I have a PE-2650 at home on which I do configuration testing, things I can then use on the newer servers at the office. It cost me nearly nothing ($10) and runs generic drives. With that familiarity I am comfortable with Dell quality and can recommend similar systems.
I also have an entry level HP PA Risc system that uses generic drives and at least some generic PCI cards. We have HP at the office too. I don't have any Apple systems. Not that I dislike them, but I can't afford to have one, not even an older used one, because everything is proprietary and locked up. I've never recommended an Apple system and never can. You aren't losing a sale when I buy an ancient system. I wasn't going to pay full price. But having something around made me happy about Dell. So now I'm not so happy about Dell. I'm supposed to recommend some new database servers soon. I'm looking at Sun because of the Sun/Oracle deal. I'm still ok with HP but wish they had kept PA-RISC. I am in the dark about developments over at IBM. I don't think Dell is the way to go. Chris Howard CIS Database Administrator Platte River Power Authority > -----Original Message----- > From: howard_sho...@dell.com [mailto:howard_sho...@dell.com] > Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 2010 3:18 PM > To: linux-powere...@lists.us.dell.com > Subject: RE: Third-party drives not permitted on Gen 11 servers > > Thank you very much for your comments and feedback regarding exclusive > use of Dell drives. It is common practice in enterprise storage > solutions to limit drive support to only those drives which have been > qualified by the vendor. In the case of Dell's PERC RAID controllers, > we began informing customers when a non-Dell drive was detected with > the introduction of PERC5 RAID controllers in early 2006. With the > introduction of the PERC H700/H800 controllers, we began enabling only > the use of Dell qualified drives. > > There are a number of benefits for using Dell qualified drives in > particular ensuring a positive experience and protecting our data. > > While SAS and SATA are industry standards there are differences which > occur in implementation. An analogy is that English is spoken in the > UK, US and Australia. While the language is generally the same, there > are subtle differences in word usage which can lead to confusion. This > exists in storage subsystems as well. As these subsystems become more > capable, faster and more complex, these differences in implementation > can have greater impact. > > Benefits of Dell's Hard Disk and SSD drives are outlined in a white > paper on Dell's web site at > http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/pvaul/en/dell-hard- > drives-pov.pdf > > -----Original Message----- > From: linux-poweredge-bounces-Lists On Behalf Of Philip Tait > Sent: Friday, February 05, 2010 4:31 PM > To: linux-poweredge-Lists > Subject: Third-party drives not permitted on Gen 11 servers > > I just received my first Gen11 server, R710, with H700 PERC. I removed > the supplied drives, and installed 4 Barracuda ES.2s. After doing a > "Clear Configuration" in the pre-boot RAID setup utility, I can perform > no operation with the drives - they are marked as "blocked". > > Is Dell preventing the use of 3rd-party HDDs now? > > Thanks for any enlightenment. > > Philip J. Tait > http://subarutelescope.org > > _______________________________________________ > Linux-PowerEdge mailing list > Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com > https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge > Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq > > _______________________________________________ > Linux-PowerEdge mailing list > Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com > https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge > Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq _______________________________________________ Linux-PowerEdge mailing list Linux-PowerEdge@dell.com https://lists.us.dell.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-poweredge Please read the FAQ at http://lists.us.dell.com/faq
