The Anatomy of a Server - How Can You Afford a Server?
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The prices for computer-related components have plummeted and continue to drop. I’ve picked up new memory for $8.00 and refurbished 4.5GB hard drives for $5.00. It’s all about being at the right place at the right time, and recognizing the right components to use from your computer graveyard.
Using New vs. Used Parts Chances are you have some older computers collecting dust in storage somewhere, so you may have a few parts you can use for your server. However, only a handful of used components have limited enough risk that I would dare to use them in a mission-critical machine. Failure of those few components would have little impact on your uptime, and would require minimal maintenance, if required. Components such as floppy or CD-ROM drives, a system fan, and the computer chassis have limited risk. If your floppy drive fails, you’ll discover it either when you use it next or when you reboot, in which case you’ll get a “floppy failure” message. Other components are more critical and must have a dependable history.
A known good (and compatible) power supply, CPU, and memory have capabilities for reuse. Used components such as memory, motherboards, and expansion cards are too delicate and sensitive, with many potential compatibility problems, to depend on 100 percent, unless you’re planning on using a reliable combination of motherboard/CPU/memory from another system. Overall, it’s important to be confident that those used parts have a known good history and are not throwaways. I do not recommend, under any circumstances, building the center of your entire business system on a mishmash of old parts you salvaged out of junk.
If you don’t have any reliable components to scavenge, you can still build your own server for about $400, plus the license for the operating system. The overall cost of building the machine will drop if you have any of those known good components from older computers, but, depending on their age, there could also be serious compatibility issues. If you’ve chosen to use Microsoft’s Windows 2000/.NET Server as your OS, then you can check the Microsoft Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) at www.microsoft.com, or you can download the latest list from ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/services/whql/hcl/win2000hcl.txt.
A Case for Small Business
Through the use of the built-in permissions of Windows 2000 Server (more on this in Chapter 12) and the features and functionality of its built-in web server (IIS 5.0), I was able to create a self-supporting system that created an attractive return-on-investment (ROI) for a small Japanese-based manufacturing company. The integrated Terminal Services and VPN capabilities introduced secured access from the company’s Asian and European satellite offices, opening access to information and applications previously unavailable. Windows 2000 created unification of all corporate locations that the company never had before. It also made it easier for the company’s customers to do business with it because, prior to Windows 2000 Server, its legacy web site application didn’t offer a cost-effective way for its customers to look up forgotten passwords. Instead, there were many daily phone requests for inventory information.
Within a week of notifying its customers about its new intranet, which now listed real-time inventory data, the company’s phone requests dropped by about 50 percent, increasing employee productivity substantially (daily shipments increased by 20 percent). This estimate was derived from a comparison of the average number of direct calls per day the one month prior to the deployment of the Windows 2000 Server system, and the one month after the e-mail and fax notification went out informing customer of the new service. Although the company had warehouses in the United States and Europe, it was difficult to determine how much business was lost due to unsuccessful inventory inquiries after business hours (it was now available 24/7), but we all agreed on a conservative estimated ROI of 220 percent over the course of the following year (this estimate included assumptions provided by its accounting firm and the sales history of the organization and one of its competitors). You never hear about the little guy’s success with Windows 2000 Server, but there are many more of these successes than the high-profile case studies you read about in the industry magazines. My point is how can you not afford it.
See Figure 1 for an example of a server.
The server is made up of the same type of components as a computer, with the exception of server-centricities. The close-up is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 An exploded view of the server shown in Figure 1
 This chapter is from Build Your Own Server, by Tony Caputo (McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2003, ISBN: 0072227281). Check it out at your favorite bookstore today.
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