Selecting Server Hardware Flashcards
The different ports…
• Parallel port: 2-row, 25-pin female D port—Considered a legacy port that is used to connect printers.
• Serial port: 2-row, 9-pin male D port—While considered a legacy port, this port is often used to connect to switches and routers to configure them. It can also be used to connect legacy keyboards, mice, and printers.
• VGA port: 3-row, 15-pin female D connector—Used to connect a monitor to the computer. • Universal Serial Bus (USB) port: A popular device that can be used to connect keyboards,
mice, printers, modems, and external disk drives.
• PS/2 mouse or keyboard port: 6-pin Mouse mini-DIN—Used to connect a legacy mouse.
• RJ-45 connector: Also Known as an Ethernet connector, used to connect a 10Base-T/ 100Base-T/1000Base-T network cable.
• DVI-I port: A high-quality video interface designed to replace VGA ports.
Server reliability…
A server, on the other hand, has two goals. First since servers are designed to support many users, they often have an increased load compared to a single user computer. Second, because many users access a server, the server needs to be reliable. Therefore, servers often contain components that are fault tolerant and reliable (such as redundant power supplies, redundant hard drives, and redundant network cards). Therefore, systems designated as servers often contain additional circuitry to detect problems with the system including conditions like when the system overheats, when a fan has failed, and even when a system has been physically opened. Of course, the system being opened is more of a security feature than a fault-tolerant component.
Server sizes…
When you purchase a server, you can choose from numerous sizes and form factors. Larger server rooms with lots of servers typically contain servers that fit horizontally into a rack. Since these servers are the same width, you can stack 10 to 20 servers within a rack or server cage. The size of a piece of rack-mounted equipment is frequently described as a number in “U.” For example, one rack unit is often referred to as “1U,” 2 rack units as “2U,” and so on. One rack unit is 1.75 inches (44.45 mm) high.
