For budding companies out there, looking for a server can be a daunting task that requires an equally daunting investment. If you look at those IBMs, Dells, and HP servers, even if you find the right server that would fit your company, you would probably cringe when you see the price. Some would opt to go with a powerful desktop PC to act as a server but you should know it’s not enough. Having non-server grade components for your server will surely shorten its lifespan.
I was able to have a chat with local server solutions company called PRIMA last week and they showed me their strength over other established server brands out there. First and foremost, PRIMA is a local server brand for Intel (the only one), they’re not those fly-by-night clone server manufacturers. Basically, the internals like the processors, memory modules, motherboard, hard disk, power supply, etc. are the same server-grade and authorized by Intel as that of the established brands.
Case in point with this PRIMA VS 1 and it’s HP counterpart, the Proliant ML350. If you lay down the specs side-by-side, things are looking pretty much the same but you will save almost 50% in price.
PRIMA VS1 | HP Proliant ML350 G6 1P 6GB-R P410i/256 460W RPS Tower Server | |
---|---|---|
Number of CPU support | 2 | 2 |
CPU installed | Multi-core Intel Xeon E5620 2.4Ghz | Multi-core Intel Xeon E5620 2.4Ghz |
FSB / cache | 5.86GT/s QPI, 12MB | 1333Mhz, 12MB |
Chipset | Intel® 5520 Chipset | Intel® 5520 Chipset |
Total Slots | 6 | 6 |
Slot types | 4 x PCI express 2.0 x 8 slot | 1 x PCI-Express x16 Gen2 (x8 speed) |
1 x PCI express 1.0 x 4 slot (x8 mechanical) | 1 x PCI-Express x8 Gen2 (x8 speed) | |
1 x PCI 32/33 (5V) slot | 4 x PCI-Express x8 Gen2 (x4 speed) | |
Optical Disk Drive | SATA DVD-R/RW Drive | SATA DVD ROM |
Memory/ Max. Capacity | 4GB ECC DDR3 / 4 DDR3 DIMM sockets (Unbuffered only),32GB max | 6GB (3 x 2GB) PC3-10600R (DDR3-1333) Registered DIMMs |
HDD / capacity | 2 x 500GB SATA2 fixed/ 4 max fixed bays; 4 hot swap bays | 2 x 507127-B21 HP 300GB 10K SAS 2.5 HP HDD;(8) SFF SAS/SATA HDD Bays; upgradeable to (16) |
Intel RAID support | RAID 0,1 optional RAID 5 thru IESRAID | |
Integrated LAN | 2 x Intel GB LAN with VT | Embedded NC326i PCI Express Dual Port Gigabit Server Adapter |
Integrated Graphics | Server Engine LLC PilotII w/ 64MB DDR2 | Integrated ATI RN50, 64MB video standard |
Power Supply | 600W fixed w/ PFC | (1) 460 Watt Hot-Plug (Redundancy enabled) power supply |
System Mgt. Software | Intel Deployment Assistant | HP Integrated Lights-Out Standard |
Chassis Type | Tower | Tower |
Accessories | none | PS/2 Keyboard and Mouse ship standard |
Warranty | 3-3-3 | 3-3-3 |
Operating Syterm (options) | All Certified Operating Systems | Microsoft Windows Server |
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) | ||
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) | ||
VMware | ||
HP Citrix Essentials for XenServer | ||
SRP | Php89,000.00 | Php165,000* |
I’m not saying that branded players are making a killing out of the market but they do have a name to protect so they must offer top-notch support and services. But for small start-ups, being practical when it comes to server-hunting than having a brand is more important and that’s where PRIMA comes in.
PRIMA is not yet well-known in the server circles but they have a lot of wins already in the government sector. If you wish to learn more about the company or see other servers and services they offer, head over to www.primasolutions.com.ph.