Are you being served? Smaller, faster and more affordable, today's servers can help transform a district's network center.

When you walk in through the door of the brand spanking new $30.4 million Beacon (N.Y.) High School--located in the heart of the Hudson Valley--you might be tempted to stroll around admiringly, taking in the sights.

But if technology director Charlie Symon is your guide, you're headed for one place--the district network center.

And why not? The high school took three years in the planning, one-and-a-half years in construction, and as you enter the network center, you have the unmistakable feeling that you have somehow arrived at the heart of it all.

In a room kept comfortably temperate by an independent heat pump are 17 Citrix servers on racks, an exchange server, and a robotic cassette back-up system as well as all voice communication equipment, and a bi-directional video cable rig for the school video product/on and broadcast center. The data network snakes throughout the building reaching 373 workstations strategically placed in all classrooms, teacher prep rooms, labs, offices, specialty rooms, providing network access to all folders and software.

But isn't the cost of maintaining 373 computers used every day by teenagers the Achilles heel of the system, financially speaking? Not to worry. None of the terminals have floppies, CD-Rom, or PC drives "because the workstations are running a Web-based connection," explains Symon. "A user uses software through the site. [It] cuts down on maintenance considerably." An added benefit is that students and staff can access software and files via the Web from literally anywhere in the world, just as if they were on campus.

"It comes down to the solution you want to create," says Symon. "Replacing workstations is too expensive, and we wanted to make access to the applications, voice technology, video, and data all come together at one hub. All the pieces have to come together. So a little less than half the investment was spent on the servers because they're the critical piece."

So you might be tempted to conclude that if your school is looking to upgrade its computer support, the place to start is with servers. After all, they run and coordinate all the software bells and whistles of your building, so start thinking about various servers' storage capacity, rack space, and, of course, cost.

Wouldn't it be pleasant if life (and technology) were that simple?

CHICKEN OR THE EGG

Actually, any major upgrade or overhaul of your system is a chicken-or-the-egg question: Which comes first, the hardware or the software?

"Too often, districts search around for a software product after they've purchased their hardware," says John Painter, marketing director for Computer Solutions Inc. in Orange, NJ. "That's wrong-headed. In a school district as well as a business, the software is the determining factor for improving productivity. Find the software that will get your work done and then worry about the hardware."

Judy Rimato, the director of technology at Klein (Texas) Independent School District, is supervising the district network's major overhaul [text unreadable in original source.] ing a fiber infrastructure. "Many times teachers will come to the IT department with a new application they've purchased and say, 'This is something we've got to have--make it work.' And of course, you can't just toss it on the server," she says.

So let's back up: it's clear at least that the central piece in all this is the server. Generally speaking then, what considerations about servers should be taken into account when planning for the future, cost and system practicability?

"Servers have always been shrouded in mystery," says George Warren, Hewlett-Packard's K-12 business director. "We've had to use words in the past that aren't very friendly. So to use simple words instead, the three considerations to keep in mind are 'growth,' 'more students,' and 'more stored information.' School technology budgets are expanding at a steady pace as demand for technology services continues to rise. One reason may be the growing number of platforms that need to be supported, coupled with the drive to reach the 1-1 computing ratio that schools are likely to reach in the near future. That's the 'growth' element."

"Second," says Warren, "also in the future, schools are going to be sending curriculum to more and more kids--whether they're on campus or off, and as a greater percentage of their learning experience. That brings into play elements such as bandwidth capability, speed and scalability. And third, provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act require that schools do more tracking of student data and keeping it for longer periods--as much as 12 years. That makes not only storage space, but security for that data, very important."

WHAT'S THE PLAN?

The first step, says Painter, is to figure out where you're at.

"What's the existing infrastructure?" Painter asks. "What kind of racks are you using and what's your power source? I've been in situations where we've delivered equipment only to discover that the power supply is inadequate--oops!"

