Need help With Server Selection!!!

[CycoKick]

Im setting up a IRL business, or actually working for my family who is doing so.

And I have a Question about Servers.

Where we to have 300 Separate stores which need to be connected a central server with which we must
Update and host software which is or be used by all shops.
Have internet
Have intranet

Software is for registering costumers and cashflow of these shops and to account all this.

Intranet needs to be able to have a Mailin system and such
Internet is pretty clear just need to host a Company website aswell


**I will not make any assumptions based on info given by people, The only reason is that i need to make a better guestimate in my financial model**

What sort of server would u need, What would the price be?
Would u buy one, rent one?
And info help would be nice

Please some help if u guys know, and im sure u do

[frisca2004]

Personally I'd buy one, renting seems inadequate.
I'd choose Intel processors, more resistant in time.
Price depends on your local supplier, the more expensive the better(don't get a cheap one, my advice).
Software, I'd recommend windows xp service pack 2

[JDaddy]

While I'm no server expert and can't recommend specific models I'd say you're looking at a server that will have a failry heavy load since 300 stores will be communicating with it constantly (if I've read it right).

Probably want to go with multi-processor, multiple dual-core would be a bonus. Depending on the software you are running you'll likely need as much RAM as you can get in the box.

I won't start the Intel vs. AMD debate here, but in my experience both are stable and reliable.

Originally Posted by frisca2004

Price depends on your local supplier, the more expensive the better(don't get a cheap one, my advice).
Software, I'd recommend windows xp service pack 2

I have to disagree with these two points. More expensive does not always mean better. Sure, you don't want to buy a cheap server, but price alone does not determine the quality of the hardware.

Windows XP is NOT a server software. If it is a Windows platform you need you have to go with Windows Server 2003.

My

[frisca2004]

imo ws2003 is unstable, but .. you know ... my two pecs

[MrWizard]

Server 2003 is the most stable server platform that Microsoft has ever released. Server 2003 is NOT Vista. Two completely different beasts.

If you've really got 300 remote sites, your going to need more than 1 server. Consult a local IT company because its impossible to make any kind of reccomendations without knowing exactly what your doing, what your remote sites will be doing, what apps they'll be running and how often. Its a complex process and not something to be taken lightly.

[CycoKick]

Its not about internet stores,

But a intra store communication and data exchange network.

[Joser]

Intra store communication will most likely have to be done via VPN. Based on the little that we know, it seems the most feasible. If you are going to go with MS products, I would also recommend Windows Server 2003.

[onyx oZ Zombie]

Originally Posted by frisca2004

imo ws2003 is unstable, but .. you know ... my two pecs

Windows Server 2003 is unstable? ROFL

As stated by Mr Wizard, it is the most stable Windows platform for hosting to-date ...

Regardless, I think JD has the right idea - you might consider SMS or some such product to help keep all the satelite locations up-to-date, but that in and of itself requires several extra servers, so then again, you may not

Sorry I don't have more to add Cyco =|

[Bogette]

The issue with the number of stores comes down to concurrency, the number of users/stores that will be connected and transfering data at the same time.

300 Stores spread over a 24 hour period is nothing to be too concerned about, but 300 stores constantaly for an 8 hour trading day is a completely different story. Then it depends on what data they are sharing, how much and how often its been updated. Is it going to be transactional information or end of day trading figures? Further more considering network speed from the stores to the server, a slower speed will mean transactions will take more time, and hence less demand on the server... possibly.

Other issues to be concerned with:
Is down time of the server going to affect the performance of the stores?
Where is the server going to be located? If its in a data centre you will need a rack mounted server.
How much data will accumulate over the expected life of the server?
If heavy on transactions, what sort of performance goals you want to achieve, ie how many transactions/sec or response times.

If the store software runs on windows, then you will need to run a server class operating system like Windows 2003 and not a desktop class like XP. Apart from the above stabilty arguments, Windows 2003 has a large number of features as standard that XP doesn't, these features are designed for server environments and will make the configuration of your site much easier. Things such as DNS servers, IIS Server, Routing Services to name just a couple.

The problem is complex and as others have previously suggested its not as easy as giving a defined spec based on the information provided. If you're aiming for performance goals on a heavily loaded system and there are no stats available from your software supplier as to the correct system, then testing and modifying your system will be imperitive.

Hope this helps.