Selection of spare parts for the server

Question

Iron

Hello cheaters!

There is a combat server:

2x CPU Intel Xeon E5503 2.0GHz/0.5+4Mb/4.80 GT/sLGA1366
2x Original SAMSUNG DDR-III DIMM 4Gb <PC3-10600> ECC Registered+PLL
1x Server Case SuperMicro <CSE-826TQ-R800LPB> Black 12xHotSwap SAS/SATA, E-ATX 800W HS (24+8+4pin) 2U RM
1x SuperMicro X8DTL-IF (RTL)Dual LGA1366 SVGA+2GbL SATA RAID ATX 6DDR-III
2x Intel Cooler for Socket 1366 (7800 rpm, 4 -pin, Al) Active
4x HDD 147 Gb SAS Fujitsu 15000rpm 16Mb
1x Controller LSI MegaRAID SAS 9260-4i (RTL) PCI-Ex8, 4-port SAS/SATA RAID 0/1/5/6/10/50/60, Cache 512Mb The server

is managed by ESXi 4.1, the array of disks is assembled in RAID 5, in the case of 2 power supplies, each powered by a separate UPS.

Everything works well, but I often catch myself thinking: “What if a thread burns / breaks?”
It is not yet possible to replace the server with a similar one.
So you need spare parts. But the budget is not rubber, you need to choose.

I ask experienced people for advice on what to buy and what you can save on.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

If the budget does not allow to turn around, I do this:
- power supply
- two or three hard drives. 1 put in hot spare, the rest in the safe. but it all depends on how the space is organized.
- a memory module, you can immediately put it inside. if anything - do not get a strong drop in memory.
- a cooler in the case, they sometimes die.
the rest is either expensive or irrational.
the most important thing is to make a backup, having previously thought through the implementation. Well, from time to time, a test recovery from a backup on a virtual machine.

Answer 2

You can’t foresee everything - ideally, it would be to have another “emergency” server, albeit lower in performance, but which can replace the main “combat” server for the first time.
On the “combat” ones, power supplies most often burn or hard drives are pouring. Sometimes capacitors on motherboards fail, but if you know how to solder, this is a solvable and not expensive matter.

Answer 3

By the way, in paranoia mode, Raid 5 personally does not add confidence to me, from experience it is a very problematic option when restoring, it is worth considering the option with two mirrors or a dozen.

Answer 4

Another would be to add a cooler to the processor.
I had servers on Super Micro P4DP6 from 2002 to 2012, coolers and, yes, screws were replaced. And when changing the form factor, it is difficult to get the previous generation of coolers (and I have had several generations in 10 years).