The next step is to apply the same appraising eye to the instructional side of the equation, says Scott Weinbrant, general manager of Gateway. "Identify the problem in the current environment. What kind of applications do you want to run, what operating system will they require, and where will your service and support offerings come from? Each application requires a relationship with a vendor. How does that potential vendor manage accounts and how much outside technical support will be available?"

Does it always follow that the more applications you plan to use, the more you're going to pay for servers that can handle the demand?

"No, actually we're seeing Moore's Law on the cost side," says Weinbrant. "You can get twice the amount of computing power for about half the cost."

Think about ways to squeeze more out of servers--and more out of a nickel, too--while still in the planning stages.

At Poways Unified School District in San Diego County, Charlie Garten, executive director of Educational Technology and Information Systems, isn't a believer that the schools are destined to rely more and more on servers because the number of applications will always increase and so will the number of users.

"We are looking at SANs and NAS solutions, for example" says Garten. "Like everything else, the problem is deeper than it appears on the surface. Storage demands affect the backup systems, and the time it takes to backup, so the LAN and/or WAN speed is impacted. But if schools continue to buy RAID computers, they are buying expensive, almost single-use storage devices. [RAID (redundant array of independent disks) is a way of storing the same data in different places--thus, redundantly on multiple hard disks.] If schools can make the upfront cost of a SANs, they can buy cheaper computers--no hard drives, rack mounted 'pizza boxes'--and use the storage on the SAN much more efficiently than several RAID computers."

That principle of less is more--or perhaps in this case, "less is Moore"--has been driving the strategy at Klein Independent School District.

"We're migrating to centralization and consolidation," says Rimato. "We've added a SANs, allowing us to have smaller servers because all of our storage is on the SANs. If you can take less time to manage remote sites, you do a better job of leveraging your IT resources." In addition, "every time we buy a new application, we're not buying a new server. We can put multiple applications on a single server," Rimato says.

DETERMINE THE VISION

The final step in planning, then, is to get a long-term strategy down on paper, or "determine the vision," says Scott Campbell, Dell's director of K-12 sales.

At Andrew P. Hill High School in San Jose, Calif., that vision came as the result of a series of successes. Emboldened, the school took a really big step.

"We have 535 kids on campus with wireless laptop Apple iBooks," says Tim Nguyen, compensatory education coordinator. "They can access the school's Web site from anywhere on our 53-acre campus." The school's 1,988 students also have 12 computer labs with desktop PCs, for a total of 1,035 computers on campus.

Nguyen explains that the decision to go wireless was evolutionary, once the school had established a track record of gradually improving student achievement.

"We were considered one of the lower performing schools in our region," says Nguyen. "Then during the Clinton administration, California held a Net Day, and the push was to make certain all schools in the state were wired. That happened for us, and we combined several sources of funding to provide teacher training.

"When the superintendent saw all the work that was being done, and the test results from kids, he suggested we consider a 1-to-1 model [one computer for each student]."

When laptops became part of that goal, Nguyen raised a point that ultimately resulted in wireless technology.

"There were two alternatives--either have kids plug their laptops into the wall, which would connect them to the server hub, or go wireless. The first choice meant the possibility of tripping over wires from the wall to the laptop, or pulling the laptop away from the wall while it was still connected. There were issues of liability for accidents and repairs to the laptops. Wireless seemed the better choice."

Currently, an Apple engineer is "melding our mix of servers that use OS X, Linux and Windows2000. We have four Xservers on campus, one of which is being dedicated to storing student data," he says.

Is that to meet the requirements of NCLB?

"Exactly," says Nguyen.

SET A PURCHASE SCHEDULE

As the possibilities for computer-enhanced instruction continue to grow, so will the demands on servers. And that means the school's vision will come back around to adding a final step to the strategy of the plan: establishing a purchase schedule to meet the goals.

