
30% at the Dell outlet, which would bring me within budget, but
without a whole lot left over for switch/router, O/S, etc.

I have seen some good prices for IBM BladeCenter systems, which
might be an option. Future expansion would probably be a bit less
expensive than adding racks. Dell blade systems from the outlet
might also be a possibility.

I've considered putting the dev, QA, and Email/DNS servers on a
single machine running under Xen or Virtual Server.

Any thoughts, questions, advice?

Thanks,
jcf

 

[Bennett Price]

I've only one piece of advice. Spend enough money to get what you need.
Go to your boss and ask for more if you have to. You don't want to be
screwing around with hardware in the months to come, especially if it's
off-site. Buy what you need now.