BICT Assessment Cover Sheet

Assessment Details:
Semester

Semester B 2014-2015

Course No.

ITB 7212

Assessment Title

Server Systems Report (Individual)

Tutors

Trevor Prendergast

Course Coordinator

Trevor Prendergast

Weight

20 %

Learning Outcomes
Covered

The following learning outcome will be assessed in this assessment:

3: Evaluate the applicability of cloud computing for different scenarios
with regard to business concerns.

Late Rule

A penalty of 5% will be applied for each calendar day the assessment

is submitted late.

Due Date

9th April, 2015

Duration

Course Title

Time

Cloud Computing

11:55 pm

Student Details:
Student ID

201100984

Student Name

Abeer AlRumaidh

By submitting this assessment for marking, either electronically or as hard copy, I confirm the following:

This assignment is my own work.

Any information used has been properly referenced.

I understand that a copy of my work may be used for moderation.

I have kept a copy of this assignment

Abeer AlRumaidh
201100984
Server System Report
Word Count: 2487 word

Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3
Hardware ...................................................................................................................................................... 4
Comparison ............................................................................................................................................... 4
Processor................................................................................................................................................... 5
Memory (RAM) ......................................................................................................................................... 5
Storage ...................................................................................................................................................... 5
RAID........................................................................................................................................................... 6
Software ........................................................................................................................................................ 7
Mail Server Software ................................................................................................................................ 7
Web Server Software ................................................................................................................................ 7
Database server software ......................................................................................................................... 8
Operating System........................................................................................................................................ 10
Discussion.................................................................................................................................................... 11
Small Organization (1 3 staff) ............................................................................................................... 11
Medium Organization (5 50 staff) ........................................................................................................ 11
Large Organization (100 500 staff)....................................................................................................... 11
Reference .................................................................................................................................................... 12

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Introduction
This report was requested by Mr.Trevor Prendergast, The head of ICT and Web Media School
in Bahrain Polytechnic and it is due on the 9th of April 2015. Servers are different when it comes
to sizes, specification, components and types. The purpose of this report is to discuss different
types of servers, operating system, and software. The first section is going to be about
Composition between three different servers from a different vendors. This is the second section
would be about three different server software types such as web server and mail server and
database server. The third part is going to be about operating system and comparing them
between compare five features and both of them. The last part is a discussion to decide which
technology suit different kind of organization and provide reasoning for the choices.

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Hardware
In this section of the report, there will be a comparison between three different server from different
vendors and they are HP ProLiant DL160 Gen9 Server, PowerEdge T630 and IBM System x3650 M4.

Comparison
These servers will be compered based on their hardware components as seen in the table below:
Specification

HP ProLiant BL660c Gen8 E54620v2 4P 128GB-R

PowerEdge T630

IBM System x3650 M4

Manufacture

HP

DELL

IBM

Type

Blade Server

Tower Server

Rack Server

Processor

Intel Xeon E5-4620 v2 (8

core, 2.5 GHz, 20MB, 95W)

Intel Xeon E5 2600 v3

Intel Xeon E5-2600 v2

Memory

128GB
(32 DIMM slots)

1536 GB
(24 DIMM slots)

768 GB
(24 DIMM slots)

Network Card

10Gb 534FLB FlexFabric

Adapter 2 Ports per
controller
Maximum internal storage :
80 TB

Broadcom 5720 dual-port

1Gb NIC

4 1 GbE (std.), 2 10 GbE

Embedded Adapter

Maximum internal storage :

100 TB

Maximum internal storage :

84 TB

RAID

RAID 0 , 1

RAID 0 , 1 , 6 , 5 , 10 , 50

Supported Operating
system and
virtualization

Microsoft Windows Server

2008/2012 SP2, x86/x64 (x64
includes Hyper-VTM )
Microsoft Windows HPC
Server 2008
Novell SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
VMware ESX
Oracle Solaris
Citrix XenServer

Microsoft Windows Server

2008/2012 SP2, x86/x64 (x64
includes Hyper-VTM )
Microsoft Windows Server
2008/2012 R2, x64 (includes
Hyper-VTM v2)
Microsoft Windows HPC
Server 2008
Novell SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
VMware ESX

RAID 0 , 1 , 10 , 6
OPTINAL RAID : 5 , 50 , 60
Microsoft Windows Server
2008/2012 SP2, x86/x64 (x64
includes Hyper-VTM )
Microsoft Windows HPC
Server 2008
Novell SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
VMware ESX