"We see most people wanting to meet future demand for storage and data retrieval," says Scott Campbell at Dell. "So, certain requirements are necessary to fulfill those obligations. How many users will there be, and where will the network center be housed?" says Campbell. The tendency may be to think big and purchase as much as your best hunch tells you you're going to need in three to five years. But Dean Klein, a public relations manager for Dell, says the company recommends a conservative approach, leaving the door open for change and improvement. "What we recommend," says Klein, "is rather than buy too much headroom, stick to industry standards and then scale out, buying what you need as you need it."

However, there's no rule of thumb for when to purchase servers that will fit everyone's needs.

"Someone may buy a server that uses one package and they stay on it for several years," says Campbell. "We have other schools that come back quarterly."

That's why leaving some flexibility in the long-term strategy is important, says Painter. If the school can stay relatively light on its feet, it can take advantage of the cost savings that industry improvements will bring, he says. "Five years between server purchases is too long. Three years is about right. The gains in speed and productivity will outweigh the costs."

LOOKING AHEAD

Gazing into their crystal ball, several experts predict no sudden changes on the horizon for schools and computing, but instead advise administrators to look for new opportunities to improve services and student achievement.

"I don't see any revolutionary things--mainly evolutionary changes. Larger network storage, more widespread use of Linux, and remote access becoming more common, where students and teachers can come into your system from other schools and from home," says Painter. "In fact, that's probably going to be one of the biggest changes. Whereas in the past, the network was open only to teachers and administrators, we going to see parents checking their child's attendance record, whether assignments are being turned in--even what's on the school lunch menu for next week."

Dell's Campbell expects the advent of very low-cost storage. "Look for 12 to 13 years of information generated by students kept on servers to meet the requirements of NCLB. Imagine storing information from 50,000 students. So dearly one of the big concerns for the furore Mil be security."

Gateway's Weinbrant sums it up this way: "Smaller package, more density, more computing power. And yes, security is and will be key."

Inside the new network center at Beacon High School, which has been up and running for less than a year, Charlie Symon says whatever is ahead, he won't be driven by hype, especially when it comes to servers and applications.

"I drew up a proposal about what's needed in the classroom and put it out to several vendors. It doesn't usually matter to me what the product is," he says. "It's what it has to do."

Server Comparison Chart

Apple                     www.apple.com

Entry Level               PRICE: $2,799 PROCESSOR: 1.33GHz PowerPC
Single Processor XServe   G4 STORAGE: Up to 2.52 terabytes of
                          storage with RAID MEMORY: 256MB DDR333
                          SDRAM--1 DIMM DRIVE BAYS: 4--Choose
                          hot-pluggable Apple Drive Modules in
                          60GB or 180GB capacities EXPANSION
                          SLOTS: 3--PCI/AGP Combo Slot Lower PCI
                          Slot Upper PCI Slot RACK SUPPORT: None
                          CHIPSET: Not stated

General Purpose           PRICE: $3,799 PROCESSOR: Dual 1.33GHz
Dual Processor Xserve     PowerPC G4 STORAGE: Up to 2.52 terabytes
                          of storage with RAID MEMORY: 512MB
                          DDR333 SDRAM--1 DIMM DRIVE BAYS:
                          4--Choose hot-pluggable Apple Drive
                          Modules in 60GB or 180GB capacities
                          EXPANSION SLOTS: 3--PCI/AGP Combo Slot
                          Lower PCI Slot Upper PCI Slot RACK
                          SUPPORT: None CHIPSET: Not stated

High End                  PRICE: $8,248 PROCESSOR: Dual 1.33GHz
Ultimate Xserve           PowerPC G4 STORAGE: Up to 2.52 terabytes
                          of storage with RAID MEMORY: 2.0GB
                          DDR333 SDRAM--4 DIMMs DRIVE BAYS:
                          4--Choose hot-pluggable Apple Drive
                          Modules in 60GB or 180GB capacities
                          EXPANSION SLOTS: 3--PCI/AGP Combo Slot,
                          Lower PCI Slot, Upper PCI Slot RACK
                          SUPPORT: None CHIPSET: Not stated

