[geeks] WANTED: quiet 1U server

[Shannon Hendrix]

I'm getting ready to replace my last two Sun machines.  They are slow,  
noisy, and run too hot.  I've already ditched everything else and  
temporarily loaded up the U2 until I can replace it.

Ideally, the replacement would be smaller.

I am trying to replace N machines with just one, since new hardware is  
so fast.  Probably anything current is faster than everything I am  
replacing with plenty left over.

Requirements:

	- shelf is 19 inches deep, 13 inches high, 19 inches wide, hard limit
	- dual CPUs, something reasonably fast... a Core 2 2Gz would be fine,
	  quad CPUs icing on the cake
	- 2GB of RAM, and ideally expandable to at least 8GB
	- three drives: one OS/Apps drive, and a pair of like bays for a mirror
	  setup where data will live, hot swap on two a plus
	- ALTERNATE: maybe they could boot from compact-flash, and just have a
	  couple of drive bays, hot swap a plus here too
	- console redirection a huge plus
	- budget undecided, but ideally $1000 or less, at least initially.

I will run WWW, database, and the normal server apps on it, but might  
also run VMware.  I'd like to use FreeBSD or Solaris so I can have  
jails/zones.

Of course, it seems VMware is mostly Mac, Linux, and Windows.  Can you  
run it on Solaris or FreeBSD?

I've seen a few 1U servers from companies like Gigabit that seem nice,  
and wondered if anyone here had experience with them or something  
similar.  They have console redirection and seem OK, and would fit  
well in the space.

However, I would also like the machines to be as quiet as possible so  
if any of you know of some good candidates, let me know.

Here are some I've found, comments appreciated:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816202009R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816110003
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816152061

Unfortunately, on newegg and elsewhere everyone says they are loud.

Am I just out of luck on the noise issue?

Have any of you seen any of those "shuttle" systems that are reliable  
enough for server duty?  One thing I don't like, is none of them have  
console redirection.

Are there no servers on the market that are small, and not rack mount?




-- 
"Where some they sell their dreams for small desires."