Rackservers.com R16-1920G

Network services are well catered for, with Tyan including a pair of embedded Intel PRO100+ server adaptor chipsets providing two dual-speed network ports. The bundled Intel ProSet II utility allows you to team the two together to create fault-tolerant or load-balanced links. Redundancy also extends to power, as the chassis comes with three hot-swap 250W supplies fitted in an integral unit with two input sockets.

The server was supplied without any management facilities, as Tyan's server management connector wasn't available at the time of review. Costing £75, this provides features such as remote rebooting and monitoring of processors, fans, voltages and temperatures. RAID options are plentiful - 3ware bundles its 3DM management utility, which provides a tidy web browser interface from which you can view and monitor the controllers and RAID arrays.

Alerting options are basic, since they only extend to sounding an audible warning if an error is detected or sending an email to one recipient. Hot-standby and replacement drives can be introduced into an array from here, while maintenance tasks such as rebuilds, array verification and media scans can be scheduled to run outside normal hours.

There's no denying the R16-1920G packs a mighty punch when it comes to storage - this is the highest capacity we've seen in any rack-mount server. The IDE-based storage and 3ware RAID cards are a smart partnership that keeps costs down, but not at the expense of features. We've yet to see Tyan's server management tools, but as long as the company delivers on these the R16-1920G looks a good, cost-effective choice for applications where masses of RAID-protected storage is a priority.

Author: Dave Mitchell