The HP Smart Array P411 is a fairly inexpensive 6.0gbps SAS 2 and SATA III controller. To enhance performance, the HP Smart Array P411 has a variety of cache options available. This is a quick guide installing a 512MB DRAM plus BBU kit to the controller. A similar setup must be used in order to do things like flash...
As a lot of people know at this point, Amazon.com has terminated all contracts with affiliates in California. That decision, in response to the new California law will have a negative impact on this site. For those wondering, on 28 June 2011, the state's legislature incorporated an online sales tax as part of the passed budget. The next day,...
Keeping a server online as much as possible means that one needs to manage several things. Good examples include maintaining network connectivity, ensuring all server components are functioning correctly and maintaining power to a server. In facilities such as Tier 1 data centers, keeping network connectivity and power feeds operating are both primary concerns. In the SMB and home...
One question I am often asked is what do I think about port multipliers. The short story here is that I think they can be valuable and I can see that they have a place in the market. The Silicon Image SiI3124 controller is an inexpensive SATA II controller that runs natively on a PCI-X bus. One of the...
Today we are looking at the Supermicro X9SCM-F which is going to be a very popular mATX server motherboard. One of the most popular mATX server motherboards reviewed on this site was the Supermicro X8SIL-F. It provided a small form-factor, relatively inexpensive platform with features one would want from a low-cost server motherboard. With the new Sandy Bridge Xeon's...
One bit of news that I thought deserves some attention is that Apple has sent a cease and desist letter regarding the open source Amahi's use of the term "app store" in an attempt to vigorously defend what Apple believes is its trademark. Aside from what I believe (albeit as someone with a tech background and a Juris Doctor...
When I get asked what is the best PCIe x1 Gigabit Ethernet adapter today, I quickly answer the Intel Gigabit CT Desktop adapter without hesitation. Although it may seem disingenuous to many to recommend a desktop adapter for servers, I have about a half-dozen of these adapters and they have become my go-to choice whenever I see an open...
Today we are looking at the ASUS P8B WS motherboard for Intel's E3-1200 series Xeon CPUs. Based on the C206 chipset, the P8B WS is able to utilize the Xeon CPUs with a five as the last number (e.g. Xeon E3-1235) and take advantage of Intel's onboard GPU. By enabling the Sandy Bridge graphics engine, the ASUS P8B WS...
This week saw research on the sub-$10,000 USD NAS market almost doubling in size from 2009 to 2010. Hitachi announces a cloud storage system with 3GB of free storage. Adaptec's 6-series RAID controllers get a design win.
Sub-$10K NAS Market Spikes According to Infonetics Research
Market research firm Infonetics Research this week released excerpts from its new quarterly NAS Appliance market...
After reviewing the Hitachi 5K3000 2TB SilentSpin drive earlier this year, questions have steadily trickled in around the 3TB version. One thing that was consistent in comments was a perception that the Hitachi 5K3000 3TB drive runs slower than the 2TB version. Today we look at the 3TB model's benchmarks to see what kind of performance the drive offers.
Test...