There are several different form factors used for network servers, but the three most common form factors are tower servers, rack servers and blade servers. Many standard ATX computer cases are designed to accept either standard ATX or Micro ATX system boards, but a Micro ATX case would not be able to accommodate a standard ATX system board because Micro ATX cases use a smaller form factor.įorm factors apply to server hardware as well, but servers typically adhere to different form factors than PCs (but not always).
A standard ATX case can physically accommodate any standard ATX system board and power supply, even if they are made by a different vendor.Īnother common PC standard is Micro ATX. To give you a more concrete example, many PCs use a form factor called standard ATX.
When it comes to computers, the term form factor describes the physical dimensions and standards used by various system components and by the computer as a whole. So now that I have talked a bit about some of the differences between PCs and servers, I want to turn my attention to server form factors. Occasionally PCs might have redundant or even hot swappable components, but such features are much more common on servers. The individual components tend to be more advanced than the components that are found in desktop computers. Servers may also make use of redundant and / or how swappable components. In spite of these similarities however, server hardware can seem completely foreign to those who have previously only dealt with desktop hardware. Both use the same basic components such as memory, CPUs, and power supplies. In many ways server hardware really isn’t all that different from desktop PC hardware. Sometimes those differences just aren’t immediately obvious to beginners. Even so, I wanted to share this story with you as a way of illustrating the point that there are major differences between PC hardware and server hardware. I won’t bore you with the details of what the differences between our PCs and our servers were because all of that hardware is completely obsolete today. After all, it seemed that from a hardware prospective there was absolutely no difference between a PC and a server other than the price. Since our servers used exactly the same CPU architecture as our desktop PCs, my only conclusion was that our hardware vendor was ripping us off.
I just couldn’t understand why the company that I worked for was spending thirty thousand dollars for each server when a PC that cost a thousand dollars would run Windows NT just as well.
The training center where I took the class provided each student with a PC and then proceeded to teach us how to install Windows NT Server onto it. I could only assume (incorrectly) that the servers that we were using were highly specialized computers that were only capable of running server operating systems.Ī couple of years later Microsoft released Windows NT and I decided to attend a training class to see if Windows NT would benefit our organization. When I started my new position I didn’t have any trouble working with the network operating system, but I was a bit baffled by the server hardware. Prior to interviewing for the position I memorized a book on Novell NetWare and managed to pass myself off as a networking expert. My only background in networking at that point involved IBM mainframes. However, I had never been exposed to network servers before.
At the time I had a really strong working knowledge of PC hardware and of DOS (which was the desktop operating system of choice at the time). I got my first job as a network administrator almost twenty years ago during my first year of college. It’s just that I didn’t have anyone who could explain it to me. Don’t get me wrong, learning the differences between a PC and a server isn’t rocket science.
When I first started out as a network administrator one of the concepts that I had trouble grasping was the difference between a server and a PC (from a hardware standpoint).
Unfortunately, continuing the Networking for Beginners series isn’t an option for various reasons, but I wanted to do the next best thing and write a series that is designed to introduce beginners to the basics of server hardware. To date this series remains immensely popular and I routinely receive E-mail messages from readers asking me to continue the series. If you would like to read the other parts in this article series please go to:Ī few years ago I wrote an article series for this site called Networking for Beginners.