D20 configuring for 3 purposes

Question

It's hard to explain, but I'd like to configure a single D20 that would work well in 3 different use cases:
(1) A small VM server runninig Linux with VM Server on top, hosting several small virtual servers
(2) MS SQL server 2004-64 running on Windows server 2008-64
(3) Photoshop CS4 running on Vista 64 or  Windows 7-64
In all cases:
* I don't need fancy graphics card
* I DO want RAID, but I don't need more than about  300-500GB disk - we use very fast NAS for storage
* Network demands are pretty light
* Brief amounts of downtime are OK - but I never want to be in the position of being down for a full day
* I have definite limits on the cost - want to spend $3k to $4k if possible
So, I think here are some choices I need to make - what are your opinions since I can't of course get the best of everything? Which are priorities?
- Dual-core vs. quad-core
- One processor vs. two processors
- Processor speed
- Speed of memory
- Amount of memory
- RAID 1, 5, or 10?
- Disks types - SAS, SATA, ?
- Disk speed - 7200, 10000,15000
THANKS!!!! -Steve

Answer 1

here are my two cents on what you should consider:
OS:
given server 2008's hypervisor, why would you need to run linux as a VM server?   you can simply use the functions you're paying for in 2008.
photoshop CS4 runs perfectly fine under server 2008 and 2008 R2.   server can be set up to be more friendly as a workstation OS.   guides for 2008 and 2008 R2 can be found here and here.   i see no reason to use windows 7 just for photoshop.   why reboot into a different OS when you can use what you already have in 2008/R2?
i use 2008 R2 all day long working on graphic and industrail design projects with hyper-V and IIS running in the background.   i have yet to find a reason to run windows 7 instead (except for DVD playback in windows media player, which i'm still trying to find a compatible codec).   otherwise, my wacom tablet works fine, all my apps run great, and there's no overhead from workstation OS features that i don't want or need.
graphics:
regarding a "fancy graphics card", you can get by with an nvidia geforce in photoshop.   a quadro FX or fireGL isn't necessary for 2D work.   just be sure to get something with a good amount of memory (768 MB minimum is what i'd recommend) with lots of memory bandwidth.   this will become evident if you use the rotate canvas feature.
processor:
if you plan to run virtual machines, more processor cores will be more important than faster processor cores.   8-core systems are typically needed for CAD rendering and heavy mathematical work.   given what you've described, i would recommend starting out with a single processor.   you can always add another later if necessary.
memory:
your processor choice will determine your memory speed.   each xeon 5500-series model is capped at a specific memory channel speed.   you should buy the fastest memory for your given processor choice.
the amount of memory you need depends on how many virtual machines you intend to run.   i would suggest somewhere between 8GB and 12GB depending on your budget.
storage:
your choice of storage type (SAS or SATA) and drive speed will help determine the overall responsiveness of your system.   if you want speed and responsiveness then a 15K RPM SAS drive is ideal.   10K SAS drives will be about 80~90% as fast and use less power.   SATA drives are comparatively slow and should only be considered if you aren't concerned with system response or want to save on power consumption.
RAID depends on how much data you need to keep in the machine.   if you'd be ok with 147 GB or 300 GB total, then i would recommend running two 15K SAS drives in RAID 1.   i'll explain why.
RAID:
RAID isn't a backup solution.   it's a redundancy solution to mitigate hardware failures.
RAID 1:  if you run a RAID 1 array and one of your drives fail, you can still boot your system using the good drive, call lenovo for a replacement, and have a new drive the next day.   your system rebuilds in the background and you go on your way.
RAID 5:  if you run RAID 5, a failed drive puts your system into degraded mode and becomes slow.   if you're using this as your primary OS array then you'll be adding a lot of overhead and won't see the speed benefits that you think you will.   RAID 5 is the least ideal array type for VMs and OSes.   it would be fine for a database.
RAID 10:  RAID 10 is great on paper but in the end will only cost you twice the money.   for a production system (ie: one you install an OS and run applications), RAID 10 won't have much benefit over RAID 1.   you'd have double the write speeds as RAID 1 but the same read speeds.   plus, if one drive fails in RAID 10, you're left with the same protection as RAID 1, even though you have twice as many drives.
my recommendation here is to go with RAID 1.
with that said, this is what i would build if i were in your shoes:
- D20 with DOS license and SAS hard drives
- 1x xeon E5520 (2.26Ghz @ 1066MHz)
- 8GB or 12GB DDR3 uDIMM memory (PC3-8500 @ 1066MHz)
- base video adapter - buy an nvidia geforce GTX 260 at your retailer of choice
- 2x 147 GB or 300 GB 15K SAS in RAID 1
- 20-in-1 media card reader
- 16x DVD+/-RW
this configuration ranges between $3165 and $3985 on the retail lenovo site depending on your choice of memory and hard drive capacity.   it offers plenty of room to grow in the event you decide to add more components.   even with 8GB and dual 147GB SAS drives, i think you'd be very happy.
hopefully this answers a few of your questions (which, believe it or not, was the short answer ).   if you have any others or need clarification on the above, please feel free to ask.
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