Cost

9,949.00$

2,296$

Storage

23,750$

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Picture

As seen in the table of the server comparison, it was based on comparing them in the following categories:

Processor
It is a microchip that is implemented in the CPU hard drive that process the instructions sent by the computer or
Applications (What is processor?). Processor has different speeds and cores, if the processor is has a higher
speed and more cores it mean that the server speed will be faster and the performance will be higher. In three
servers that has been compared, each one of them has a different processor. The first server which is HP ProLiant
BL660c Gen8 E5-4620v2 4P 128GB-R has Intel Xeon E5-4620 v2 as a processer and it has 8 core and speed of 2.5
GHz which will provide normal speed to the server. Furthermore , the second serer which is PowerEdge T630 has
Intel Xeon E5 2600 v3 processor which has a 10 core and a speed of 2.6 GHz , the speed is higher than the
previous server and because it has more cores , the performance will be higher that the HP server. The last server
which is IBM System x3650 M4 has Intel Xeon E5-2600 v2 processer with 12 core and 2.7 GHz as a speed and thats
mean that this server has the higher performance between all of the servers

Memory (RAM)
It the memory that store the data and load the operating system when the device is booting. For the servers that
has been chosen, the server that has the highest memory space is PowerEdge T630 which is 1536 GB and then
comes the second server which is IBM System x3650 M4 with 768 GB and at the end comes that last server which
is HP ProLiant BL660c Gen8 E5-4620v2 4P 128GB-R with 128 GB . The DELL and IBM server both has 24 DMM slots
and the HP server has 32 slot.

Storage
The storage is where all the data of the server are saved in. it known as the hard drive or hard disk, all
the server should have them. The HP server has up to 80 GB as internal storage, The Dell Server has up
to 100 GB and the IBM server has 84 GB. By this it is know that the DELL server has better scalability
than other servers.

Abeer AlRumaidh
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Server System Report
Word Count: 2487 word

RAID
It is redundant array of independent disks that is a data storage with a virtualize technology that
use more than one disk components to create a logical unit to provide redundancy for data and
improve the performance and if more layers of RAID are used on a server that increase that
data availability ("Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks (RAIDs)"). Some servers can support more
layers of RAID than other like IBM System x3650 M4 can support 7 layers of RAID which are 0,
1, 10, 6, 5, 50 and 60. Meanwhile PowerEdge T360 Support 6 layers of RAID which is a layer
less from the previous server. Lastly, HP support only 2 layers and they are layer 0 and 1. The
meaning of this discussion is that the IBM has a higher data availability than both of the servers.

Based on the research that has been conducted, the servers are from different vendor and each one of
them has requirement but they may share some similarities as show in the table below.

HP ProLiant BL660c Gen8

E5-4620v2 4P 128GB-R

Performance
Scalability
Data Availability

Low
Low
Low

PowerEdge T630

High
Higher
High

IBM System x3650 M4

Higher
High
Higher

As seen in the table, IBM server has the higher performance because of it processer with 12-core
meanwhile DELL server is the best when it comes to scalability because of it hard disk that can go up to
100 TB. When it comes to Data Availability, IBM has the higher data availability because it support 7
layers of RAID , DELL server support 6 layers and HP support 2 layers.

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Server System Report
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Software
The software section of the report, there will be a comparison and dissuasion about three different
server software which are Mail server, Web server and Database server.

Mail Server Software

Mail Server handle the sending process for the client emails to the internet. SMTP is used to handle the
outgoing messages and POP3 and IMAP handle the incoming messages ("What is mail server (mail
transfer/transport agent, MTA, mail router, Internet mailer)? - Definition from WhatIs.com").
Microsoft Office 365
Linux
Unix
Windows
Mac OS X
Close Source

Suitable for

Source Type
Cost
Icon

$8.25 per user/year

Axigen 8.1

Gmail

Linux
Unix
Windows
Solaris
Close Source

Linux
Unix
Windows
Mac OS X
Close Source

$290

Free

As seen in table above, all three of Mail server software are suitable for Linux, Unix, Windows and Mac
OS X except Axigen 8.1 that is not suitable for Mac OS X but is Suitable for Solaris. All Three of them are
closed source which is good for security purposes. Gmail is a free software meanwhile office 365 cost
almost $8.25 per user in a year and Axigen 8.1 cost $290 ("Office when and where you need it"),
("Business Email, Calendaring & Collaboration"), ("Gmail - Free Storage and Email from Google").

