LECTURE 12

SERVER HARD WARE – OVERVIEW

SMALL SERVER SPECIFICATIONS
ROBUST SERVER SPECIFICATIONS
SERVER TERMINOLOGY
SAMPLE SERVER CONFIGURATIONS
CONCLUSION

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OVERVIEW

• Combination of hardware, operating system and software

constitute a server
• Server is a computer system with permanent connection to
internet and subsystems that protect against power outages,
hackers and system crashes.
• Server performance plays important role in customer
satisfaction and future scalability
• E-commerce websites can run on own servers or out-sourced
to a hosting company.
• In both cases, its advisable to learn about necessary hardware
requirements.

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SMALL SERVER SPECIFICATIONS

• Server cost is main barrier to small businesses, with time

hardware costs have reduced and difficulty to set up is minimized.
SERVER NEEDS
• Normal server consists of:
• Hardware
• Operating system
• One or more pieces of software (web, email, application server)
• Security wise, web server should be stand alone
• Depending on content and database connectivity, install as much
memory and hard drive as budget allows.
• Server performance depends on CPU, ideally get as much
powerful CPU as possible.
• Server should be equipped with UPS and Backup solutions.
• e.g. server: 400Mhz CPU with 128MB RAM and 3GB Hard Drive is
sufficient enough to run a small static (brochure ware) web site.

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ROBUST SERVER SPECIFICATION

“You can never have too much capacity”

• Server configuration in a high traffic site is anyone’s “best
guess” as server does not only have to adapt evolving
business, but also new technology.
• Demand for disk space, memory and CPU max outs faster than
anyone can predict. Servers quickly expand beyond limit of
single platform.
SERVER NEEDS
e.g. dual CPU 1500MHz, 2 GB RAM or better, and SCSI Hard Drives
with 10,000 RPM or better.

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MGT644 - Introduction to eCommerce
SERVER TERMINOLOGY
PROCESSOR:
• CPU industry is highly competitive, as mentioned before consider
fastest CPU that budget allows.
• Other factors that effect are:
• Architecture (64-bit or 32-bit)
• Cache levels (more cache, better)
• Solution availability (motherboard chips available to support CPU)
• Software support (Operating system support)
• Cost (do I really have to tell about this as well?)
• Server class CPU manufacturers are plenty, like IBM, NEC, HP,
SUN SPARC, AMD, Intel
• Two most competitive CPU manufacturers are Intel with Xeon and
Itanium Processors and AMD with Opteron CPUs.

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MGT644 - Introduction to eCommerce
CPU Word Size Comparison Cache Illustration

Server Class CPU’s from Intel &

AMD

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MGT644 - Introduction to eCommerce
CLUSTERING:
• Essentially multiple hardware work together to work as single
source using software, switches and routers.
• This surpass limitations of a single hardware source.
• Availability and reliability becomes greater.
• Cluster also performs load balancing, distributing tasks among
different hardware depending on work load.
• In extreme cases, software can automatically exclude failed
server and allocate tasks to working servers.
• To network administrators, cluster appear as single server,
streamlining network management efforts.

Facebook
Server Farm

Virginia Tech Apple MAC Super Computing Cluster

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LOAD BALANCING SWITCHES AND ROUTERS:
• Another load bearing solution, distributing traffic to group of servers
sharing load among them.
• Early versions were design to support web traffic distributing traffic
to servers in sequence.
• New versions distribute traffic according to load on each server.
• Some balancers check to see if requested data is already residing
in server cache and direct traffic to that particular server making it
easier and quicker to respond.
• In server farm configuration, servers can be either large and small
in number or smaller and more in number, in either case balancing
is either round robin or more sophisticated taking into account
server load.
• Server farm is cheaper and easier to implement than cluster as
servers aren't aware of each other, but only balancers, so no
complex failover process in case of failure.
• Load balancing is cost-effective way to respond to growth without
need to replace equipment every few months.

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RACK UNITS:
• Vertical shelving to mount servers
• Free standing or bolted into wall or floors
• Generally are 19” wide and hold rack
mountable computers with screw able
faceplates
• Mounting servers helps with space problems
and allows for ease of management
Rack Unit showing servers

SERVER CABINETS
• Metal cabinet, housing rack-mounted
servers or as well tower configured servers.
• Good cabinets have perforated front, rear
and top plating to allow efficient air-flow.
• There is room for fans and blowers for
further cooling. Typical Rack Mount Server (Opened)

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M U LT I P L E - C P U S E RV E R S
• Multiple CPU unit is good choice for high-demand computing
environments.
• Viable option for web sites that offer services as free emails,
streaming videos and chat rooms.
• Choosing a multiple-CPU server should be taken into consideration
when future expansion is unsure.
• Systems range from 2 to 16 CPU per server.
• Another advantage of Multi-CPU servers is basic requirement of
Redundant PSU ensuring availability.

SAMPLE SERVER CONFIGURATIONS:

Refer to Chapter 4: server hardware
Complete E-Commerce Book: Janice Reynolds

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CONCLUSION

• Web server can be simple hardware running few lines of code

to complex enterprise level robust configuration.
• In hosting personal servers, best advice is to keep a balance in
each hardware working in partnership with others segments.
• While database and application performance is important, size
of web pages with graphics can impact performance.
• The key is to design everything as a system.
• One cannot design web server without regard to database and
other applications.

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