[FX.php List] Economical Mac Server setup

[Jonathan Schwartz]

Bob,

Were the heck are you lookin?

These folks make software.

http://www.smileonmymac.com/

And my 2¢ on the server issue....

I use Mac Minis with 7200RPM server grade hard 
drives because I host at a colo. It cost 
~$30/month to host.  I have multiple machines to 
deal with load and possibility of downtime.  Most 
of the time, they sit thee, asking for more work. 
;-)

J

At 6:43 PM -0600 2/10/09, Bob Patin wrote:
>Karl,
>
>Respectfully speaking, I think you're not 
>considering the most important aspects of 
>hosting databases:
>
>1. Drive speed - I already talked about that, 
>but I'll reiterate that drive speed is an 
>important part of serving databases;
>
>2. Reliability - Here's a good comparison -- on 
>Smile On My Mac's site right now they have a G5 
>dual-2.0Ghz for $699; they also have an Intel 
>Mac Mini 1.66 for $499; granted, an Intel Mac 
>would be a better choice, all things equal, but 
>having used both extensively, I would trust a G5 
>tower much more than I'll ever trust a Mac Mini. 
>I have 6 here, so I do have lots of experience 
>with Mac Minis; incidentally, I have 4 G5 towers 
>too.
>
>I just don't see a $200 savings being the 
>determining factor when choosing a production 
>machine, when one catastrophic failure can cause 
>you to permanently lose a client.
>
>3. If your client were to visit your facility, 
>and you showed him the Mac Mini on which his 
>precious databases were running, would he feel 
>reassured? Probably not. On the other hand, you 
>show him a G5 tower--would he feel reassured? 
>Most likely. Granted, the G5 is not cutting-edge 
>by any means, but I use it as an example of what 
>I consider to be the lowest acceptable machine 
>for production use.
>
>Here's one last consideration: on Smile on my 
>Mac's site (I use them as an example because 
>they sell a ton of used Macs and are very 
>reliable), you can make these choices:
>
>G5 2.0 dual - $699
>G5 1.6 single - $449
>Mac Mini 1.66 Intel - $499
>
>What would I choose, if money were really tight? The 2nd option.
>
>I agree that you need to balance your needs, but needs should be prioritized:
>
>1. Reliability - this MUST be first in the list
>2. Speed
>3. Price
>
>... not the other way around... :)
>
>OK, I'm off my soapbox now!
>
>Bob Patin
>Longterm Solutions LLC
>bob at longtermsolutions.com
>615-333-6858
>http://www.longtermsolutions.com
>Twitter: bobpatin
>iChat/AIM: bobpatin
>FileMaker 9 Certified Developer
>Member of FileMaker Business Alliance & TechNet
>--------------------------
>FileMaker hosting and consulting for all versions of FileMaker
>PHP * Full email services * Free DNS hosting * Colocation * Consulting
>
>
>
>On Feb 10, 2009, at 6:09 PM, Karl Johnson wrote:
>
>>John,
>>
>>We are setting up a Mac Mini as a  FMPro 10 
>>Server advanced to share out to a number of 
>>clients.  The one draw back I see potentially 
>>coming in is the limitation of the hard drive 
>>size especially if the clients need to store 
>>photos.  Other than that a Mac Mini or a G5 
>>will work wonders.
>>
>>Whenever I look at setting up a new server of 
>>any sort, I always try and weigh affordability 
>>now and how long until I need to upgrade.  
>>The upgrade piece can be tricky as software 
>>(FMPro or other) may require newer OS than 
>>machine can handle.  When you find the balance 
>>of needs then choosing a machine is easy.
>>
>>Karl
>
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-- 
Jonathan Schwartz
Exit 445 Group
jonathan at exit445.com
http://www.exit445.com
415-370-5011