Servers

Dell M620 Server Review

Created on: April 3, 2017

Updated on: June 12, 2021

Advanced Memory Capabilities

The Dell PowerEdge M620 offers memory capabilities of up to 768GB of RAM which you can scale up. The server is powered by Intel’s powerful processors (the Xeon E5-2600 v1 or v2) along with Dell’s unique network adapter that provides you with powerful performance, and the ability to allocate your network throughput to match your application needs. It also provides internal storage options of up to 2.4TB with two 2.5” SAS hard drives.

The M620 server is designed for managing high-density virtual environments. Virtualization environments demand high memory capacity and the M620 was designed to specifically fit this purpose. Users running High-Performance Computing applications will find that this server will provide outstanding computational density and powerful processing capabilities.

Remote Access and Systems Integration

The Dell M620 is equipped with a remote access controller (the integrated Dell Remote Access Controller 7- iDRAC7) which allows IT administrators to manage dell servers in physical, virtual, local and remote environments. This feature is available with or without a systems management software installed.

Through the iDRAC, one can integrate with leading third-party systems management solutions (such as Microsoft, VMware and BMC) all while maintaining a single point of control and capitalizing on existing systems management investments. Dell servers are able to achieve this remote access and integration through the systems management portfolio that it utilizes (Dell OpenManage). OpenManage simplifies the lifecycle of deploying, monitoring and maintaining Dell PowerEdge servers.

Power and Cooling Efficiency

The PowerEdge M-series servers from Dell allow you to combine the right features and performance scalability. The M620 achieves this through combining the capabilities of the Chassis Management Controller (CMC) of the Dell PowerEdge M1000e’s. The CMC allows M-series blades to be managed in different ways (individually, as groups, within a data center or in multiple geographical locations) without requiring additional hardware. Power and cooling efficiency in the M620 are also maximized by using blade enclosures that were used by the M1000e.

Therefore, by combining maximum power efficiency, performance, exceptional features and extreme density, the Dell M620 server achieves the capability of handling taxing workloads while providing excellent performance.

Here at Source Tech, we have been providing IT infrastructure for all size companies for over 30 years. Our in-depth knowledge of the industry, competitive pricing and exceptional customer support will ensure that you are getting the best out of your purchase. View our inventory of used dell servers for sale and speak to the experts at Source Tech Systems for all of your hardware needs.

HP BL460C Gen9 Server Review

Created on: December 30, 2016

Updated on: December 30, 2016

Running as part of an integrated lights-out operation, teamed with other servers and managed by HPE’s OneView management software, or as a stand-alone virtualization server, the HPE ProLiant BL460c Gen9 Server Blade brings updated HPE technology and Intel Xeon processor power to customers at an affordable price.

ProLiant server blades are evolving to provide tuned performance options which allow purchasers to start with plenty of CPU horsepower. They then strategically add boot options, memory, persistent memory, and SSD or hard drive storage that complements the native processing power. High-speed access to high-volume storage options is also configurable to meet the virtualization, data handling, and shared access needs of small businesses and large-scale data warehouses and server farms.

HPE provides integrated support for the StoreVirtual flexible storage model which works with Hyper-V or VMware running on the blade server. Between 4 and 22 cores, depending on blade model, are available in the choice of a single or dual Intel Xeon E5-2600 3.5 GHz chip configuration. A maximum of 55 MB L3 cache enhances throughput and performance.

Sixteen memory slots accept new 128 GB DIMMS for 2TB maximum, either HP’s DDR4 Smartmemory or industry standard 3rd party memory. The blade includes space for two drives and several boot options including optional dual Micro SD, USB 3.0, and optional 64/128 GB M.2 support. Emerging options such as nonvolatile memory are also available. Both legacy and UEFI BIOS options allow versatile boot configurations.

Embedded controller options provide a variety of storage fabric configurations including the Smart Array, Smart Host Bus Adapter, and Dynamic Smart Array controllers to allow the BL460c to move data at speeds (including 10GB or 20GB FlexFabric, persistent storage, and other options) commensurate with its processing power. SSD options allow up to 7x increase in random access data performance for key applications.

Increases in memory, storage, and processing power are met with helpful decreases in power requirements and a much improved TCO over previous generations and the competition.

Available with standard iLO lights out operation or optional BladeSystem Advanced system, OneView Advanced, or HP Insight Control, the server blade provides scalable technology that can be purchased as a commodity compute resource or custom configured for specific datacenter purposes. Hot-swappable fans and multiple enclosure-based power supplies provide the reliability required to keep uptime to a maximum, while monitoring software keeps operations personnel aware of any hardware concerns before they become an availability issue.

HPE software-defined storage options and hyperconverged configurations make this ProLiant BL460c Gen9 Server Blade the basis for forward-looking facility buildouts, ready to handle any of the emerging datacenter paradigms with agility.

For more information on HP servers or to receive a quote, speak to the experts at Source Tech Systems today.

Virtual Servers – the New Standard for Modern Companies

Created on: December 12, 2016

Updated on: December 12, 2016

Virtualization software offerings from VMware, Microsoft, Oracle and many other companies are competing for your business. Hardware manufacturers such as Intel and Oracle are adding CPU features to boost the performance and security of virtualized servers. Oracle is including virtual machine features in the latest versions of their operating system. Virtualization, rather than servers running on “bare metal,” is becoming standard.

