The No-Name Everyone Knows
Intel certifies that its hardware components work together and that the various server operating systems run on each combination of hardware. It has assembled an international cadre of resellers and provides a slew of services to make sure the resellers can support the equipment they market. On a midrange system, you'll save $1,000 or more over a comparable system purchased from a first-tier server vendor. IDC estimates that close to 30 percent of all server purchases are of white- box systems.
Worried about selection? Intel provides the components for anything from 1U rackmount servers for single-processor Pentium 4 systems up to 4U quad-processor systems that use Intel's latest Itanium 2 processor technology.
Not big enough? How about a 7U system with room for internal expansion? Intel uses name-brand components (mostly its own), including Adaptec SCSI host controllers, and provides all the optional redundancy you're likely to need, making it a safe bet on the hardware side. The support issue is the unknown quantity (see "Premier Resellers" on page 64).
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