Pre-built rack server recommendations

[mycarsavw]

Normally I'd use Scan, but for some reason when it comes to servers, they seem not to want to reply. This coming Friday marks two weeks without a peep.

Who else can I buy from?

I currently have;

Scan 3XS
Asus RS300-E7
E3-1275 V2
16Gb DDR3
SBS 2011 Essentials.

I'd like to replace it with something similar, but newer.

Initial thoughts were;

Scan 3XS
Supermicro 5019S-MR
E3-1270 v5
32Gb DDR4-2133
Server Essentials 2016

Users fluctuate from 20 to 23, no long-term plans to increase beyond 25 users.
General office work, no database, no sql, no exchange.
It's fundamentally a storage server using basic AD/GPO controls
WSUS is currently on a 2k3 installation but Server 2016, thankfully, comes with WSUS
Mail is via O365, protection is Smoothwall, backup is Acronis

Budget is ideally £2k exc but I'll pay more if I needed.

I'd love to use Scan but the last server took almost 8 weeks from initial OLQ to delivery and I really don't fancy doing that again.

Any thoughts?

Thank you.

[scaryjim]

Last time I ordered rack servers for work I was tied to Dell (via their Premier service) and tbh I had no complaints at all - nice and easy to configure the server I wanted online, speedy delivery, and everything arrived as expected.

[Guy]

Personally I'd look at the usual suspects, HP, Dell etc.

Something like an R430 or the HP equivalent (been an age since I've been in the HP camp!)
You haven't mentioned storage requirements, as that could make a difference to pricing.

[scaryjim]

Having had a quick look, you should be able to configure a Dell R230 to your preferred specs for around £2k - start with one of the builds at http://www.dell.com/uk/business/p/poweredge-r230/fs and choose "customize"

I started with the ~ £1100 base and messed with the various RAM/storage/OS options.

It doesn't sound like you need much in the way of performance, so personally I'd be tempted to go with one of the Xeon Ls for the lower power ratings; although I suspect you'll rarely get the server out of idle so it probably doesn't make that much difference!

[mycarsavw]

Cheers gents, Dell & HP were top of the list and I'd had a bit of play with their customisation wizards, I just wanted someone to hold my hand and tell me I was on the right track.

Storage will only be four HDDs, 2TB each. The old server will be re-purposed as the backup destination.

It might pay to use Dell as I'll be shopping for 19 desktops shortly too.

[scaryjim]

... It might pay to use Dell as I'll be shopping for 19 desktops shortly too.

Yeah, could be well worth giving them a ring and discuss trade accounts etc. You might find that they'll be interested in doing deals to get that level of business. As I say, I've never had any issues dealing with Dell in the past, and the kit's all been solid; afaik the two servers I picked up (which must've been back in 2010 or '11) are still running and doing sterling service....

[mycarsavw]

I've always had HP machines until recently when I bought myself a Dell as my work machine.

I took on a few Dells after a recent merger too and while they're not used nearly enough to see any failures, I'm not as closed to the idea of buying Dells as I was before.

[Bagnaj97]

It's fundamentally a storage server using basic AD/GPO controls

What about a rackmount NAS instead? QNAP 453u can be joined to a domain and they're available from Ebuyer with 4x WD red drives pre-installed in various capacities.

[mycarsavw]

What about a rackmount NAS instead? QNAP 453u can be joined to a domain and they're available from Ebuyer with 4x WD red drives pre-installed in various capacities.

Nice idea and I was going to go with a Synology RS unit but while they can join a domain, they can't be the DC.

[Bagnaj97]

The QNAP NASs appear to have to option to act as a DC in the interface, but I've not tried it and I'm not sure I'd trust it. A DC needs to be done properly!

[AGTDenton]

We recently changed from a single Server to a QNAP NAS box & a glorified Workstation for some decent grunt. By the sounds of it you don't need the grunt.
However, check out Rackservers.com they have pedastall servers & workstations with good customisation options.
I'd say prices on par with Dell.
Excellent aftersales support, had a problem with our order and they were on site same day of reporting (partly due to the fact our office isn't that far, but I believe they have engineers all over as they offer 4 hour on-site support). Felt they knew their stuff and wanted to solve the issue, which they did.

[Splash]

You're probably looking at Dell - my experience (and I work for a channel reseller of both) is that Dell stuff these days is a lot more configurable than comparably priced HPE kit. That said: It's potentially worth looking at both Fujitsu and Lenovo servers too - they're going in quite aggressively on price.


