Right now, a growing contingency of businesses of all sizes and purposes are opting to build their own servers. The appeal of creating a custom server computer directly in-line with the needs of the business and for the lowest price isn’t hard to understand. Of course, some may be put off by the idea of getting quite so technical with the parts and components, but building a server isn’t necessarily the taxing task it may appear to be.

In fact, arm yourself with the very best components (making sure they’re compatible) and it’s as easy as connecting Lego bricks…if on a slightly more technological level.

Initial Components
Unsurprisingly, the first thing you’ll need to do is to arm yourself with the bits and pieces you’ll need to get going, which are as follows:

Motherboard – If there’s one component you really don’t want to cut corners or take chances with, it’s the motherboard. The thing to remember here is that this is the very foundation upon which the entire system as a whole will be built, which means the choice you make will impact compatibility of other components and overall performance going forward. You need to think long-term and be sure to allow yourself plenty of breathing room for expansion.

Chassis – The chassis will in a physical and logistical sense determine to what extent your server can be built and upgraded. A standard 1U box, for example, will hold perhaps 1 disk while a 2U steps up to 12 disks, and so it continues. Upgrading your chassis is perfectly possible, but it’s a pain in the backside to avoid if you can.

CPU – The processor (CPU) will play the biggest role in determining the power and performance of the server as a whole – think of it as the system’s combined heart and brain. There are various high-end processors on the market that have been designed specifically for use in demanding server systems – stick with these and don’t compromise.

RAM – The motherboard you choose will determine how much and what type of RAM you can install, but the simple rule of thumb to follow here is that you can never have enough.

Storage – The same also applies to storage space…as in more is better…but at the same time you’ll need to move away from standard IDE hard drives in favor of SATA drives or better.

Power Supply – The final component you’ll need to invest in is a good power supply…don’t let your whole system come crashing to a halt simply because you under-spent on a low-grade power supply!

Check out the full ITC Sales range of servers and components.