We need to build a physical LAN server for our small business. What do we need?

Crashed_Wave · Aug 11, 2016

Essentially we are looking for a breakdown of hardware and recommended components to build a server tower which can support up to 10-15 people accessing files and folders on 3-5 solid state drives at any given time. I'm assuming we're going to need 2+ high-end CPUs, a significant amount of RAM, and adequate cooling.

What kind of motherboard do we need? Are there other hardware components necessary to support a server tower like this? Considering going through Xi Computers for this build.

ComputerSecurityGuy · Aug 11, 2016

That's a bit much. I would recommend a Xeon-D board 16/32GB of DDR4 ECC (or 64GB, RAM is cheap right now.) Storage consisting of several SSDs/HDDs in RAID, a M.2 cache drive, and a boot drive. Still a bit but mostly storage costs. You don't need to get absurd.

Crashed_Wave · Aug 11, 2016

ComputerSecurityGuy :

Gotcha, so a single Xeon CPU can support 10-15 users accessing files at any time?

ComputerSecurityGuy · Aug 11, 2016

Definitely. And I'm suggesting the low power version. You should be fine with the quad core version unless you are constantly transferring massive files. In fact you might be okay with less, but the Xeon D is a good value.

Crashed_Wave · Aug 11, 2016

ComputerSecurityGuy :

This should do the trick, yes?
link

Crashed_Wave · Aug 11, 2016

ComputerSecurityGuy :

Along with this processor: link

Crashed_Wave · Aug 11, 2016

ComputerSecurityGuy :

I know I have a lot of quesitons, but what sizes are you thinking for the cache and boot drives? Should the cache drive be a standard SATA drive or were you thinking something along the lines of a PCIe SSD for this? Thanks so much for your feedback on all this.

ComputerSecurityGuy · Aug 11, 2016

No, I was thinking Xeon-D, not Xeon-EP. The E5 is way overkill. A Xeon D will easily saturate your network link. And it's cheaper and uses less power.

Crashed_Wave · Aug 11, 2016

ComputerSecurityGuy :

Understood. Any thoughts on the cache and boot drive sizes?

ComputerSecurityGuy · Aug 11, 2016

A 128GB M.2 for the cache drive and a 60ish GB SSD for the boot drive.

Crashed_Wave · Aug 11, 2016

ComputerSecurityGuy :

Thanks a ton!! Any thoughts on a network card? For instance, if everyone on the network is accessing this machine, won't it need a nice network card to handle multiple operations from different PCs? Or am I not understanding that correctly?

ComputerSecurityGuy · Aug 11, 2016

You only need one port to connect to the network. Unless you have invested in a 10Gbit switch you shouldn't need one other than the integrated motherboard one.

Crashed_Wave · Aug 11, 2016

ComputerSecurityGuy :

Sounds like we've covered all the bases then. Thanks again for your help! I may private message you in the future for consultation.

ComputerSecurityGuy · Aug 11, 2016

Oh, make sure to get the quad core Xeon-D. And use spinning disk if you have large files. Otherwise, I think I covered it.

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