*not* my employer, but it's always worth checking out ServersPlus for deals. I bought my ML110 and ML115s form them years back, followed by a number of MicroServers and their service has always been top notch.

[mycarsavw]

The QNAP NASs appear to have to option to act as a DC in the interface, but I've not tried it and I'm not sure I'd trust it. A DC needs to be done properly!

Interesting, I always thought Synology and QNAP were on a par. But, as you say, I'm still not sure I'd trust my entire office on a NAS unit.

We recently changed from a single Server to a QNAP NAS box & a glorified Workstation for some decent grunt. By the sounds of it you don't need the grunt.
However, check out Rackservers.com they have pedastall servers & workstations with good customisation options.
I'd say prices on par with Dell.
Excellent aftersales support, had a problem with our order and they were on site same day of reporting (partly due to the fact our office isn't that far, but I believe they have engineers all over as they offer 4 hour on-site support). Felt they knew their stuff and wanted to solve the issue, which they did.

I presume the workstation is the server with the NAS being the storage? How many users and what sort of workloads?

You're probably looking at Dell - my experience (and I work for a channel reseller of both) is that Dell stuff these days is a lot more configurable than comparably priced HPE kit. That said: It's potentially worth looking at both Fujitsu and Lenovo servers too - they're going in quite aggressively on price.


*not* my employer, but it's always worth checking out ServersPlus for deals. I bought my ML110 and ML115s form them years back, followed by a number of MicroServers and their service has always been top notch.

Aye, I think I'm settled on Dell, HPE have a lot of comparable kit but the customisation is lacking and I really don't fancy making friends with an account manager who wants to sell me the world.

I'll have a look at Fujitsu and Lenovo too, thank you, I overlooked both of those. One of my inherited desktops is a Fujitsu, it's a heap but it's ~5 years old.

Thanks all, more research to do.

[scaryjim]

... I'll have a look at Fujitsu and Lenovo too, thank you, I overlooked both of those. ...

My employer recently moved from Dell as preferred supplier to Lenovo. I'm no longer in a role where I have to deal with them directly, but it took quite a while for my work laptop to get provisioned. Now, it was a non-standard spec for our account but it was still an off-the-shelf config that Lenovo offered ... I wasn't hugely impressed with the long lead time...

[mycarsavw]

An update of sorts.

On Friday I sent out three emails requesting quotes, Ebuyer, Misco and Dell, and I contacted HPE via Live Chat to see what they could offer. I asked for server suggestions and 20 desktops.

Ebuyer - The server department rang me within the hour to discuss my email and quoted an hour later. The desktop chap rang this morning and he's just quoted me via email. I'm a little disappointed with the £0.70 discount on the desktops but the server seems to be far less than I had budgeted. I'm still waiting for a price on the drives though.

Server: HPE DL80 Gen9 > http://www.ebuyer.com/748547-hpe-pro...ack-840625-425, 16Gb RAM and Server Essentials - £1.2k + HDDs
Desktops: Dell Vostro 3250SFF > http://www.ebuyer.com/749801-dell-vo...-desktop-gx332 - £276 ea.

Misco - Yet to respond

Dell - The server department rang me immediatley and then asked me what spec I wanted. I explained I would prefer them to recommend, especially when they're passing themselves off as Server Specialists, but he was insistent that I told him what I wanted. The desktop department was the same. Massive shame really, I was expecting a lot more.

HPE - Insisted we speak on the phone, didn't appear to have any idea what he was on about and kept insisting he farm my business out to a reseller as HPE don't tend to deal directly with the public - odd, especially as they have a website that sells to the public. He ended the call by telling me he'll get one a reseller to reach out to me. The only people who should ever reach out to anyone are the Four Tops.

So much fun!

[mycarsavw]

Just to put this one to bed.

Today marks three weeks from when I initially contacted Scan. Sadly, tt's the same poor service I experienced when I ordered my first 3XS server in 2013 (http://forums.hexus.net/scan-care-he...-question.html and http://forums.hexus.net/scan-3xs-sys...ould-help.html).

I don't know if I'm missing something, not placing big enough orders or if they just don't want my business but I can't be bothered now.

I've gone with Misco, bit of an odd choice for me but as I wanted desktops as well I thought I'd stick all my business in one basket.

1 x Dell R330 (E3-1270 v5, 32Gb, 8Tb HDD, Server 2016 Essentials)
20 x Dell Vostro 3250s (i3 6100, 4Gb, 500Gb HDD, W10 Pro)

Thank you all for the advice and assistance, great help once again.

Now the real fun begins