Build Advice SQL Server - first boot and not responding?

When you buy the cals you have to decide which licensing model you are going to choose. I guess actually you could buy a combination of either, can start to get hard to manage though - predominantly, all the SMB stuff I do, people buy user CALs. just makes more sense in that scale, normally in SMB/E users have their own machine, sometimes terminal servers to work from home, etc. and just having user cals is easiest.

It's explained well here http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/licensing/about-licensing/client-access-license.aspx

 

Neither Dell nor HP servers come with caddies if you don't buy the drives, however, you can buy the caddies separately for cheap.
We're using the Samsung 840/850 Pro SSDs in DB servers at work and they fly. That's paired with a decent RAID card though (and for a much more demanding environment than yours).

 

So, everything ordered
I got those caddies for £6 on ebay.
I still gonna need cables for it. Would that be those SAS-SATA cables?

 

The hot plug chassis i would of thought would come cabled to the 710, but I have no experience with Dell servers. on HP servers the hot plug chassis has 2 mini sas plugs on the back, which plugs into 2 mini sas plugs on the controller.

 

Yeah, I hope they will add cables from controller to back plane, so all I would need will be caddies with drives...

 

Thanks Margo. So I guess it's better for us to get 3 client CALs - cause 3 domains users will access it via different PCs.

Now, do I need any other license for Server itself? Or is this OEM version of system is like a license for the system to use on that server?

 

Just read about Windows Server versions and looks like 2012 Essentials would be enough!
Actually, I found R2 version here. It says OEM, but can I still install it and use it as regular version?
It's up to 25 users and 1-2 CPUs. My server will have 1 cpu and there would be 3 users using it, so all would be covered.
Do I understand this correctly?

 

Yes - essentials is the only one that comes with CALs (they aren't exactly cals, but you can have 25 users) as it's a bit like the old SBS (kind of). Essentials HAS to be a domain controller though - and the first DC in a forrest, so if you do that I think you will have to migrate domains.

Or you could set up the new sql box on a new domain and set up some federation between the domains, but that's a right long winded approach.

Are you currently on a domain with your workstations etc.?

 

Go for Server 2012 R2 if you can, it's a much better OS.

2012 R2 is a different OS than Server 2012... like windows 8.1 is to windows 8. (Go MS and stupid naming)

 

Yes, we already have DC so sounds like Essentials is no go then?
Or I could create a domain on it just for sake of it, but keep main DC we have as a main one and just have that Essentials with 3 SQL users. Can I add DC to other domain? I mean this Essentials domain to existing one?

Also, can I go with OEM version?

Yep, R2 is the only version I want

 

OK, found on Microsoft site this reseller and it sells full version R2.

Sounds good, right?

 

No with essentials it has to be a DC and it has to be the first DC in a new forest - which means you can't really just add the other domain to it, you would have to demote the other dc, take it off the domain and then migrate it to the new domain and do dcpromo - if you have exchange etc. on the other box you will have to migrate all the emails etc.

You can't add an existing domain controller to a different domain - you have to put the server in the domain and then promote it to a domain controller - the exception being essentials as that makes you set the domain up when you are installing the software, so you don't ever run dcpromo .

OEM version is fine - stick the SOA on the server when it's all built and up and running. but essentials really isn't intended for adding servers to an existing domain - the point of it is to be a small server for small businesses that will do most of the stuff they want, with exchange axed so people subscribe to o365.

 

EDIT: I ordered full Windows Server 2012 R2 standard version.. £700 is not that much more
Essentials R2 after all cannot be installed as member server...

 

Server arrived, looks awesome
Need to install SSDs in it and configure RAID arrays.

Bought Windows server 2012 R2 standard - will be installing it too.
That will be first time installing server, so any suggestions, advices are very much welcome

 

Weird. I plugged one of the psu, tried to turn it on and its not responding. Power button isnt doing anything. When pressed those small buttom next to this little display it turned it on and I can jump about the options but server is still not on...
Am I missing something?