Product Reviews

With a focus firmly on Intel hardware platforms, Transtec offers an impressive range of custom-built pedestal and rack-mount servers. The Premium Server 2600 is the latest to join this very extensive family. It targets SMEs looking for a dependable file and print server, or something reliable enough to run mission-critical applications. The 2600 is a complete Intel package as it comprises the mighty SC5200 chassis and SE7501HG2 motherboard - a fine partnership that delivers a top range of features for the price and includes plenty of fault tolerance.

We were never impressed with Intel's older SC5100 chassis. It was just too big and ugly, even for a server. The SC5200 exhibits the same sturdy but workman-like build quality, and it delivers much better internal design, with big improvements to cooling and power provision. The side panel has been redesigned and now includes an inspection hatch providing full access for replacing the fans. The bulky polystyrene support blocks have also been replaced by a fixed plastic mounting that holds three hot-swap cooling fans. Two more hot-swap fans are fitted at the rear and pulling any of them out results in the remainder switching over to a noisy turbo mode, although they step down quickly once the fan has been replaced.

The front panel features a lockable door, and behind this you'll find plenty of expansion potential. Transtec provides two five-drive hot-swap cages and the price includes a quartet of 37GB Seagate Cheetah Ultra320 hard disks. A tasty specification sits behind the easily removable side panel, and airflow is clearly a key design priority. The entire motherboard is shrouded by a pair of large transparent ducts that force air across all key components and push the exhaust directly to the rear fans.

The motherboard comes equipped with a pair of 3.06GHz Xeon processors fitted with large passive heatsinks. To the left are six DIMM sockets, four of which are occupied by 512MB modules of PC2100 ECC SDRAM. However, the Intel E5701 chipset supports up to 12GB if 2GB modules are used.

Expansion options are plentiful, with the board providing six PCI slots comprising a single 64-bit 133MHz PCI-X slot, a pair of 64-bit 100MHz slots and three 32-bit 33MHz slots. The onboard Adaptec Ultra320

Graphics are dealt with by a serviceable ATi Rage XL chipset and 8MB of RAM, while a pair of Intel gigabit Ethernet adaptors look after the network connection. With the ProSet II utility installed these can be configured for a variety of fault-tolerant links or high-speed, load-balanced trunks. There's plenty of power redundancy as well, as the chassis uses a cage with room for three hot-swap supplies, and the price includes a full complement of modules.

As you'd expect, server management is also handled by Intel, in this case via a bundled software suite. From the Server Management Console you can search for and remotely control any Intel servers on the network. Selecting one takes you over to the Platform Instrumentation Control where you can keep an eye on vital hardware functions, such as fan operation, memory errors, temperatures and voltages.

Alert options are extensive. You can tie in upper and lower thresholds with a wide range of actions including logging to disk, email, pager notification and network broadcast. For critical errors you can shut down or reset the operating system or server, execute a power-off sequence or request an immediate hardware reset if a fault is detected.

The DPC (direct platform control) utility connects to the motherboard's emergency management port, allowing the server to be remotely controlled irrespective of the state of the operating system. The second serial port provides access to the IPMI 1.5-compliant embedded baseboard management controller. From the BIOS you can set this to function as a standard port, as an EMP for local access or for redirecting serial output over the LAN. The latter feature is very similar to 'IPMI over LAN' and allows the server to be remotely accessed over the network using Telnet utilities.

Intel's new Java-based Web Console provides good access to its RAID controller cards. It can be set up to manage local and remote systems, while wizards are provided to assist in array configuration. You can keep a close eye on logical and physical array layouts, add and remove physical disks and monitor rebuild progress. It maintains a log file of all activity and the only thing missing is any alerting facility.

There's no denying this complete Intel package delivers on build quality, expansion potential and fault tolerance. Management tools are well above average and Transtec has also provided a good specification for the price. In all, the Premium Server 2600 would make a fine choice as a workgroup server, or for small or medium businesses looking for a general-purpose workhorse.