CONTEST! How would YOU do it?
So here I am, sitting at home, planning to plan. Seeing as so many community members (most of whom are smarter than I am) read my blog, I have a challenge for you all: Help me build my home infrastructure.
Here are the materials:
- ONE monster server (HP ProLiant DL-585 G2, 4x dual core Opteron CPUs, 16 GB RAM, 6 SAS hard disks)
- One desktop PC that has traditionally run server OS, but that might change. 2.8GHz, 4 GB RAM, 300 GB SATA hard disks
- One Media Center PC (bedroom): Intel dual-core, 4 GB RAM, 750 GB SATA hard disks
- One desktop PC (family room)
- Two laptops
- 1x D-Link DI-625 802.11n router (office)
- 1x SMC hub (server room) which will likely be replaced with either a gigabit or 100mbit switch
Here are some guidelines which MUST be followed:
- All (parent partition) operating systems must be Microsoft. To those of you who prefer others you are welcome to them, but aside from it being a real preference, I also know where my bread gets buttered.
- I will not use legacy technology. If you recommend Server, it will be Server 2008. If you recommend SBS, it will be SBS 2008.
- I do not want to spend more than $100 on this project. Having said that, between what I have in stock and TechNet licenses remember that all software is free, so if there is $98 worth of hardware feel free to make your recommendation.
- Although we have the one undecided box, all client PCs (including the Media Centre PC) cannot be re-tasked. My son's PC is set up just right for him, Theresa and I like being able to record our favourite shows in the bedroom, and the laptops are simply untouchable. That being said, domain membership can be discussed for any of them.
and lastly, here are a few things to remember:
- The monster server will likely be a virtualization host... so if you plan for three or four servers that is fine.... though the total RAM for all virtual machines cannot exceed fourteen gigabytes.
- As a proud member of the QFamily (long story) I have at least one copy of Home Server on my shelf that can be used.
- The environment must be secure and manageable.
- Although it is nice to be able to do so, I will not host my own mail server; I have a very reliable and well-managed company that hosts garvis.ca on Exchange and I will not be moving that. Web sites, however, are discussable.
- I am very knowledgeable on both Small Business Server and Essential Business Server. I would not be opposed to running either if you make a good argument for it. However I believe that according to the program license I have to wait until Launch in November to do so, which may slightly delay the project.
So that's it. What do I want from you? Suggestions; recommendations; diagrams if you like. However you must justify your choices in prose... in other words, tell me why. It may seem crazy to the rest of us until you clarify your genius. In the end I will take the winning suggestions and implement my infrastructure... simple as that.
Prizes:
I have three copies of Windows Vista Ultimate (SP1) to give away to the people with the best suggestions. If I feel there are more than three people who deserve to win I promise you I am very good at digging up prizes!
Rules:
- The contest opens as soon as this article is posted.
- Submissions must be made by e-mail to mvp@garvis.ca. Your full name and contact information must be included. Although welcome, comments to the blog will not be considered submissions.
- Recommendations may be as elaborate as the entire system or as specific as a single hard drive. Judges (hey that's me & Pete!) reserve the right to use parts of a recommendation and discard others for prizes and for the article.
- All entries must be submitted by Thursday afternoon at 6:00pm EST.
- There is nothing official about this contest. It is not sanctioned by... well, anyone, really. Because of that the rules are subject to my interpretation (and whims!) and all decisions are final. That being said, nobody will win anything because they know me.
- No recommendation will be binding.
- After the decisions are all made I will put together the recommendations and in a blog article I will give credit to people for their suggestions, and quote directly from their prose... though I might correct grammar if needed.
So there you have it... the Garvis.ca How Would YOU Do It? Contest. Let's build this thing out and have some fun doing it!