Dell                      www.dell.com

Entry-level               PRICE: $2,413 PROCESSOR: Intel Celeron
PowerEdge 350             processor at 850MHz or Intel Pentium III
                          processor at 1GHz STORAGE: Up to 240GB
                          maximum internal storage MEMORY: 128MB
                          to 1GB ECC SDRAM memory DRIVE BAYS: Bays
                          for 2 hard drives EXPANSION SLOTS: 1
                          available 32-bit/33MHz PCI RACK SUPPORT:
                          Yes CHIPSET: Intel 440DX chipset

General Purpose           PRICE: $4,212 PROCESSOR: Up to 2 Intel
PowerEdge 2650            Xeon processors at 1.8GHz to 2.4GHz with
                          NetBurst micro-architecture with
                          Hyper-Threading technology STORAGE:
                          365GB maximum internal storage MEMORY:
                          256MB-6GB 200MHz DDR SDRAM DRIVE BAYS:
                          Hard drive bays for 5 X 1" hot-plug SCSI
                          drives EXPANSION SLOTS: 3 full-length
                          PCI slots (1 X 64-bit/133MHz, 2 X
                          64-bit/100MHz) RACK SUPPORT: Yes CHIPSET:
                          ServerWorks GC-LE chipset supports 5 PCI
                          buses: 3 PCI-X (1 X 64-bit/133MHz, 2 X
                          64bit/100MHz), 1 x 64bit/66MHz, 1 legacy
                          bus (32bit/33MHz)

High End                  PRICE: $17,138 PROCESSOR: Up to 8 Intel
PowedEdge 8450            Pentium III Xeonprocessors at 700MHz and
                          900MHz STORAGE: 146GB maximum internal
                          storage MEMORY: 256MB to 32GB ECC SDRAM
                          memory DRIVE BAYS: Bays for two 1" hard
                          drives EXPANSION SLOTS: 10 x 64-bit PCI
                          expansion slots (4 x 66MHz and 6 x
                          33MHz), none shared RACK SUPPORT: Yes
                          CHIPSET: Intel ProFusion chipset

Gateway                   www.gateway.com

Entry Level               PRICE: $599 PROCESSOR: Intel Celeron
920 Server                Processor 2.0-GHz with 128K L2 cache
                          STORAGE: 60GB ATA100 7200RPM IDE Hard
                          Drive MEMORY: 128MB PC2100 DDR ECC SDRAM
                          (1-128MB module) (expandable to 4GB)
                          DRIVE BAYS: 3.5" 1.44MB diskette drive,
                          20X min./48X max. IDE CD-ROM EXPANSION
                          SLOTS: 5 PCI expansion slots, four
                          64-bit/33MHz slots, one 32-bit/33MHz
                          slot, supports 33
                          MHz PCI on ICH3, supports 33 MHz and 66
                          MHz PCI on P64H2, supports 66 MHz, 100
                          MHz or 133 MHz for PCI-X on P64H2
                          RACK SUPPORT: No CHIPSET: ServerWorks
                          ServerSet GC-SL

General Purpose           PRICE: $1,798 PROCESSOR: Intel Xeon
960 Rackmount             2.0-GHz with 512K L2 cache and 533MHz
                          FSB (dual processor upgradeable) STORAGE:
                          36GB Ultra320 scsi SCA 10K RPM hot
                          swappable hard drive MEMORY: 256MB PC2100
                          DDR ECC SDRAM (2-128MB modules)
                          (expandable to 4GB) DRIVE BAYS:Eight
                          drive bays, four external 1" SCA bays, 1
                          x 4 SCSI back-plane, three external
                          5.25" bays, one external 3.5" bay,
                          EXPANSION SLOTS: The 960 Series Server
                          has 6 total PCI expansion slots, 4 PCI-X
                          slots, 3.3v, one 64-bit/66MHz slot, one
                          32-bit/33MHz slot. Speed on PCI-X Slots
                          depends on installed PCI-X cards RACK
                          SUPPORT: Yes CHIPSET: Intel E-7501
                          (Plumas)

