HP Proliant compatible system...HP vs. Dell!

PE2900

Tape Drive?  I'd suggest a NAS or an Internet backup solution or some other disk based solution - much easier and faster than tapes.

If you want a tower model, I'd go with the suggested Poweredge 2900 (also available as rack model), but if you want a rack model, a Poweredge 2950 can do the job too (physically smaller (less rackspace needed), but can support only 6 drives, where the 2900 can support up to 10 drives and a tape drive inside it).

A PE2900 is NOT comparible to an HP ML350G4. It is way overkill for that. A PE1800 is more in line comparible to a Proliant ML350G4. The 2800 and now the 2900 is more comparible to a Proliant ML370G4 except the Dells give you a couple more drive bay slots.

I built an office system for an local surgeon around a PE1800 and it is working perfectly and is a great performer with excellent reliability. You can match the systems almost exactly feature for feature on a PE1800 with the HP ML350G4, and the PE 1800 will end up beating the HP's price too.

Do not skimp on the redundant power supply... I consider that to be an essential feature well worth the extra couple hundred bucks.

Also, I do not like internal tape drives. Spend the extra money and get an external LTO2 drive. The ability to power-cycle a stuck tape drive without touching the server itself is absolutely essential.

PS: Fill the machine with 4GB memory instead of only just 2GB. Memory is cheap these days, and if you intend to run both the Exchange Server and MS SQL that come with 2003SBS Premium edition, you'll need all the ram you can get and 4GB is the max supported by standard and SBS versions of Win2003 server.

Message Edited by NumberNine on 09-11-200604:54 PM