Win 2k8 Server Configuration

[TAPtech]

Did you get that from Savemyserver on ebay?

I actually just purchased a similar set up, HP DL580 from them. I have a desktop PC running server currently, but want to get more familiar with swapping out drives in RAID and general set up. I plan to do a raid1 setup with the SAS drives and a RAID 5 array for data storage, probably using cheaper sata drives. This will just store my personal data so it won't need to be fast.

I am actually considering selling CPU time for doing Solidworks simulation analysis, but I think the i7 CPU's typically outpace the xeons. The simulation is mainly single core clockspeed bound so I could have 4x quad core xeons and it would be slower than a run of the mill i5 or i7!

 

[ElementalWindX]

I am actually considering selling CPU time for doing Solidworks simulation analysis, but I think the i7 CPU's typically outpace the xeons. The simulation is mainly single core clockspeed bound so I could have 4x quad core xeons and it would be slower than a run of the mill i5 or i7!

What? Selling CPU time? Details?

 

[TAPtech]

I do a lot of work with Engineers and companies with in-house engineering. That was my past line of work.

In Solidworks, you can run FEA analysis which is a simulated "stress test" of a part. For simple parts, the calculation is pretty quick. If you have an assembly, a detailed mesh, and complex loads, the simulation results can take hours to come back even on a quick computer. For an engineer, they either need to sit at a barely operable computer that is blasting out heat running the analysis, or schedule their time properly so they can run the FEA analysis at night.

I am thinking about offering a service where they set up the simulation via RDP on my server and let it run. They can check back later when it is finished and download the results. This way they don't need such an uber work station for their regular work, and they don't need to sit around while it runs the simulation. Sort of like a render farm only much less powerful.

I'm not sure if I would have enough of a market though.