From jlb17@duke.edu Mon Dec  9 09:34:35 2002
Date: Fri, 6 Dec 2002 16:53:41 -0500 (EST)
From: Joshua Baker-LePain <jlb17@duke.edu>
To: Brian Johnson <brian@netcom.duke.edu>
Cc: DULUG Mailing List <dulug@lists.dulug.duke.edu>
Subject: Re: [Dulug] server supplier recommendations

On Fri, 6 Dec 2002 at 2:12pm, Brian Johnson wrote

> Hello Gentlepeoples,
> 
> I've recently been asked to spec out a pretty powerful rack-mountable
> server that will run Red Hat Linux on it when we get it.  I know Dell has
> a great reputation for being reliable, but I'm hoping to support someone
> who builds solely for Linux.  Penguin Computing seems like a good choice
> as they have a variety of choices and reasonable prices.  Is there anyone
> who has  bought any servers from them and would like to share their
> experience?  I'd also be interesting in hearing from people who know of
> other companies that build servers for Linux and have had good experiences
> with them.  Thanks for your help!

I've been buying systems from Silicon Mechanics 
<http://www.siliconmechanics.com> recently, and have been *very* happy.  
All their systems come with 3 year warranties, and they have been 
incredibly responsive.  E.g., UPS dropped our $11K, 2TB fileserver en 
route from them.  At first the system seemed alright -- the disks 
background scanned alright, and it ran fine.  But then it started powering 
itself off and on randomly.  Three days after I told them this, I had a 
brand new system.  That includes shipping.

They're a small company, and will build to your spec quite readily.  They 
aren't a Linux shop per se, but they'll make sure the stuff works under 
Linux and are happy to ship the systems bare -- no OS.  My contact there 
is Jon Lewis -- let him know I sent you and maybe I'll get more T-shirts.  
;)

If you want more details on the types of stuff I've bought from 'em (or 
if you want to see it), let me know off list.

-- 
Joshua Baker-LePain
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Duke University

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