new server specs (Oct 28, 2010)

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Profile Oleg A. Kobytev

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Message 1044777 - Posted: 29 Oct 2010, 16:39:32 UTC - in response to Message 1044462.  

HP ProLiant BL460c G7 with two blades + SAN (such as HP LeftHand or EVA) + VMware - it would be much better...
It seems to me, ridiculously to use server's disk capacity for data storage.

OLEG.
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Michael Reaves

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Message 1044810 - Posted: 29 Oct 2010, 17:59:35 UTC - in response to Message 1044694.  

They should be getting at least the government/education pricing
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Message 1044906 - Posted: 30 Oct 2010, 2:31:42 UTC

I'm not an IT person but 96GB RAM sounds like a dream.
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Message 1044914 - Posted: 30 Oct 2010, 3:47:42 UTC - in response to Message 1044906.  

Wouldn't this be a step back (cpu wise) - from 4 x six-core 2.13GHz Xeon (I believe its Xeon E7530) to 2 x quad-core E5620?
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Message 1044952 - Posted: 30 Oct 2010, 6:37:57 UTC - in response to Message 1044914.  
Last modified: 30 Oct 2010, 6:46:32 UTC

Wouldn't this be a step back (cpu wise) - from 4 x six-core 2.13GHz Xeon (I believe its Xeon E7530) to 2 x quad-core E5620?


Guessing as to the motivations:
Depends. Databse activity is typically I/O bound to start with, but in this case the newer 4core chip & the 6core chip have the same total L3 cache, so that's more total cache area per core for the quad which would lead to less thrashing (of memory & disk) with larger tasks, that's a big deal, as well as the higher processor frequency (Base 2.4GHz instead of 1.866GHz). Rated Total Power Dissipation is lower (80 instead of 105W), so substantially cooler running though probably amounts to about the same processing power overall. The big one though is probably the price diffference. Judging by the current tray prices ( $1446 for the six core, versus $387 for the quad ) it's difficult to justify the hex core of similar overall processing capacity, when for less money you can get 3 quad processors instead of one six-core. If one of those quads 'blows up' then it's not going to break the bank either.
"Living by the wisdom of computer science doesn't sound so bad after all. And unlike most advice, it's backed up by proofs." -- Algorithms to live by: The computer science of human decisions.
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Message 1044955 - Posted: 30 Oct 2010, 7:00:20 UTC - in response to Message 1044952.  

.... If one of those quads 'blows up' then it's not going to break the bank either.



I pushed (overclocked) every Intel CPU since Pentium 60 to their limits - and beyond - but had never killed any Intel CPU...

Helli
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Message 1044956 - Posted: 30 Oct 2010, 7:08:30 UTC - in response to Message 1044955.  
Last modified: 30 Oct 2010, 7:09:09 UTC

I pushed (overclocked) every Intel CPU since Pentium 60 to their limits - and beyond - but had never killed any Intel CPU...


Me neither, but then I don't run my machines in a hot server closet with ~250,000 or so active users, and stock cooling (or HP designed) . I think that ~20% lower disspiation for similar capacity might have been a factor in the choice, given that HP probably won't want to support some custom cooling mods under warranty.
"Living by the wisdom of computer science doesn't sound so bad after all. And unlike most advice, it's backed up by proofs." -- Algorithms to live by: The computer science of human decisions.
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Message 1044957 - Posted: 30 Oct 2010, 7:17:31 UTC - in response to Message 1044956.  

Well, you're right. I forgot that such rackmount Server have a poor Cooling Solution for 24/7 under full Load.

Helli
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Message 1045086 - Posted: 30 Oct 2010, 19:53:07 UTC - in response to Message 1044462.  

2 Xeon quad core E5620 processors.
96GB RAM as 6x16GB DIMMs. This allows for doubling the memory while still using the original DIMMs.


Nice. Be aware that if you are using the Intel chipset and running the memory at 1333 MHz, adding memory to the second bank reduces all memory access to 1000 MHz. According to Supermicro at least... That's why I specified my last Xeon server at 6x4 GiB.
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Message 1045109 - Posted: 30 Oct 2010, 21:34:41 UTC - in response to Message 1044914.  

Wouldn't this be a step back (cpu wise) - from 4 x six-core 2.13GHz Xeon (I believe its Xeon E7530) to 2 x quad-core E5620?


