IT Expert Voice

Special-purpose Linux servers provide security, storage and more for department and branch offices, without costing big bucks.

I’m cheap. Given a choice between buying an elaborate, full-featured server requiring expensive technicians and administrators, versus turning an out-of-date PC into a single-purpose Linux server, I’m going to go with the Linux server every time.

It’s not that Linux isn’t expensive. It sometimes is. But if a department or a branch office just needs one or two specific server jobs, there are plenty of obsolete PCs and easy-to-set-up, special-purpose Linux servers that can fill the bill for little or no cost. READ MORE

After several years of trying, graphics processing units (GPUs) are beginning to win over the major server vendors. Dell and IBM are the first tier-one server vendors to adopt GPUs as server processors for high-performance computing (HPC). Here’s a manager’s view of the hardware change and what it might mean to your data center. (Hint: faster servers.)

GPUs are normally used in desktop PCs, where they serve as high-speed graphics accelerators, primarily for games. But it’s slowly dawning on both server makers and end-users that GPUs make great math co-processors for more tasks than just gaming.

In May, IBM announced plans to offer a pair of Tesla M2050 GPUs in its iDataPlex dx360 M3 scale-out servers. Dell followed with an early June announcement that its PowerEdge M610x blade servers would come with a pair of Tesla GPUs. The M610x, equipped with an Intel Xeon 5500 or 5600, can generate up to 400 gigaflops of performance. READ MORE

Windows Server 2008 introduced a series of programs called RemoteApp that appear as if they are running on a local computer, even though they are accessed remotely. With Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7, these programs can be grouped along with entire virtual desktop sessions, and both can appear in the local Start menu of your desktops. It is a pretty neat trick.

The result is that it’s easier for IT administrators to deploy and maintain remote apps. You can make changes to the apps in one place and the changes are transmitted to the various end-user desktops that are allowed to see them. RemoteApp also makes managing software licenses more cost effective, since you can have tighter control over who uses what software programs when. Finally, it makes it a more natural experience for end users; they can use the Windows search to find these remote apps, and they don’t have to do anything different to launch them compared to their locally-installed apps that are on their desktops.

RemoteApp isn’t unique: Citrix has been selling something similar for years. What is unique, though, is RemoteApp’s level of integration with the underlying Windows 7 OS, and how it can offer something similar for relatively low cost, too. (We’ll get to the licensing issues in a moment.)

To pull this off, you first need to update your Windows 2008 Server to the R2 version, which really means doing a re-install of a new server OS. Then you need to add some additional Microsoft software to your R2 Server, which will look like the following when you have everything set up.

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While Windows 7 is getting all the attention, especially here at ITExpertVoice, Microsoft has a few other irons in the fire. The company has been hard at work updating its rather extensive server line. Some of the new technologies in its latest desktop OS are slowly finding their way into its Windows Servers series of products. In this article, I give you a roadmap to show what is new in the Windows server side of things, how they all fit together, and how the server versions make use of Windows 7.

Microsoft provides five dizzying ways that you can take a closer look at their servers. Many of these products have free trial versions that you can download, some for 30, 120, or even 180 days before you have to purchase a real license. Other products are set up on Microsoft-hosted websites, so you can experiment  using your Web browser. And some have Virtual Hard Disk images (VHDs) that you can download and then run on a HyperV server to set up your own test network of virtual machines. Also, a series of “Virtual Labs” lets you watch videos and be guided through the product on MSDN. No membership is required, but you need Internet Explorer and Windows XP to run the lab software. Finally, Microsoft is also beginning to make Amazon Machine images available on Amazon’s cloud-based services so you can set up your own test networks there.

Microsoft splits its server line into six broad pieces, as shown in the summary table below. These are somewhat arbitrary, and inconsistently applied across their various websites. The table is packed with URL links that take you to the trial software, or in some cases to the real McCoy, which you can download or experiment with. READ MORE

RSAT makes it easier to manage your collection of Windows 2003 and 2008 servers remotely and securely from your Windows 7 desktop. This screencast shows how it works. READ MORE