High End                  PRICE: $2,798 PROCESSOR: Intel Xeon
980 Rackmount             2.4-GHz with 512K L2 cache and 533MHz FSB
                          (dual processor upgradeable) STORAGE:
                          36GB Ultra320 SCSI SCA 10K RPM hot
                          swappable hard drive MEMORY: 512MB PC2100
                          DDR ECC SDRAM (2-256MB modules)
                          (expandable to 4GB) DRIVE BAYS: Twelve
                          drive bays; eight external 1" SCA bays,
                          2 x 4 SCSI backplane, hot swap capable,
                          three external 5.25" bays, one external
                          3.5" bay EXPANSION SLOTS: The 980 Series
                          Server has 6 total PCI expansion slots; 4
                          PCI-X slots, one 64-bit/66MHz slot, one
                          32-bit/33MHz slot, 3.3v. Speed on PCI-X
                          slots depends on installed PCI-X cards
                          RACK SUPPORT: Yes CHIPSET: Intel E-7501
                          (Plumas)

Hewlett-Packard           www.hp.com

Entry Level               PRICE: $5,509 PROCESSOR: PA-8700 (650MHz)
rp2400 series             STORAGE: 146 GB MEMORY: 128MB/2GB DRIVE
                          BAYS: 2 internal disks EXPANSION SLOTS:
                          2 (64-bit, 66MHz) RACK SUPPORT: None
                          CHIPSET: Not stated

General Purpose           PRICE: $289,271 PROCESSOR: 2 to 16
rp8400                    PA-RISC CPUs, PA-8700+ (875MHz), PA-8700
                          (750MHz,) STORAGE: 292 GB MEMORY: 2 to
                          64GB SDRAM, DRIVE BAYS: 4 internal
                          hot-plug disk bays and 2 internal
                          removable media bays (DVD or DAT),
                          EXPANSION SLOTS: 16 PCI hot-plug card
                          slots and 2 core I/Os RACK SUPPORT: Tower
                          CHIPSET: Not stated

High End                  PRICE: Unavailable PROCESSOR: 16-way,
HP Superdome              32-way, or 64-way CPUs, PA-8700,
                          (750MHz), PA-8700+, (875MHz), STORAGE:
                          Not stated MEMORY: 2GB/64GB, 2GB/128GB,
                          16GB/256GB, DRIVE BAYS: 4 internal
                          hot-plug disk bays and 2 internal
                          removable media bays (DVD or DAT)
                          EXPANSION SLOTS: 48, 96, or 196 PCI RACK
                          SUPPORT: Cabinet, CHIPSET: Not stated

IBM                       www.ibm.com

Entry Level               PRICE: $1,609 PROCESSOR: Intel Pentium 4
xSeries 305               processor STORAGE: 40GB IDE or 18GB SCSI
                          standard/240GB IDE or 2938B SCSI max
                          optional internal storage MEMORY: 256MB
                          standard/4GB max PC 2100 ECC DDR SDRAM
                          memory DRIVE BAYS: Support for 2 IDE or
                          2 Ultra 160 SCSI hard disk drives
                          EXPANSION SLOTS: Two 64-bit/100/133MHz
                          PCI-X slots RACK SUPPORT: No CHIPSET:
                          Not stated

General Purpose           PRICE: $2,449 PROCESSOR: Intel Xeon
xSeries 345               processor with 533MHz front-side bus
                          STORAGE: Up to 4408B of internal storage
                          MEMORY: Up to 8GB of DDR memory DRIVE
                          BAYS: Up to six hard disk drives
                          EXPANSION SLOTS: 5 PCI (4 PCI-X) slots
                          RACK SUPPORT: No CHIPSET: Not stated

