How to choose a server line and configuration

This article is for an administrator or manager choosing a dedicated server for a specific task: accounting, remote desktops, a website, virtualization or a standby site. After reading it you will know which line suits you, how to read a server card and which configuration to put in your request.

What you will need#

Start with figures about your workload, not with the catalogue:

• what will run on the server and how many people will use it at once;
• how much memory and disk space is in use on the heaviest days — month-end closing, a reporting period, a sale;
• how many gigabytes of data were added over the last year;
• whether there will be several servers — then you need a private network.

If the system already runs on a Linux server, four read-only commands show the current figures:

LC_ALL=C lscpu | grep -E 'Model name|Socket|Core|Thread'
free -h
df -hT -x tmpfs -x devtmpfs
lsblk -d -o NAME,SIZE,ROTA,TRAN,MODEL

The LC_ALL=C prefix keeps the field names in English for grep to match. In the lsblk output the ROTA column is 1 for hard drives (HDD) and 0 for SSDs, and TRAN shows the connection type: sata, sas or nvme. On Windows Server, PowerShell shows the same:

Get-CimInstance Win32_Processor | Select-Object Name, NumberOfCores, NumberOfLogicalProcessors, MaxClockSpeed
Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem | Select-Object TotalVisibleMemorySize, FreePhysicalMemory
Get-Volume | Where-Object DriveLetter | Select-Object DriveLetter, Size, SizeRemaining
Get-PhysicalDisk | Select-Object FriendlyName, MediaType, BusType, Size

The clock speed here is in megahertz, memory in kilobytes and drive sizes in bytes. Behind a hardware RAID controller or in a virtual machine the drive type may be reported incorrectly. Software licences are not covered in this article.

Seven lines and what each is for#

A line sets the class of processors and what comes with the server besides the hardware. On every line the server is entirely yours and includes bandwidth, unmetered traffic and network-layer (L3/L4) DDoS protection. The rest depends on the line; the exact parameters of each model are in its card.

How to read a server card#

A card is the page of one model: the processor, a table of configurations for the selected country and the “What is included” block.

Processor: clock speed or core count#

Two clock speeds are usually given: base and maximum (“up to … GHz”). The maximum sets how fast one operation runs; the core count sets how many run at once. Accounting systems such as BAS process one user’s action mostly in a single thread: dozens of cores will not make posting a document faster, but a faster core will. Virtualization, dozens of simultaneous RDP sessions and databases with many parallel queries need many cores.

AMD Ryzen and Intel Xeon E offer a high clock speed but few cores and two memory channels, so memory on such servers is limited too. Higher-end AMD EPYC and Intel Xeon mean dozens of cores and hundreds of gigabytes of memory, but usually a lower per-core clock speed. Look at the figures in the card, not at the family name: entry-level EPYC are closer to Ryzen. Compare gigahertz only within one generation, and count cores, not threads.

Memory and ECC#

A configuration row shows the amount, the type (for example, DDR4 or DDR5) and an ECC mark where it applies. ECC is error-correcting memory: it corrects a single-bit error and detects a double-bit one, so data is not corrupted unnoticed. For an accounting database, virtualization and file storage, choose configurations with ECC.

Drives and RAID#

NVMe drives are the fastest: for databases, virtual machines and remote desktops. SATA SSDs are slower but enough for the operating system, websites and files. HDDs give large capacity for archives and file storage but do not suit a database.

The entry “2 × 960 GB NVMe, software RAID” means two drives that the operating system combines into an array. In a mirror (RAID 1) usable capacity equals one drive: here about 960 GB, not 1,920. By default the operating system is installed across all drives with software RAID 1; if you need a different level, say so in your request. A “system: …” line means separate drives for the operating system, leaving the main drives entirely for data. RAID protects against a drive failure but not against data being deleted or encrypted, so it does not replace backups.

Bandwidth#

The bandwidth figure carries one of two marks: “Guaranteed bandwidth” or “Bandwidth not guaranteed”. In the second case the speed may drop below the stated figure at peak hours. Remote desktops and accounting need stable rather than wide bandwidth, so choose guaranteed bandwidth for production systems. Traffic is unmetered on every line.

Private network, backup space, console#

• The private network connects your servers to each other, including across countries. You need it as soon as there are two servers: main and standby, application and database. Lite and Turbo do not have it. It is connected on request through support.
• Backup space is separate storage outside the server. On the main lines it is 500 GB; the exact amount is shown in the card. Copying is not automatic: you set it up yourself.
• The remote console gives access to the server’s screen and keyboard when the network or the operating system does not respond. It is provided on request through support; Lite does not have it.

Delivery time#

Each configuration is marked “within 12 hours” or “within 72 hours” — the time from payment (not from the request) to delivery of an in-stock server. The time may differ between configurations of one model and between countries. The whole process is described in the article on ordering and delivery.

From the task to the line#

Headroom for memory and drives#

A dedicated server is a physical machine: you cannot expand it as easily as you change the plan of a virtual one. Memory and drives can be added to a delivered server only on the Business, Power and Ultra lines — through support, with a scheduled maintenance window; on the other lines it means moving to a different configuration. So choose a configuration with headroom from the start.

• Memory. Take peak usage, add growth for two or three years and another 30–50%. Free memory is not idle: the operating system and the database engine keep their cache in it.
• Drives. Count usable capacity after RAID. Allow for current data, growth for two or three years and housekeeping needs: a database dump before an update, logs, temporary files. A guideline is at least 30% free space and room for one more copy of the largest database.

How to find a server in the catalogue#

1. Open the catalogue. The tabs at the top switch countries, and each shows the number of servers in stock; availability is refreshed every five minutes. If you have not chosen a country yet, see the article on choosing a country.
2. In the “Line” filter pick the line you chose from the table above.
3. The “Processor” filter leaves only AMD or only Intel.
4. The “Delivery within 12 hours only” checkbox removes everything that takes longer.
5. Click “Show”. If the list is empty, use the “Clear filters” link or switch to another country’s tab.
6. Compare cores and threads, memory, drives, bandwidth and delivery time in the table, open the model’s card and pick a configuration.

How to check the result#

Before sending the request, check that the “What is included” block has everything you count on, that memory and usable drive capacity leave headroom, and that the delivery time suits you.

After delivery, compare the server with the card. On Linux, repeat the commands from the start of the article and add two:

cat /proc/mdstat
sudo dmidecode -t memory | grep -i 'error correction'

The first shows the state of software RAID: a healthy two-drive mirror shows [UU]. The second shows the error correction type: Multi-bit ECC or Single-bit ECC if the memory is ECC, and None if it is not (root does not need sudo). On Windows Server this command returns the correction type:

Get-CimInstance Win32_PhysicalMemoryArray | Select-Object MemoryErrorCorrection

A value of 5 or 6 means ECC; 3 means memory without correction. If anything does not match the card, write to support before you move data. More detail is in the article on checking RAID and drives.

Common mistakes#

• Lite for a production database. The line is fine for testing but not for company accounting: it has no private network, backup space or remote console.
• Turbo paired with a standby server. This line has no private network.
• A configuration with no headroom. A server that is barely enough today will have to be replaced within a year, data migration included.

What next#

• Choose a server in the catalogue or go straight to servers in Poland, the main location.
• See typical company workloads on the For business page.
• Size a server for accounting with the article on BAS for 5, 10, 20 and 50 users.
• Still choosing between a dedicated and a virtual server? Read the article on dedicated servers and VPS.

Torn between two configurations? Describe the task to support: phone +38 044 206 08 08, email info@united.net.ua.