Web Server Software

Web server is a technology that processes the request through HTTP Protocol. HTTP which is the
Hypertext Transfer Protocol distribute information to the World Wide Web ("What is web server - a
computer of a program?"). The webservers that has been chosen are internet Information service (IIS),
Apache 3.4.0 and Cherokee.

Suitable for

internet Information
service (IIS)
Windows

Apache 3.4.0
(SpamAssassin)
Linux
Unix

Cherokee

Linux
Solaris

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Source Type

Open Source

Windows
Mac OS X
Open Source

Cost
Features

Free
CPU Throttling
Application Initialization

Free
Wide-spectrum
Easy Configuration

Free
Modern Technologies
Cross Platform

Mac OS X

Open Source

Icon

IIS which is Internet information system is a set of web servers such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol
(HTTP) and File Transfer (FTP). IIS is secure, easy to manage and flexible webserver that help client to
browse to websites. IIS is used Windows platform. Apache SpamAssassin is an extendible webserver that
mean that the developer can make changes and add new rules. Apache is used by Linux, Unix, Windows
and Mac OS X. Cherokee has an attractive graphical user interface and it is supported by Linux, Solaris,
Windows and Mac OS X. All these web server softwares are open source and free for users.
By comparing between the three software, they are all an open source so that the user can fix any issues
while the software without the need to contact the support tem of the vendors. Cherokee has a friendly
user interface mean while none of the IIS or Apache have the same feature. Apache has a special feature
that the admin can use to prevent spam emails which is not available in both of the others. Apache and
Cherokee support 4 different operating system while IIS is only for Windows which may have a bad
impact on the web server because there are a lot replacement from other webservers ("Evolved Web
Infrastructure Software") , ("SpamAssassin: Welcome to SpamAssassin") , ("A flexible & easy-to-manage
web server...").

Database server software

Database server is a program that the computer programs and computers can use so that they get
database services. The database server has task like data analysis, data storage and data archiving. The
database server software that were chosen are Outlook database Enterprise edition, firebird and
Sybase.

Suitable for

Oracle database
Enterprise edition
Linux
Unix
Windows

Source Type

Close Source

Cost

For the software and

the license : $52,250

firebird

Sybase

Linux
Unix
Windows
Mac OS
Solaris
Open Source

Free

Free

Linux
Windows

Open Source

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Icon

By comparing the three softwares, each of one of them support many programming languages but
Oracle database Enterprise edition support more than the other servers. All the softwares are
supported by Linux and windows but Firebird is used also for Mac OS and Solaris. Both of Firebird and
Sybase are free open source database server software unlike Oracle database Enterprise edition which is
a closed source and it cost $52,250 ("1 Oracle Database Editions."),("Oracle Database 12c Enterprise
Edition") , ("Firebird: The true open source database for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and more"),
("Sybase").

Abeer AlRumaidh
201100984
Server System Report
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Operating System
In this section of the report, two operating systems will be compared based on their hardware
requirement, source type, cost and features. The operating systems that has been chosen are Ubuntu
14.04.2 LTS and Windows server 2012 R2.

Vendor

Ubuntu 14.04.2
Canonical Ltd

Windows server 2012 R2

Microsoft

Source Type

Open Source

Close Source

Cost

Free

$882

Hardware Requirement

RAM : 512MB
Hard disk space : 2.75GB
[1 GB for Base System]
[1.75 All task installed]

RAM : Up to 4 GB
Hard dusk space : 160 GB
[40 GB system partition]

Features

Hardware Support
Better network
Security

Server Storage
Data protection

Icon

As seen in the tables above, there are some hardware for both of the operating system .in Ubuntu 14.04
to install this operating system it require 512 MB of RAM and Hard disk of 2.75 GB meanwhile Windows
Server 2012 R2 need up to 4 GB of RAM and Space of a hard disk of 160 GB which more than the
hardware requirements for Ubuntu. The other difference between the both of them is that Ubuntu is an
free open source operating system but on the other hand Windows server 2012 is an Closed source and
cost $882 . Ubuntu Documentation"), ("Windows Server 2012 R2")
Ubuntu features ("Whats new in Ubuntu Server 14.04 LTS?"):

Hardware Support: ARM Multiplatform that enable system administrators to build a single ARM
kernel so that it can be booted through several hardware platform.
Better Network: Open vSwitch 2.0.1 support was added to this version to introduce a better TCP
connection management and improved attack tolerance.
Security: More Control over system and applications.

Windows features ("What's New in Windows Server Essentials"):

Data Protection: This feature configure the file history backup of each user instead of each device
and it became easier to retrieve old data from File history backup.
Server Storage: Enable creating shared folders on different server as a backup plan.

