Hi Catherine,
It was a toss-up between the R330 and R400 series, but as we have a very
small network of less than 10 workstations, we went for the former. There
are two major issues to consider.
First, do you wish Dell to install the operating system or, like us, have an
Action Pack subscription where you are entitled to one license for Server
2016 Standard?
Installation was actually a breeze compared to earlier versions, although we
did have to contact Dell as the BIOS needed setting up. You know from my
earlier message what to look out for.
Second, decide what Raid configuration you require, and only buy the disc
drives you absolutely must from them. Dell's hard drive options are
incredibly expensive, and here in the UK they will not sell you drive
caddies without the drives. In the end, we purchased two hot-swap 3TB 3.5
inch drives and caddies along with 2.5 inch adaptors for a total of £230
from a local IT supplier. Dell's cost for two 2TB drives was over £1,000.
(Those are UK Pounds to multiply by 1.2 for US $)
What staggered us what that we actually received Dell drives from the
supplier anyway.
So what we have now are four drives set up as mirrored pairs. 1TB for op
System and programs, and 3 TB for Data.
Another tip if you are adding a router is to get ensure you have one which
supports L2TP/IPsec if you want good security, and set up the server, not
the router, to handle DNS and DHCP.
Overall, having lived with a Small Business Server 2011 for far too long,
it's a pleasure to have a real server again, even if we have had to use a
3rd party for Exchange Mail.
Feel free to ask about anything I may have missed.
George W F Bell (MD)
Techno-Vision Systems Ltd.
76 Bunting Road Ind. Est.
NORTHAMPTON, NN2 6EE
United Kingdom.
Tel: +44 (0)160 479 2777
Fax: +44 (0)160 479 2726
e-mail: George@techno-vision.co.uk
Web: http://www.techno-vision.co.uk
-----Original Message-----
From: Blind-sysadmins
[mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of
Katherine M. Moss via Blind-sysadmins
Sent: 07 April 2017 13:15
To: Blind sysadmins list
Cc: Katherine M. Moss
Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Windows Server 2016
That is very helpful! Thanks. So, in light of what you've just written here,
can I ask two questions: What do you think of the Server 2016 OS itself? Do
you like it and find that it does what you need it to better than previous
versions? And ... what do you think of the Dell R330 servers? Are they good
workhorses? I've had an idea for a little while involving the purchasing of
one of those babies, so any feedback on them or advice is much appreciated.
Thanks.
-----Original Message-----
From: Blind-sysadmins
[mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of George
Bell
Sent: Friday, March 31, 2017 5:04 PM
To: 'Blind sysadmins list'