Question

What does it mean when a server has 100 CPU Cores? When purchasing a server/storage what should I look for/written as?

Answer 1

When purchasing a server/storage what should I look for/written as?

1: Drivers

One of the first things you need to consider before making any purchasing decisions is whether the server you're interested in offers the necessary driver support.

2: Redundancy

Some servers let you install a complete set of redundant memory, while others might include an extra slot you can use to install a spare memory module. The spare memory is used automatically if a memory failure occurs.

3: Hot-swappable components

Try to make sure that the server you choose uses hot-swappable components. For example, you can't swap out a system board or a CPU while the server is running. However, many servers support the use of hot-swappable hard drives, expansion modules, and power supplies.

4: Fault tolerant memory

Another thing you should look for when purchasing a new server is support for fault tolerant memory technologies, such as Error Correcting Code (ECC). ECC memory can dynamically correct single-bit memory errors. ECC memory can also detect (but not correct) double-bit errors.

5: Storage

Servers vary widely in terms of available internal storage.Some servers don't include any internal storage and may boot from a SAN instead. On the other hand, some of the larger form factor servers include support for large internal storage arrays.

6: CPU support

You should also consider the server's CPU architecture.

7: Connectivity

It's easy to overlook network connectivity when purchasing a server. However, network connectivity becomes far more important if the server is going to act as a cluster node or as a virtualization host server.

8: Memory capacity

Consider the amount of memory the server can support. Memory is the single most important resource in a virtual server environment, so you must ensure that the server includes enough memory to support all the guest operating systems skimping on memory.