If you're wondering about how many processors to choose, realize that adding more processors won't give you a linear increase in performance, but it will turbocharge your server. The ability to designate a spare drive as an online standby drive will greatly improve the server's uptime. In the case of drive failure, data is automatically replicated to the standby while the bad drive is taken offline. Once the repaired drive is reinserted, data is replicated back to the original drive and the standby returns to its online standby status. Redundant power suppli es and power regulators also are important options available from many server vendors.
Some servers can designate one of the two network cards as an online standby.
Accompanying operating system modules ensure that there are no interruptions for users or other devices that were communicating with the failed card. Getting Up and Running The more established server vendors such as Compaq, IBM and HP include many tool and feature bundles that make server installation and setup a breeze. Externally accessible drive bays allow for insertion and removal of the drives without opening the server. In some cases, the drives also are hot-pluggable, requiring no downtime to physically add drives to the server. This may not seem important, but when it's 4 a.m.