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Date:      Sun, 1 Sep 2002 15:51:44 -0700 (PDT)
From:      Doug White <dwhite@gumbysoft.com>
To:        Eric Anderson <anderson@centtech.com>
Cc:        Clifton Royston <cliftonr@lava.net>, <chat@freebsd.org>
Subject:   Re: [long] Server motherboard recommendations for 4.X/5.X?
Message-ID:  <20020901154525.X5949-100000@carver.gumbysoft.com>
In-Reply-To: <3D6FE01E.4050106@centtech.com>

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On Fri, 30 Aug 2002, Eric Anderson wrote:

> Has anyone recommended Dell stuff?  I'm sure they'll have something that fits
> you.  I use all kinds of their stuff for FreeBSD, and the the RAID controllers
> are supported in FreeBSD easily.

Not really ... I just evaled a PowerEdge 2650 and a 1650.

1) The onboard Broadcom gigabit ethernet has interrupt issues -- times
   out and generally doesn't work on either -stable or -current.
2) The hardware monitoring is not IPMI compliant even though Dell says it
   is.  The system inteface does not conform to the standard.
3) The PE2650 is a poorly built machine -- its possible to damage the
   front keyboard port with the top cover, it can't be front-mounted, its
   huge, and generally feels cheap. The 1U chassis is of the previous
   generation and is generally better built.
4) Dell can't make up their mind what disk carrier they want to use, so
   they aren't cross-compatible across their line.
5) The 2650 can only take 5 disks; most other large manufacturers (HP,
   Intel) support 6 or 7 disks.

I can't recommend Dell at this time... Intel has a much better designed
and built system and gives equivalent if not superior feature sets and
warranty coverage.  Plus you can support your local system builder rather
than contributing to the 800 pound gorilla.

-- 
Doug White                    |  FreeBSD: The Power to Serve
dwhite@gumbysoft.com          |  www.FreeBSD.org


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