Windows Server 2008R2 64 bits PE2850

Yes, it is.

1. I have deployed several 2850's running 2008 R2.

2. Go to http://support.dell.com and choose the 2850 and Dell has drivers for 2008 R2, meaning it is also a "supported" OS.

Thanks theflash1932 for your replay.

You think that the following config is good to install the windows server 2008R2:

Processor: 2 Xeon 3,6 GHz

Memory: 4 GB RAM

Motherboard: Chipset Intel E7520

HD: 1 HD 146 GB

Thanks in advance...

Best Regards,

INEM

Some thoughts:

• The 3.6GHz processors are the fastest processors the 2850 supports
• 4GB is ok, but it depends on what you are going to set up the server to do; 4GB will be too little for many things; the server will support up to 16GB
• The motherboard/chipset cannot be changed
• One HD has several downfalls:  1) there can be NO redundancy; if a drive fails, your lose your data, just like a laptop or desktop PC; this server has a high-end RAID controller, designed to use several HD's in an array of disks to provide failover protection for your data and the server's uptime; and 2) when used together with other HD's in a RAID array of disks, a substantial performance increase will be seen over a single disk configuration.

If this server is just going to be used as a learning/training server or will be loaded with VERY basic services that do not require a lot of disk space, data redundancy, uptime, and/or read/write performance (database, encoding, compiling, etc.), then the configuration should be ok.  Otherwise, I would seriously consider upgrading your memory/RAM and adding additional hard drives to your system.

thank you a lot, you help me clarify me idea : )

Best Regards,

INEM

I have exactly the same question. I successfully installed Win2k8R2 64 bit on a PE2800 from scratch, but am trying to upgrade a PE2850 that has Win2k3SP2 and 3 partitions on a RAID-5 array including C:. Everytime I try to install Win2k8R2 64 bit STD, it does not see my existing PERC 4e/di RAID-5 controller and wants a driver. Dell does not seem to list any compatible 4e/di 64 bit drivers. I do see a PERC 4e/dc driver that others claims works. Why the difference between the PE2800 with a PERC 4e/di RAID controller that installs from scratch, but the PE 2850 will not. Even when I reformat the C: partition and start for semi-scratch?

This will work with USB, not because the 2850 supports it, but because 2008 R2 supports obtaining a driver from USB, CD and floppy.  Floppies are the only supported method of obtaining a third-party driver during Setup of 2003/XP and earlier operating systems; thankfully, having left those dinosaur OS's behind, we have other simpler options :)

You simply run the file to extract its contents, then copy the extracted contents/files to the media to be used to load the driver.

Coincidentally, however, the 2850 does support booting to USB devices, so you could put your 2008 R2 installation files AND drivers on the same bootable USB flash drive and install using that, pointing to a folder on that same drive for loading the driver.

Are you trying to upgrade from 2003 32-bit to 2008 R2?  Since R2 is 64-bit only, and cross-architecture upgrades are not supported (or possible), then if your 2003 is 32-bit, you cannot Upgrade; you would have to do a clean install.

Also, if upgrading to 2008 R2 Standard, you must have 2003 Standard; you cannot "upgrade" (downgrade) to a lower edition (Enterprise or Datacenter to Standard, Datacenter to Enterprise).  You also cannot upgrade the "Web" edition.

On the screen that shows the partitions to install to and it doesn't find a drive, click on the "Load Driver" link in the bottom left corner.

Yes it is now running Win2k3 STD 32 bit. If I install from the Win2k8R2 DVD, I presume it reformats the C: partition after I get the driver loaded and after reinstallation, it will only run the R2 64bit version.....and it wont mess with the other 2 partitions that both contain 32 bit data?

I did find this driver there:

LSI Logic-Driver

LSI-LOGIC_MULTI-DEVICE_A00_R227150.exe (158KB)Recommended8/7/2009 6.53.0.64, A00 Applies to:

Perc 4e/Di

If I boot the 2850 to my Win2k8R2 install DVD and pick Upgrade, it says to reboot the server to the installed OS (Win2k3) and do the installation from within Win2k3. But when I do that, WIndows says it's a non-compatible version.

My only other choice is to select the other install option when booting to the DVD and over-write/reformat the C: partition. I've tried that after manually reformatting C:, but then the DVD says it cannot find any HD to install to and wants a RAID driver. If I then point the installation process to the above file I've copied to the D: partition of this server, will it install OK?

I see the installation instructions under the Driver details which specify running the driver file .exe to create diskettes (floppy disks).  Can this process work with a USB stick on the PE2850?

No, as long as you select the correct partition during installation, it will install to it and leave the others alone.  I would delete your C: partition before installing though, letting 2008 R2 install to the Unpartitioned Space created by deleting it.