High End                  PRICE: $7,059 PROCESSOR: Up to four Intel
xSeries 360               Xeon Processors MP up to 2.0GHz STORAGE:
                          Up to 4408B of internal storage MEMORY:
                          GB standard/GGB max ChipkillTM ECC SDRAM,
                          Double Data Rate memory DRIVE BAYS:
                          Supports SAN-optimized and three internal
                          hot-swap SCSI hard disk drives EXPANSION
                          SLOTS: One 64-bit/133MHz or two one
                          64-bit/100MHz, and four 64-bit/66MHz
                          Active PCI-X slots RACK SUPPORT: No
                          CHIPSET: Not stated

NEC                       www.nec.co.jp

Entry Level               PRICE: Unavailable PROCESSOR: Pentium 4
Express 5800 110Eg        (2.0AGHz) or Pentium 4 (2.40BGHz)
                          STORAGE: Up to 360 GB MEMORY: 128MB
                          (128MB DIMM x1, DDR266), up to 1 GB
                          DRIVE BAYS: 2 EXPANSION SLOTS: 5 32-bit
                          PCI, 1 AGP RACK SUPPORT: Micro-tower
                          CHIPSET: i845E

General Purpose           PRICE: Unavailable PROCESSOR: Xeon
Express 5800 120Lg        (1.80GHz) or Xeon (2.66GHz) STORAGE:
                          8798B (146.58B x6) MEMORY: 256MB (128MB
                          DDR266 x2) up to 4 GB DRIVE BAYS: 6
                          EXPANSION SLOTS: 4 PCI-X (64bit/100MHz
                          x4), 2 PCI (32bit/33MHz x2) RACK SUPPORT:
                          Micro-tower CHIPSET: INTEL E7501

High End                  PRICE: Unavailable PROCESSOR: Expandable
Express 5800 140Rc-4      up to four Xeon Processor MP 2.0GHz (L2
                          cache 512KB, L3 cache 2MB) STORAGE:
                          732.58B (146.58B x 5) MEMORY: Standard
                          1GB, expandable up to 12GB at its maximum
                          DRIVE BAYS: 5 EXPANSION SLOTS: 6 PCI-X
                          (64bit/100MHz x6), 2 PCI (32bit/33MHz
                          x2), Hot Plug PCI RACK SUPPORT: No
                          CHIPSET: ServerWorks GC-HE

Nobilis                   ww.prairiewindpc.com

Entry Level               PRICE: $915 PROCESSOR: Intel P4 2.4 GHz
Nobilis 1101-FT           533 SocN with 512K L2 OD cache STORAGE:
                          Not stated MEMORY: 256 MB 184 pin DDR
                          unbuffered ECC memory DRIVE BAYS: Teac
                          1.44 Floppy drive Lite-On 52 Max 52x IDE
                          CD-ROM EXPANSION SLOTS: 3 PCI bus
                          mastering slots RACK SUPPORT: Tower
                          CHIPSET: Intel 845

General Purpose           PRICE $2,534 PROCESSOR: Intel Xeon 2.0
Nobilis 4450-RT           GHz MPGA2 533 FSB with 512K L2 C STORAGE:
                          Not stated MEMORY: 256 MB 184 pin DDR
                          ECC memory DRIVE BAYS: 5 Hot Swap SCSI
                          Drive Bays EXPANSION SLOTS: 6 PCI slots
                          RACK SUPPORT: Tower CHIPSET: Intel 7501

High End                  PRICE $7,535 PROCESSOR Intel Xeon 1.4 GHz
Nobilis 6300-RT           MP 400 FSB with 512K L3 C STORAGE Not
                          stated MEMORY Up to 24GB of DDR ECC
                          memory DRIVE BAYS 18, 36 and 73GB SCSI
                          drives EXPANSION SLOTS 8 PCI slots--Four
                          64/66, Two 64/100, 32/33 RACK SUPPORT
                          Tower CHIPSET Serverworks/Grand Champion

