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Dell C6100 : complete newbie
Hello,
I was planning to setup a renderfarm, using several desktops, when I stumbled across the C6100 XS23-TY3 poweredge.
At first glance, this solution would be much cheaper with faster rendertimes (according to cinebench scores). But I don't know if all the hassle, to make a C6100 up and running, is worth it.
So as I'm a total newbie, when it comes to cloud servers, I have several questions regarding the c6100.
1) When it comes to Windows OS, I suppose I have to use Windows 2008 R2 or 2012 ? What is the best/most reliable option ?
2) I suppose I have to install Windows on each node ?
3) And does windows suffice to make the C6100 up and running, or do I need other software as well ?
4) As the C6100 has a sata controller, can I use a SSD drive instead of a SAS drive ? And if so, is it also Plug'n Play like in regular desktops or is there more to it ?
5) If I have to install software on each node, can this be done in one go, without accessing each node separately ? I'm aware that there are renderfarms, which consists of 3000 nodes or more. I can't imagine they have to remote desktop each node, in order to install a new plugin.
6) Any known issues with the C6100 ?
Many thanks in advance !
DELL-Josh Cr
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July 18th, 2016 14:00
Hi,
Here is some helpful information on the C6100: http://downloads.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_ser_stor_net/esuprt_cloud_products/poweredge-c6100_setup%20guide_en-us.pdf
http://downloads.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_ser_stor_net/esuprt_cloud_products/poweredge-c6100_owner%27s%20manual_en-us.pdf
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Microsoft® Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise SP1 and HPC Server 2008 R2 x64 SP1
Citrix® XenServer
VMware® ESXi
2. Yes, you have to install an OS on every node.
3. It will be functional with just the OS.
4. There are SAS RAID cards available that will allow it to use SAS or SSD drives. You would have to create a RAID array.
5. Typically a large environment like this would use Vmware and you would deploy VM images to all of the systems and could manage a single image.
Rafiki062224
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July 20th, 2016 17:00
Hi Josh,
thank you very much for the answer !
I took the plunge and ordered the C6100 :)
(without HDD or caddies)
As there's a standard SATA onboard controller, can I just use 1 SATA SSD drive per node if I don't want to use RAID ? Or do I have to use a minimum of 2 drives per node ?
Or is it necessary to use SAS drives, which means I have to buy a mezzanine card for each node as well ?
Thanks in advance.
DELL-Daniel My
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July 20th, 2016 18:00
You can use SATA, and you can use 1 drive per node if you want.
Thanks