Dell PowerEdge 700

Dell's PowerEdge 700 is a general purpose server designed for minimal IT support environments and is suitable for branch offices or small to medium-sized businesses. Based on an Intel E7210 chipset, it supports a single Intel Pentium 4 (up to 3.2GHz). The memory is dual banked and is expandable to 4GB, so it should be able to cope with moderate-sized database applications.

Storage can be based on either SCSI or cheaper SATA drives, and optional RAID cards can be purchased for either interface. Our review system came equipped with a Dell CERC SATA Raid controller and two SATA drives. Four 3.5in drive bays should provide sufficient storage capacity for its intended market. Additionally, there is a spare 5.25in bay for backup devices such as a tape drive. There's plenty of room for expansion, with three PCI-X slots and two PCI. These could be quickly used up as there's only a single integrated Gigabit Ethernet NIC. Optional extras such as the RAID card and Dell's remote management card (DRAC III/XT, £132 ex VAT) will also reduce the number of slots available.

The hardware is encased in a lockable tower chassis that unfortunately doesn't have any internal tool-free features. The large air duct over both the CPU and the memory may prove a little fiddly if you have to upgrade the memory, but apart from this it's pretty uncluttered internally. There's limited redundancy as there are no hot swap power supplies or hot plug drive bays.

In terms of performance, the system was well up to par, with the SATA drives configured as a RAID1 configuration performing well. The 2.8GHz Pentium 4 HT processor coped well, fulfilling a high number of Web requests. However, the server generated significant noise, which could be a problem in small offices.

Dell's Server Assistant provides the relevant driver files for all the major operating systems including Linux, making installation easy. The browser-based Dell Open Manage IT Assistant is used for server maintenance.

Overall, it fulfils all basic requirements of a small network environment, although with a single CPU it's obviously more limited for demanding applications.

Contact: Dell 0870 907 4155
www.dell.co.uk

Specifications:

• Form factor: Tower
• CPU: Single P4 up to 3.2GHz or a Celeron 2.4GHz
• Max memory: 4GB ECC PC3700
• Internal storage: 4 x 3.5in bays, 1 spare 5.25in bay
• PCI-X slots: 3 x 64-bit/66MHz
• PCI slots: 2 x 32-bit/33MHz
• Network cards: 1 onboard Intel Gigabit NIC
• Warranty: Three years on site

See also:

HP Proliant DL145

64bit Opteron power that beats Intel-based alternatives hands down.  05 Oct 2004

NEC Express 5800 TM700

A well-built device with specs and a price to suit a small business.  14 Sep 2004

Ayrsoft Icon Server

A small form factor, Linux-based system.  03 Sep 2004

Teac vendotto wall NS-80 L-T3

Feature-rich server for the small office.  22 Jan 2004

HP TC2120

Basic entry level server from HP.  10 Sep 2003

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