FOR TEST PURPOSES WHEN NEEDED: Let us use a 90+ computer, 4 Network server (W2k & Novell), DSL internet access, T1 Wan access to other Corporation facilities (600 or so) with comparable or lesser equipment. Centralized MIS department. Extreme by most standards. Let's face it: the more, the MORE complicated it gets.

Hype 1: I have to have Cisco equipment...

Take some major brands of computer Hubs/Switches, 3Com, Intel, Cnet, Cisco Systems. We need five 24 port hubs/switches in the above facility.  All five hubs use 10/100 auto sensing ports or are straight 100.
1. All brands run equally TCPIP, IP, NetBEUI, IPX protocols.
2. All brands run equally autosensing.
3. All brands run the same cabling limits associated with Cat 5/6 cable.
4. Cnet is half price of 3Com which is 1/3 the price of Cisco.
5. In the Cisco hubs/switches 3 items can be done not available to the others.
• In 10/100 you can turn off the autosensing (making the port 10 Mhz).
• You can isolate ports from one another. (Make one hub act like 2 separate hubs. This is only needed for SFT3 Novell Servers, dual mirrored servers.) Or just buy two 12 port hubs to do the same thing in the other brands.
• Thirdly, the MIS department can dial into the Cisco and do the configuration from the MIS head quarters, instead of what a computer tech or secretary could do on the phone to the MIS department with the other brands.
Bottom line... Don't waste your money, resources or training and certification money on Cisco.

The most important sought out information by employees is "What is Joe Blow's salary?"  If this is so important then...

USE NOVELL end of discussion.

If you are 24 hour, 366 day per year mission critical... maybe. I do mean maybe! IF your server is down one hour and you lose money, lots of money then NOVELL mirrored server and that's all folks.

As for biggest: In 99% of all servers in all instances less than 6 gigabyte of information is shared by departments and users. All archive is done with tape backup or some other means of backup.

As for the badest: The top of the line HP server without extra hardrives or software is $7000. 99% of all the facilities in the world could use one we build for about $1800.

As far as speed goes: It is almost always better to upgrade workstations not servers!  But it is your money we can upgrade your server too.

Pentium 4 server are the slowest servers made in the pass 3 years.  An AMD K6 400 MHz is faster that a P4 server if you have the same amount of memory and same hardrive(s) or raid system.

AMD Duals Opterons are probably overall the fastest server.  Dual Xenon next.
 

More later...

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