Servers: Build or Buy?

Recently this week at Dell World 2014, Dell announced that they were launching their PowerEdge FX converged architecture server line. With this new server, Dell promises even more configurability while reducing complexity and simplifying management. As the server industry is maturing, systems seem to be getting more flexible while at the same time more affordable and accessible for SMBs.

However, what about built-in-house servers? It seems that the trend of SMBs building their own servers is shrinking as buying servers is becoming the preferred method. In a thread on Spiceworks, users discussed the merits of building a server in-house with white box components compared to purchasing a prebuilt server from a well-known manufacturer. The overall consensus was that buying a preconfigured server was far more ideal than building your own server. Multiple comparison points were brought up, including cost, compatibility, and support.

Computer enthusiasts often proselytize the benefits of building a computer. Meanwhile, proponents of buying a server assembled maintain that it is the better option for a variety of reasons. Let us analyze both approaches with a pros and cons list.

For SMBs with a limited IT budget, two of the biggest advantages to building a server in-house are configurability and cost. The amount of configurability is hard to argue, but is cost isn’t. In order to see if building a server truly is more cost effective, we will pick a preconfigured server and attempt to build a server with similar hardware specifications.

So for a preconfigured server, the HP ProLiant ML350 G9 Tower Server System  will serve as a good mid-range system that has decent hardware. Here are the full hardware specifications.

To best match that system, we will use the following components in an in-house configuration. In this configuration, I will attempt to minimize cost as much as possible without deviating from the system specifications above.

As users on Spiceworks have stated, SMBs will find more value in the software, warranty, and support found in server offerings from big-name manufacturers.Though the price of the system we built is lower than the preconfigured system is lower, price alone does not tell the entire story. To start with, the barebone server kit used had fewer expansion bays, supported fewer expansion card slots, and did not have any of the software management tools included with the HP ProLiant system.

What about your datacenter? Does your IT department purchase prebuilt servers, configure them to order, or build their own?

Wallace Chu

A self-professed tech hipster that loves computers and music. Uses an iPhone ironically.

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