Cons And Conclusion
The MFSYS25 does have some drawbacks as well.
Lack of Power Down functionality on the MFSYS25 chassis:
- No power switches on the chassis–The only way to completely shut the chassis down is by unplugging it.
- No remote shut down–It would have been nice to have a remote shutdown option in the Modular Server Control user interface for the chassis, otherwise you have to be physically behind the MFSYS25 to shut it down.
No redundancy for the management module:
- Since there’s a single NIC on the management module, losing the network connection to the chassis would prevent an admin from being able to manage the chassis remotely.
No built-in LED information panel on the front of the chassis that would provide quick stats about the server:
- Because of the lack of physical status monitors on the MFSYS25, you have to log into a computer to see how the chassis is doing. The built-in LED lights can only give you so much information.
LUN-sharing feature activation:
- Customers shouldn’t have to pay extra for what is a standard SAN feature.
Conclusion
The MFSYS25 is a great machine for a small- to medium-sized business. It has a great management tool, solid architecture, and built-in reliability that definitely make taking care of this machine a one-person job.
As a remote server, I’m not sure it’s completely ready. It’s missing a couple of remote features that I’d like to see added before sticking the modular server in that little office out in the boonies. Some convenient features like remote chassis shutdown/restart, and additional operating system diagnostics would have added to the KVM and remote-hardware-management-features.
A fully loaded MFSYS25 chassis runs around $28,000. More on Intel Modular Servers
