NetFrame 1720 Is Small, Easy To Install Server With Power, Capacity Of Higher-End Units

Since MPC is a relatively small vendor, it can take action quickly to fulfill solution provider orders or address customer issues. MPC also has a good relationship with the channel. CRN Test Center engineers experienced this firsthand while attempting to solicit servers for this review. Engineers requested servers from major server vendors, and none were able to provide review units in time for publication. Without any advance notice, Test Center engineers contacted MPC, which was able to build and ship a NetFrame 1720 in only a few days. Test Center engineers believe that if service issues arose, MPC would likewise be more responsive to customers than larger companies would be.

The NetFrame 1720 supports up to two Intel Xeon processors, each with an 800MHz front side bus and Intel E7520 chipset. The server will support up to 12 Gbytes of ECC DDR2 SDRAM memory when 2-Gbyte modules become available. The NetFrame unit also supports PCI Express and has integrated dual-channel Serial ATA and U320 RAID controllers that support RAID 0 and 1.

MPC's NetFrame 1720 is also equipped with three hot-swappable drive bays capable of supporting either SCSI or Serial ATA hard drives. Its maximum storage capacity is 1.2 Tbytes using Serial ATA drives or 900 Gbytes using SCSI drives. A riser card added to the motherboard can provide one 66-bit 100MHz PCI slot or one x8 PCI Express slot. An ATI Rage XL video controller with 8 Mbytes of video memory is also integrated onto the motherboard. The server includes two Gigabit Ethernet ports, one SCSI port, one VGA input, two front and two rear USB ports, and PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports. The unit is powered by a 500-watt power supply.

The NetFrame 1720 is easy to install and service. Each 1U unit is only 1.7 x 16.9 x 26.5 inches and weighs about 50 pounds, so one person can easily install it in a rack. As many as 42 NetFrame 1720 servers will fit in a single server rack, making the system extremely scalable for businesses of any size. Accessing the inside of the server is done by pressing a release button on top of the chassis and sliding the lid back. A rubber patch attached to the lid makes it easy to grip and remove the lid.

MPC also includes its bundled MPC Server Manager utility, which lets administrators manage the server's hardware, operating system and software using a single Web-based console. The Server Manager software provides realtime alerts, system-status monitoring, user and network activity history, diagnostic tools, troubleshooting and maintenance tools, USB storage device alerts, and remote management and maintenance capabilities.

MPC equipped the CRN Test Center's sample unit with one 3GHz Intel Xeon processor, 1 Gbyte of ECC DDR2 SDRAM, two 250-Gbyte Serial ATA hard drives, a CDRW/DVD drive and Windows Server 2003 with five client access licenses. As configured, the server cost $4,422 and is covered by a standard three-year parts warranty and MPC's technical support policy, which includes next business day on-site service.

MPC's single-level channel program offers solution providers access to a dedicated sales team. The Nampa, Idaho-based company's sales team is available to help solution providers with special pricing in competitive bidding situations and can also authorize specific customer configuration requirements for NetFrame servers. The company declined to disclose average reseller margins except to say that margins vary depending on the competitive situation. MPC provides both Web-based and in-person training, depending on the size of the solution provider. U.S.-based service and support is available on a 24x7 basis.