[geeks] Dell T105 server arrives

[Lionel Peterson]

>To: The Geeks List <geeks at sunhelp.org>
>Subject: [geeks] Dell T105 server arrives

<snip>

>System diagnostic lights are very useful, but did they have to default  
>to the "OK" status being all four lights turned on?

As I recall, as power-up/self-test progresses, each light turns on and indicates successful testing of each major subcomponent.

Leaving all the lights on is "The Right Thing To Do" (IMHO), and in a tower config like this it makes sense to locate them on the front (as the back is not as accessible as in a rackmount server).

<snip>

>BIOS says it has a serial console, but I can't make it work.  It must  
>be some kind of serial console that only works with certain  
>software... or I'm doing something wrong.

Haven't worked with this before, I'll try it on mine when I open the box (mine arrived last night)

>DVD drive is bare bones ROM.  Excellent DVD superdrives are $25,  
>quantity one, so I think Dell should offer that as an option.

They said it was DVD/CD-R/W, I figured as much. Remember, the upgrade was *free* - I think they wanted to shed non-burners, but as another mentioned, do you really burn DVDs on a server? They have to supply DVD readers to support MS server OS (which used to be on CD).

<snip>

>No PS/2 keyboard or mouse points, this unit is USB only.  8 ports,  
>more than enough for most any server duty.

USB is they way things are now - adapters are expensive ($10-30, depending on seller), but USB KVMs are cheap (IMHO)

>System BIOS is actually decent.  Absolutely zero options for  
>controlling the low level hardware, which is expected on a server.   
>However, I would like the option of slowing memory and CPU down in  
>cases where power savings is important.

I havn't seen any server boards that offer under/over clocking abilities, though I am sure some are out there. This is already a fairly low-power system, and I wouldn't consider the opportunity to lower the clock speed a negative. Also, I don't think Opterons support a "speedstep" type technology - these servers are designed for 24x7 operation at full speed (IMHO).

<snip>

>Software:
>
>I have decided to test Solaris 10 August 2007 on this machine.
>
>Installation went fine, though it was a little strange in that it  
>never asked me for network configuration.
>
>After booting, sysinstall command is not there so I assume Sun has  
>done away with that. It's been awhile since I used Solaris... :)
>
>My initial impression is that Solaris is very slow to install, but  
>then it always is.  Sun really needs to rethink their installer,  
>because it makes a horrible first impression of system drive I/O speed.

Windows Vista has the right approach, IMHO - they simply lay down a complete system image, then delete unneded files once they are on the drive, rather than pick and choose individual files from the drive...

<snip>

>I don't believe Solaris can see my network interface either, which  
>might explain whey it didn't ask for network configuration.  However,  
>Sun's website says this machine is supported and so does Dell.

<snip>

I found no specific reference to the T105 on the Sun website, and no mention of Solaris support on the Dell site for the T105...

Lionel