When it comes to storage, a lot of people think big and a lot of people think small, but not so many people consider the benefits of a happy medium.

In the enterprise world, tape libraries and racks of storage servers are the norm in data protection. This is great technology, but beyond the price reach of most SMB buyers. Small storage in the business world can take many forms---perhaps an external hard drive for backup on each client or a little RAID 5 built into the communal server. Although not the only consideration, pricing becomes a key factor, and many small business storage solutions proceed straight to the lowest common denominator, even if it is consumer-grade hardware.

Yes, there are happy mediums. The object is to get enterprise-class data protection at small business-level prices. Those aren't incompatible objectives. All you need is a few wisely chosen parts.

Western Digital VelociRaptor

By combining the right drives with the right controllers, your SMB customers can get far more performance and security than they bargained for, and the solution can be tailored for practically any physical environment. Ask your Tech Data rep for more information about the best component options to solve your clients' present and future storage demands.

We all crave surety, but it sure is hard to find. Businesses in particular need surety. Computer systems must be predictable, dependable, and long-lasting. Anything that disrupts workflow, from sporadic software incompatibilities to outright hardware failure, can cost a business from hundreds to millions of dollars in lost orders, confidential data, and productivity. So in life there may be no sure bets, but there is a way to provide your business clients with surefire system configurations: the Intel Enabled Server Acceleration Alliance (ESAA).

The ESAA program is a cooperative effort between Intel and ISVs that aims to provide reseller members with highly tested, validated server solutions. In essence, you know the hardware works and you know that software package has been validated by the ISV on that hardware. When the configuration passes, the ISV will create a "recipe" for it illustrating the setup and deployment process. Intel currently lists server configurations spread across 12 broad solution categories, featuring vendors such a Citrix, EMC, Level Platforms, NetApp, Oracle, Red Hat, Symantec and VMware.

To illustrate what the ESAA program can mean to resellers, we thought casting a spotlight on VMware might be timely. After all, while SMBs are still in the early stages of adopting virtualization, industry-wide interest is high, and it's a safe bet that virtualized server sales will be on the rise going forward. If you're going to be in this space, getting VMware-certified is an important asset, but doing so takes time and expense. Until that hurtle is passed, perhaps having an Intel-certified ESAA solution, based around VMware, is the reputable endorsement needed to lock in customer confidence in your solution.

The Recipe

VMware Infrastructure is a suite of virtualization products designed to virtualize servers, storage and networks. The current version is Infrastructure 3, with the key management and reliability component, ESX Server, now in version 3.5. Nobody doubts that VMware is the world's top name and authority in virtualization, but solution providers still have to pay close attention to configuration details. For instance, Infrastructure 3 carries a maximum guest system RAM configuration of 64GB and maximum guest CPUs of four. Just because a recipe is bulletproof doesn't mean it can do everything, and it's important to keep an eye on the maximum serving size, so to speak, and similar constraints. This is another area in which adhering to Intel's recipes can help resellers.

For this particular recipe, Intel lists the following: server board (Intel S5000PAL), 1U or 2U chassis (Intel SR1500 or SR2500) along with their respective backplanes, at least 4GB of memory, two Xeon processors, at least one SAS 3.5-inch hard drive, Intel's RAID activation key and Mini DIMM, at least one Intel PRO/1000 Ethernet controller, and at least one Broadcom 5700 series Ethernet controller. Performance enthusiasts might question the RAID SKUs, observing that they're meant to enable software-based RAID via the S500PAL. A higher-performance alternative might have been one of Intel's own RAID add-in controllers, but this would have added another layer of driver complexity without perhaps adding any tangible benefit to the entire solution. In the end, this is the configuration that Intel guarantees to work, so add in VMware Infrastructure and ESX Server and get going.

These recipes are at times a refreshing change. For example, right at the beginning of the recipe during the installation notes, Intel states: ESX Server 3.0/3.0.1/3.0.2/3.5 is NOT supported by Intel I/OAT at this time. DISABLE the "Intel I/OAT" in the BIOS before installing ESX Server 3.0/3.0.1/3.0.2/3.5 to avoid the red error message "0:00:00:13:155 CPU0: 1024) PCI:1650: Failed for 000:08.0". We think the world of I/OAT, and Intel has taken no small pains to promote the network technology, so seeing such a recommendation made so prominently and specifically strikes us as a testament to Intel's dedication to quality above all else.

In fact, Intel's attention to detail throughout the recipe is exhaustive. If you've ever been delayed or confounded with having to muddle through obtaining licenses, the ESAA recipe tells you how to do it in seven steps. Intel walks you through installing ESX Server in the text-based and GUI-based modes, then through everything from partitioning to network configuration to client setup to script generation.

"ESAA recipes can be an important tool for the channel as they provide a path for resellers/integrators to use validated configurations," says North American Channel Products Marketing Manager Todd Garrigues. "The recipes can ease resellers' time to market and help lower their cost investment on a new solution. You don't have to burn a lot of extra time on testing, tweaking, trial and error. When you follow the recipe, all the work has already been done for you."

In effect, ESAA recipes are a triple-barreled benefit for your sales efforts. Not only do they confer validation from a world-class authority (Intel), but they also lower support complications and accelerate time to delivery. From here, the only thing left to do is make sure you pick a distributor with the training and product selection to enable you to put these recipes into action. Thanks to its extensive relationship with Intel, Tech Data should be on your very short list of sources best qualified for the job.

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