It’s How Servers Are Done

Information Week reports that, after 18 years as part of the IT market, virtualization is “mature,” with an average of 75% virtualization in company data centers, sometimes as high as 90%. VMware, a leading virtualization vendor, says that benefits include:

Up to 50% savings, with up to 16 virtual machines running on one physical server
Higher quality of service (QoS) which translates to better web server performance, user experience, and resource usage
Increased flexibility with the ability to adjust resource usage, migrate virtual servers to new hardware, and more

Any Way You Slice It

By using virtual machine software, your physical server hardware becomes the space in which your virtual servers operate. You can manage that space without all the costs and time involved in allocating and using single hardware servers with fixed resources such as memory, disk, and CPU speed.

For example, you can allocate resources for both web development and test running alongside a fully configured web server, all on the same hardware but using separate “machines.” As the load on the web server increases, you can simply migrate the dev servers to other available virtualized resources.

Hard Benefits of Soft Servers

In addition to migrating servers to balance loads and use hardware resources more effectively, virtualization offers:

1. Hardware-independent infrastructure management

Hardware becomes the raw material from which server farms are custom built. Automated and manual management software watches virtual servers, resource usage, hardware status and more and uses available resources to keep your systems running and performing at their best.

2. Instant IT Response

Hardware allocation, software installation, and many more IT functions become “press of a button” activities rather complicated hands-on activities. When a department needs a server, you can finish the job while you’re on the phone with them.

3. Cost Savings

Like a cross-trained team, you can put your resources to work in whatever way you need them to function. You can use your resources more cost effectively and handle capital acquisitions by capacity needs, rather than by project or another specific basis. You don’t waste excess capacity on your systems, overbuying for future needs.

4. Isolation and Security Benefits

You’ve heard the stories about the risks to data on shared servers, where web server “hacks” gain access to databases and other resources and create nightmares for the company far beyond what they imagined. Virtualization security is also mature technology, allowing you to run separate servers for the isolation and security benefits, without investing in new hardware each time.

5. Disaster Recovery

A huge benefit of virtualization is the ability to migrate servers to available hardware, even in other facilities, when hardware servers or even whole buildings are not available due to fire, flood, or other disaster scenarios. Cloud resources can be used to augment or fill in for local operations, while still maintaining local control under normal circumstances.

The experts at Source Tech can help your team move towards the cost savings, performance, and reliability benefits of virtualization with your current hardware and your future investments. In addition to virtualized servers, you can consider VDI, the ability to use virtualized servers to provide your desktop computing as well. Give them a call and find out more.

Physical Servers vs. Offsite Virtual Hosted Servers

Created on: November 29, 2016

Updated on: November 29, 2016

Your company’s infrastructure depends heavily on the servers that you use. Servers store all of your company’s essential information, from customer and employee data to sensitive sales and marketing information. When it comes to choosing a server for your business, there are two main options – a physical server or an offsite virtual hosted server.

Choosing which one suits your business best depends on your specific needs and budget. The following compares the pros and cons of each type of server to help you decide which option will work best for you:

Physical Servers

A physical server is a piece of equipment that’s generally stored onsite in a server room or data center. The following are a few of the pros and cons for using a physical server:

The Pros of Using Physical Servers

Physical servers are typically easier to maintain. Your staff won’t require a specific skillset in order to manage and maintain your physical server.
You may have certain applications that require dedicated processing power in order to function at an optimal level. Physical servers don’t share processors, which means that they are better suited for such applications.
A physical server can be fully customized and configured to meet your unique specifications and requirements.
You’ll have instant access to your server 24/7, which can be highly beneficial in the event of business critical or high demand operations.

The Cons of Using Physical Servers

If maintenance on your physical server is required, you’ll need to plan for downtime.
You’ll need more space, more power and more cooling to properly and safely store your network on a physical server.
The purchase, maintenance and potential replacement (in case of failure) costs of a physical server are more expensive than that of a virtual server.
Once you’ve reached a maximum workload, you won’t be able to scale storage in small increments.

Offsite Virtual Hosted Servers

Offsite hosted servers or virtualized servers share hardware and software resources with other operating systems. Because they are cost-effective and provide faster resource control, virtual servers are popular in web hosting environments. The following are some of the pros and cons of using a virtual server:

The Pros of Off-site Virtual Hosted Servers

Because you don’t have to purchase physical hardware, there are fewer upfront costs.
You won’t have to have as big of an in-house IT staff in order to maintain a physical server.
With a physical server, you’ll need to purchase new hardware every time you need a new server. Off-site virtual hosted servers are more scalable and allow you to simply sign up with a new server, which costs less money and takes less time.
An off-site physical server can host multiple virtual servers. This means you can get more out of a single host than you could out of a physical server, which typically only runs at 25 percent capacity.
If a host server requires maintenance, your virtual server can simply be moved to a new host. This means that there’s no downtime for maintenance.
Your data is much easier to recover in a virtual environment in the event that the host server fails.

The Cons of Off-site Virtual Hosted Servers

Hosted servers are more complex than physical servers, which means that your IT team will need to have specialized skills in order to maintain your server.
You won’t be independently in control of your server or the applications running on them as you would with a physical server.
Even though your upfront costs won’t be as expensive as with a physical server, a virtual server requires higher monthly costs.

These are some of the pros and cons of both physical and off-site virtual hosted servers that you should compare before making a decision. If you’d like more information, speak to the experts at Source Tech.