Abeer AlRumaidh
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Server System Report
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Discussion
In the final part of the report, there should be Discussion to decide to allocate a physical server, an
operating system and a servers software.

Small Organization (1 3 staff)

Specification

ThinkServer RS140

Processer

Intel Xeon E3-1285 v3 Series, Intel Core i3 Series

Memory

Up to 32GB memory / 4 UDIMMs

Hard disk

Up to 8TB internal storage

Price

$806.55

This server is suitable for an organization of 1 3 staff member because their usage will be light and
they would not need more requirement than that once that are provide , the server is a an affordable
and the price range is good for a startup company. The server has a internal storage of 8TB which is
enough for 3 staff members (Small & Medium Business). The operating system that is recommended
to be installed is Ubuntu 14.04.2 with is a free operating system, this operating system is good because
it do not need a lot of hardware requirement.

Medium Organization (5 50 staff)

This kind of organization will be needing a speed and high performance server with high Scalability and
that why PowerEdge T630 server was recommended because based of the comparison above it has
been approved that it has a high performance, it fast and it scalable. it also recommended for
companies that are planning to grow in the future which is companies like this organization. Windows
server 2012 R2 is the operating system that should be installed of the server because the server can
handle the hardware requirement and medium companies need a data protection feature because they
will have more database the small organization

Large Organization (100 500 staff)

The server that has been recommended for this organization is the IBM Server which is IBM System
x3650 M4 because it is the higher performance and faster server in all the servers that has been
compared and it scalable and can be more scalable by adding more hard disk because it has extra slots.
The operating system that has been chosen is Windows server 2012 R2 which is a suitable operating
system because it is easy to be used and it has feature that will be really helpful for large organizations.

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Reference

1 Oracle Database Editions. (n.d.). Retrieved April 6, 2015, from

http://docs.oracle.com/cd/B28359_01/license.111/b28287/editions.htm#DBLIC109

A flexible & easy-to-manage web server... (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2015, from
http://www.iis.net/

Business Email, Calendaring & Collaboration. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2015, from
https://www.axigen.com/mail-server/business/

Evolved Web Infrastructure Software. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http://cherokeeproject.com/

Find your computer's processor speed. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2015, from
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/find-your-computers-processor-speed

Firebird: The true open source database for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and more. (n.d.).
Retrieved April 5, 2015, from http://www.firebirdsql.org/en/about-firebird/

Gmail - Free Storage and Email from Google. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2015, from
https://www.gmail.com/intl/en_us/mail/help/about.html

Office when and where you need it. (n.d.). Retrieved march 29, 2015, from
https://products.office.com/en-us/business/explore-office-365-for-business

Oracle Database 12c Enterprise Edition. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2015, from
http://www.oracle.com/us/products/database/enterprise-edition/overview/index.html

Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks (RAIDs). (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2015, from
http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~remzi/OSTEP/file-raid.pdf

Small & Medium Business. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2015, from http://shopping1.hp.com/isbin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/WW-USSMBPublicStore-Site/en_US/-/USD/ViewProductDetailStart?ProductUUID=ibgQ7EN5abYAAAFCZWNsVW.Z

SpamAssassin: Welcome to SpamAssassin. (n.d.). Retrieved April 4, 2015, from

http://spamassassin.apache.org/

Sybase. (n.d.). Retrieved April 6, 2015, from http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/Sybase.html

Abeer AlRumaidh
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ThinkServer Rack Servers |. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2015, from

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/servers/thinkserver/racks/

Ubuntu Documentation. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2015, from

https://help.ubuntu.com/lts/serverguide/ubuntu-support.html

What is mail server (mail transfer/transport agent, MTA, mail router, Internet mailer)? Definition from WhatIs.com. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2015, from
http://searchsoa.techtarget.com/definition/mail-server

What is processor? definition and meaning. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2015, from
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/processor.html

What is web server - a computer of a program? (n.d.). Retrieved April 6, 2015, from
http://www.webdevelopersnotes.com/basics/what_is_web_server.php

Whats new in Ubuntu Server 14.04 LTS? (2014, April 1). Retrieved March 28, 2015, from
https://pages.canonical.com/rs/canonical2/images/14.04_Server_brochure_screen_final.pdf

What's New in Windows Server Essentials. (2014, July 3). Retrieved April 10, 2015, from
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn303448.aspx

Windows Server 2012 R2. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2015, from http://www.microsoft.com/enus/server-cloud/products/windows-server-2012-r2/Comparison.aspx