Using a server as a computer????

[brittaink112]

All,

Hopefully somebody may be able to give some advice. I am about to inherit a Fujitsu Primergy RX300 S6 server. As my old home PC is dying a death, I was going to use this to replace it. I am aware that it is not exactly great for gaming etc due to the lack of gaming graphics card, but was wondering what the best use of it would be ?

Would it be better to install VMware on it and use a virtual machine that is accessible over remote desktop from a laptop,

Would it be better to install Server 2008 straight onto it and use direct?

Could I install Win7 on it and use as a PC etc.

Any advice welcome

Keith

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

I would have thought it would run Microsoft Office OK, even MS Access.

 

[brittaink112]

Uncle Gizmo,

Thank you for the response:

I would have thought it would run Microsoft Office OK, even MS Access.

MS Office runs on an operating system and MS Access is part of MS Office, I understand this. This might not be the best forum to ask the original question about the best useage of an inherited server, but I have found the people on this forum very helpful and knowledgable in the past, and was hoping that anyone would be able to shed light on this scenario and give advice. Not sure if you understood what I was getting at. Please feel free to add any more information that you would feel relevant to my question.

Kindest Regards,

Keith

 

[CJ_London]

servers are built with different hardware to optimise its use as a server - so focussing on RAID, input/output etc.

I'm sure they will work as a PC (just as you can use a PC as a server), but it may be like making a sports car out of a tank.

If you are asking 'should I use as a server or as a pc' I would suggest use it for what it was designed for - a server.

google 'difference between server and pc' you will find lots of threads where this gets discussed.

Since this is for home, remote desktop is not really necessary but certainly doable - all remote desktop effectively does is treat the host machine as a terminal server - but only one user at a time.

 

[Rx_]

5-user License Pack including Microsoft RDS CALs (Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit) $1,245.00
I am considering a server to run a full copy of SQL Server.
There are free-ware Citrix alternatives (linux usually) since Microsoft is considered to be anti-small business due to its licensing cost.
This has made the Citrix and freeware Retmote Terminal popular.


http://store.citrix.com/store/citrixus/en_US/pd/ThemeID.9505600/productID.194911600
Citrix 5-user License Pack including Microsoft RDS CALs (Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit) $1,250 USD

Looking at a licensed copy of Windows Server ($400 usd) or a 5 CAL Windows Server ($800) - this doesn't seem out of line.
Citrix is supposed to have a new small-business interface for managing the Citrix in a small business.
The Client can run Access or other windows products on any platform (apple, linux, android, ...) and run it securely remotely outside the LAN.

The secured remote aspect rather than a semi-cloud share on my home router is becoming more interesting by the month.

I am still evaluating BizSpark - the MSDN for small business. It is cheap for about 3 years. Don't know yet if it supports all of my needs (SQL Server, Development software, MS Office, ...)

Realize you just have a "server" and are not asking about multi-users directly.
I have used a server as a workstation. It pretty much will work for you. You might use around $8.00 to $20.00 USD a month more of electricty?

 

[Minty]

Server hardware is designed to be turned on and left on, bear this in mind if using it as a desktop. It won't appreciate being power cycled on a daily basis.

Other than that and possible noise issues, it will work fine as a home machine, just probably be a bit overkill.