In small and medium computer networks and even business networks, multiple servers are deployed for various roles to support the availability and reliability of network resources for all users on the network. In large Windows environments, for example, many machines are installed based on various roles and roles, including domain name server or domain controllers for DNS and Active Directory management, databases, file servers, Exchange for email messaging system, intranet and extranet, website, virus management, print server and more.
In some cases, some server roles are made dedicated on a single machine each, which means that a server role is hosted on a dedicated machine. For example, the Exchange server must use a dedicated machine, and you can even create multiple exchange servers to run in clustering technology for redundancy and reliability. While other non-critical server functions (read: less critical functions) can be hosted together on a single server, for example, you can host virus management, print management, and patch management system on a single machine. You can use a different machine for different server roles, but for heavy tasks like a high-volume database with a lot of query traffic or a sharing system, you must use a powerful machine for high-performance computing processes.
For small and medium computer networks, Dell Power-edge T710 is one of the powerful servers that you can consider for heavy duty computing processes such as database server, financial application server, or exchange server. The new Apple Mac Pro is also a powerful machine for heavy duty computing processes, but is this machine suitable to meet the needs of your business server? Deciding which server machine is appropriate for a certain role is sometimes crucial. The new Apple Mac Pro is designed for heavy-duty scientific applications and is not suitable for the server role, although it can serve as a server. The price of this machine is much more expensive than the Dell Power-edge (PE) T710. Let’s take a look at some spec comparisons between the two machines.
Processors
You have a few processor options to configure your Dell PE T710; You can use Intel Xeon quad-core or six-core 5500 and 5600 series processors. You also have many options for the operating system to use, including Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2008 or 2011, Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Linux Suse Enterprise Server, or Red Hat Enterprise Server.
Apple Mac Pro is powered by an 8-core Intel Xeon E5620 westmere processor or quad-core Intel Xeon W3530 Nehalem processor with Hyper-Threading technology to duplicate your virtual core servers. The operating system used is Mac OS X, a powerful Unix-based operating system.
Both servers use the same Xeon processors but a different variant, the processor used for multitasking computing processes is ideal for server-based tasks.
Graphics support
Unlike the Dell PE T710, whose graphics card is Integrated Matrox G200, each of the new Apple Mac Pro has three display ports for maximum flexibility in the workspace, including two Mini Display Port outputs that connect to a pair of Apple LED cinema screens and a dual-link DVI port. that connects to any type of DVI displays. Not only that, Mac Pro supports two ATI Radeon HD 5770 cards to allow you to connect up to six displays. What does it mean? It will work closely with Apple Mac Pro with one or more displays to meet your needs for scientific graphics applications or heavy duty graphics applications. On the other hand, your Dell PE 710 is integrated with a single standard video card and you will not work closely with your monitor all the time, except for some monitoring or management tasks. And you will even put the server in a very nice server room and work remotely with the server for some networking tasks.
In summary, boot your server with Dell Power-Edge to support the reliability and availability of your server-based network resources. But for graphics-intensive applications or scientific applications, you can consider Apple Mac Pro.
