Workstations and Servers Fundamentally a computer is a computer regardless of whether it is used as a workstation or server. The main components are the same. They are listed below in order of consideration: • Operating system and applications, • Central processing unit or Accelerated processing unit, • Graphics, • Specialty cards • Motherboard, • Memory, • Storage device(s), • Power supply, • Encasement, • Input/Output (I/O) devices (optional) o keyboard, o monitor, o mouse. Workstation usage generally falls into one of three categories. First, it can be used for web browsing and emails. These activities require very few resources and a low end computer will serve those needs easily. The second category is general office work such as word processing, data entry, small spreadsheets, and perhaps simple presentations. These activities may tax the resources of a low end computer and an upgrade to a more robust machine may be required. The third group is the special purpose machine. Depending on the purpose(s), this computer may require additional memory, graphics, CPU, or storage resources. It could also need additional motherboard slots, case space, and a larger power supply for specialty cards and I/O devices. Servers generally operate 24/7 and downtime affects multiple personnel. Because of this they may include enhancements not generally found in workstations. The first of these is storage and power supply redundancy as these two items fail most frequently. Some servers also use error-correcting code (ECC) memory for that 1 in 10^15 chance that a byte doesn’t store in memory correctly. Manufacturers also tend to incorporate higher quality components and use more stringent quality control and testing standards when manufacturing parts for server and server related equipment. On the down side the cost of server components tend to be exorbitant compared to consumer grade equivalents. When considering servers the first two questions that need to be answered are 1) how frequently can it go down and 2) for how long? If one day a year (99.7% up time) is acceptable then not much additional expense is involved. On the other hand if a day every five years (99.95% up time) is intolerable get the wallet out. That additional 0.25% will cost thousands of dollars in initial cost and maintenance over the system’s lifetime.