dual xeons, how to set them up?

[gorilly]

ok i have a server (see my sig for specs) which ahs dual xeons. i am a domain controller for around 20 people. the server isnt what id call really fast at the moment...

when i go to decive manager it says i have 4 processors (this is due to HT right?)

how should i set page file / Virtual memory? remember the server doesnt run ANY programs but being a domain controller it will be running a few processes.

how should i set up the processors / how do i set up the processors?

anyone got any good tips for setting up this server?

thanks.

 

[Xaotic]

Most of the tweaks and configuration are going to be in software. Dell's preload process is not friendly to changes.

The four processors are due to Hyperthreading, correct.

The stock provisioning for SBS should be fine for a DC and the process load will be easily handled by the hardware.

As far as setting up the processors, I'd guess that you mean overclocking. This is in addition to being an exceptionally bad idea, almost impossible on a Dell chassis. It's a bad idea from a server standpoint as you want stability more than anything else. It's designed as a connection point to the internet and stability is vital. If you have the Premium version, then you should be running the ISA server component as well.

Here's a good link to get you started:

http://www.sbslinks.com/

 

[gorilly]

Most of the tweaks and configuration are going to be in software. Dell's preload process is not friendly to changes.

The four processors are due to Hyperthreading, correct.

The stock provisioning for SBS should be fine for a DC and the process load will be easily handled by the hardware.

As far as setting up the processors, I'd guess that you mean overclocking. This is in addition to being an exceptionally bad idea, almost impossible on a Dell chassis. It's a bad idea from a server standpoint as you want stability more than anything else. It's designed as a connection point to the internet and stability is vital. If you have the Premium version, then you should be running the ISA server component as well.

Here's a good link to get you started:

http://www.sbslinks.com/

well my server isnt completely to dell's spec, when i got the server it was the first SCSI thing i had ever used before, i then got the beeping of death! i had to rebuild both drives and re-install SBS... so its not quite dell pre-loaded. i thoght with a dula processor i could assign one processor to apps and one processor to background services?

yeah like you said the stability is vital, im using a router with DHCP so the internet is not a problem, its more of a large file server than anything but the documents which are being opened are asking a lot (some are 200+ pages with images, tables etc).

anyway thanks for the help,
the sbs links site looks really good

 

[kct2]

What exactly do you mean when you say the server isn't fast? Do users experience a delay in opening files off the server? Are logins slow? Is it slow when you login locally?

Also that is not the way SMP works. What you describe would be asymmetrical multiprocessing, not symmetrical multiprocessing. Windows will automatically use what it needs.

 

[hkh]

If you are using the Dell moBo then you will not beable to overclock it

I also see in your sig - 9200SE 128mb (running HL2 like a 9800 pro! are you kidding me you are only getting at best 40% of what a 9800pro will do.

 

[Xaotic]

What is your network connection and how loaded is the connection? This usually makes a larger difference than most server tweaks. Multiple large file accesses over slow links can make the server look unresponsive.

From the configuration list, are you running in RAID-1? I hope so, as RAID-0 is especially bad news for servers, single disks would be better. Data loss can easily equal job loss. If it's RAID-1 and there are no network issues, then do some performance monitor testing on the disk subsystem. This is accessible by Start > Run > Perfmon.msc You can add counters by right clicking on the lower right box and add counter. You will be interested in several counters, % Processor time, Avg Disk Queue Length, % Idle time(Physical Disk), among others. There are other options for recording information as well, including network performance.

 

[gorilly]

im not running raid at all at the moment. this is my first experience with scsi drives and my first ever proper network so its all being done bit by bit. my main problem is all my data is critical to the company i work for so i cant really afford to play around.

when i say documents are opening slow its normally when you open a word document, when it says it is requesting a virus scan it takes ages. like upto 35 seconds or so.

when you say slow links do you mean connecting through gigabit? a few of my computers here have gigabit as does the server whereas my switch doesnt. i could always invest in a small gigabit switch.


HKH: its a joke! but really to the naked eye, unless you are running AA...etc its not a huge difference. a few people i know have 9800pros but less of a system spec, therefore the graphics card is bottlenecked and their games run just the same, bar silly things such as lighting effects. you just have to love how that game was programmed!

 

[kct2]

im not running raid at all at the moment. this is my first experience with scsi drives and my first ever proper network so its all being done bit by bit. my main problem is all my data is critical to the company i work for so i cant really afford to play around.

I hope you do frequent backups.

when i say documents are opening slow its normally when you open a word document, when it says it is requesting a virus scan it takes ages. like upto 35 seconds or so.

100mbit connection = 12.5MB/s, subtract overhead and you have about a max of 8MB/s. Load the network and the each user is seeing substantially less than that. So if multiple users are requesting large files ("200+ pages with images") over a 100mbit network the speed you describe is not to be unexpected.

when you say slow links do you mean connecting through gigabit? a few of my computers here have gigabit as does the server whereas my switch doesnt. i could always invest in a small gigabit switch.

You need to determine where the bottleneck is before you spend any money (follow what Xaotic said).

 

[gorilly]

ok cheers for the help, as for the back ups! yup removeable and to internal hard drive each once a day.

would RAID 0 benefit me at all?

 

[kct2]

ok cheers for the help, as for the back ups! yup removeable and to internal hard drive each once a day.

would RAID 0 benefit me at all?

You have to determine what is causing the slow performance...if the problem is network then RAID 0 won't be of any help.

 

[nicknomo]

Make sure you reinstalled the intel chipset drivers when you restored the computer. You may want to download the latest version from INTEL.com . That can be a HUGE factor iwth performance. The windows generic drivers are only meant to get you functional...

Otherwise, everything should work nicely on that system. What type of slowness are you experiencing?