Hey Douglas,

Even though I am writing from my work email address, this corespondance will probably carry on from my private email address as it is to do with my hosting services, so I may correspond from lindsay@wired.net.nz

Can you please give a detail on the high level view of the IBM server range, ie. pSeries, xSeries, zSieries and so on and which path I should follow (and why).

Details with the hosting requirements.

Currently, I have built up a single P4 (3 GHz) which is a SuperMicro and has 2x 200 GB SATA HDDs, 2 Gigs of RAM and so on. I went down the SuperMicro path purely because it was seen as the cheapest solution since the whole project is a start up and I didn't want to throw huge capital into this project until I have a solid customer base and tread the waters carefully as so to speak.

The OS path is Debian Linux, and other than dabbling with FreeBSD, I can see it remaining this way. I am open to other major distros if support is a question. For the current situation, the SuperMicro solution (from the server specifications point of view) has proven more than adequate.

For future requirements, web/mail/dns servers will always me the front-end servers, and power usage, rack space usage, will always be a major consideration size those applications are not resource hungry. Backend servers are on the roadmap for housing the database which will provide information to the web pages and also to the customers, these servers will be firewalled and accessable to customers via secure web interface and/or vpn access, these servers I can forsee will be chosen with processing, memory, and storage as a major consideration and with one customer we're working with could end up huge.

Which range of servers do you see is most appropiate for my requirements, considering overall bang for buck.

I am looking at investing in IBM products rather than SuperMicro due to the fact that a friend of mine ships a lot of IBM kit, that is Craig Pollock from Alexis Infotech Management, and I've been convinced of the delivery times and the extended warranty which is very important.

If you can help me here with the IBM product range, that would be really great.

Best Regards,
Lindsay Druett.

Douglas Harvey wrote:

Hi

Thanks for letting Anatole Perry of VAD & myself attend the meeting last night, and put on beer & pizzas. Trust everyone whom enjoyed Robert's talk & the aftermatch function got home safely. :-)

Some urls for reference.
http://www.vad.co.nz
http://www.ibm.com/eserver/server/pseries
http://www.ibm.com/linux
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/power/
University of Portland Linux on Power site
http://upegr.up.edu:8080/
My contact details are;
Douglas Harvey
pSeries Technical Specialist
mailto:dharvey@nz.ibm.com
http://www.ibm.com/
Ph 09 359 8409
if anyone wants to discuss the topics raised further.
  