Premio                    www.premiopc.com/products/servers_education

Entry Level               PRICE: Unavailable PROCESSOR: Intel
Phoenix 1U L4             Celeron 1.7, 1.GGHz, and higher
                          (400FSB/128K L2 cache) STORAGE: Not
                          stated MEMORY: Two DDR DIMM slots,
                          Maximum of 2GB of DDR 266 memory ECC or
                          non-ECC DRIVE BAYS: One 5.25" drive bay,
                          Two 3.5" drive bays EXPANSION SLOTS:
                          Three 32-bit PCI slots, Three 32-bit
                          PCI slots RACK SUPPORT: Optional CHIPSET:
                          Intel 845GL

General Purpose           PRICE: Unavailable PROCESSOR: Dual Intel
Phoenix 2UXL              Xeon processors with 512 KB L2 cache
                          STORAGE: Not stated MEMORY: Six DDR DIMM
                          slots, maximum of 12GB of DDR 266 memory
                          ECC or non-ECC DRIVE BAYS: One 5.25"
                          external bays, one 3.5" external bays,
                          two 3.5" internal bays EXPANSION SLOTS:
                          One PCI slot (64-bit/66MHz) RACK SUPPORT:
                          Optional CHIPSET: Not stated

High End                  PRICE: Unavailable PROCESSOR: Dual Intel
Phoenix 4UXL              Xeon 2.0A, 2.2GHz, or higher (512K)
                          STORAGE: Not stated MEMORY: Six 184 pins
                          DDR200 OIMM slots. ECC/registered only
                          12GB maximum memory capacity DRIVE BAYS
                          Three 5.25" external bays Two 3.5"
                          external bays Four 3.5" internal bays
                          EXPANSION SLOTS: Five PCI slots
                          (64-bit/66MHz) One PCI slot
                          (PCI-33/32-bit) RACK SUPPORT: Yes
                          CHIPSET: Intel E7500

Sun                       www.sun.com

Entry Level               PRICE: $995 PROCESSOR: UltraSPARC-IIi
Sun Fire V1               Processor 1 @ 550 MHz STORAGE: Not stated
                          MEMORY: 256 MB (1 @ 256-MB DIMM) DRIVE
                          BAYS: 1 @ 40 GB EXPANSION SLOTS: Not
                          stated RACK SUPPORT: Yes CHIPSET: Not
                          stated

General Purpose           PRICE: $79,995 PROCESSOR: UltraSPARC III
V1280 Server              Cu Processor 4 @ 900 MHz STORAGE: Not
                          stated MEMORY: 8 GB (32 @ 256-MB DIMMS)
                          DRIVE BAYS: 2 @ 36 GB EXPANSION SLOTS:
                          Not stated RACK SUPPORT: Yes CHIPSET:

High End                  PRICE: $849,090 PROCESSOR: UltraSPARC-II
Sun Enterprise 1000       Processor, 16 @ 466 MHz STORAGE: Not
Server                    stated MEMORY: 16 GB DRIVE BAYS: Not
                          stated EXPANSION SLOTS: Not stated RACK
                          SUPPORT: No CHIPSET: Not stated

Want to avoid common pitfalls of purchasing servers? Here's what our experts recommend:

Shop around. Don't get in bed with one vendor just for the sake of convenience.

Make sure the IT department works closely with the teachers and meets their needs.

Don't allow "black sheep servers" to be scattered around the school. Some departments will try to ignore the IT department by running their own show, but if a breakdown occurs, they'll be the first to call for help.

Don't fall for the "undercoating trick." Just like car dealers who will offer to add $800 worth of undercoating to a car that doesn't need it, some vendors will recommend warranties that drive up the cost. Get a second and third opinion.

Ask the software vendors about servers. It may seem counterintuitive at first, but software vendors can tell you about the success rates of their applications running on various products. And they may store you what you really need.

Charles J. Shields is a contributing editor.