The old Xeon 7xxx series uses the antiquated "Front Side Bus" technology, severely limiting the ability for the memory to feed all 6 cores (the Xeon 7xxx series doesn't have HT), even if you're using the multi-FSB, one for each socket. The QuickPath Interconnect of the Xeon 5xxx series should have no bottleneck in feeding the 4 cores + HT (8 possible threads per socket).

Additionally, the Xeon 7xxx series has a shared L2 cache situation, in that each set of cores (3x dual cores = 6 cores) shares a 3MB L2 cache, increasing the need for cache-coherency (if one core changes the contents of the L2 cache, it must update it's "table of contents" so that the other core it is sharing the L2 cache with knows about the changes), which takes additional CPU cycles. The Xeon 5xxx series dedicates a 512KB cache per core, only needing to be split with a "virtual" core in HyperThreading. The higher 16MB L2 cache found in the Xeon 7xxx series is great for DB applications, but that can be offset by the additional threads and higher throughput of the QPI bus and increased memory capabilities.

Jason touched upon another important point: heat dissipation. The Xeon series uses less wattage, thus needing less cooling than the 6-core beasts. This can translate into electrical savings per server, allowing them to fit more servers into their closet with less heat for future considerations.

In all, the Xeon 5xxx series should be better for the project than the Xeon 7xxx series.
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Message 1045155 - Posted: 31 Oct 2010, 1:47:59 UTC

Twins? New name Gemini?
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Message 1045156 - Posted: 31 Oct 2010, 1:59:15 UTC - in response to Message 1045155.  

Two servers, two names from Gemini--Castor and Pollux.
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Message 1045392 - Posted: 1 Nov 2010, 4:29:02 UTC - in response to Message 1045156.  

I was going to post about the twins but then I read the first rule, pretty good for a first post.
Patrick M. O'Rourke


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Profile Dirk Villarreal Wittich
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Message 1045639 - Posted: 2 Nov 2010, 14:18:31 UTC - in response to Message 1045156.  
Last modified: 2 Nov 2010, 14:21:10 UTC

Two servers, two names from Gemini--Castor and Pollux.


Orion is a nice name.....


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Message 1046962 - Posted: 7 Nov 2010, 23:16:48 UTC

Watch out for these CPU's and make sure that the "Green" technologies are not killing you....

http://www.brentozar.com/archive/2010/10/sql-server-on-powersaving-cpus-not-so-fast/

Yeah I know you are running a *.nix and mysql not the dreaded MickySoft stuff,, but when the system BIOS starts deciding you don't need full power... watch out

Kay
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Message 1048841 - Posted: 16 Nov 2010, 8:55:56 UTC - in response to Message 1045639.  

Two servers, two names from Gemini--Castor and Pollux.


Orion is a nice name.....


Yes, it is.



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Message 1048845 - Posted: 16 Nov 2010, 10:10:42 UTC - in response to Message 1045109.  
Last modified: 16 Nov 2010, 10:12:24 UTC

@$o |>0/|/3 read again...
http://ark.intel.com/MySearch.aspx?s=t&FamilyText=Intel%C2%AE%20Xeon%C2%AE%20Processor&CoreCountMin=6
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Message 1048858 - Posted: 16 Nov 2010, 12:55:18 UTC - in response to Message 1045639.  

Two servers, two names from Gemini--Castor and Pollux.


Orion is a nice name.....


Also the name of the cat in Men In Black.
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Message 1048860 - Posted: 16 Nov 2010, 13:15:24 UTC - in response to Message 1048845.  

@$o |>0/|/3 read again...
http://ark.intel.com/MySearch.aspx?s=t&FamilyText=Intel%C2%AE%20Xeon%C2%AE%20Processor&CoreCountMin=6


Thanks for pointing that out. I was only aware of the Xeon 74xx (Dunnington) series. I didn't know about the 75xx+ series (Nehelem EX).

I guess it could be considered a step back in processing power, but it's still a step forward in reliability considering the existing Xeon 7530 motherboard was a test unit, and if I recall correctly the guys in the lab said one of the CPU sockets didn't work.
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Message 1048866 - Posted: 16 Nov 2010, 14:03:40 UTC - in response to Message 1048841.  

Two servers, two names from Gemini--Castor and Pollux.


Orion is a nice name.....


Yes, it is.





that would also make a nice logo for the server :)
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Message boards : Technical News : new server specs (Oct 28, 2010)


 
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