The bench notes
Server guides & buying advice
Model comparisons, platform explainers and configuration advice — written from the hardware we refurbish, test and ship every day.
data security
PERC vs Smart Array: Understanding RAID Controllers
Dell PERC and HPE Smart Array read alike on a datasheet but run different silicon, and they differ in naming, cache backup design, defaults and tooling....
data security
Hot Spares, Rebuilds and Why RAID Is Not Backup
The dangerous hours in storage are the ones between a drive failing and its replacement finishing. What hot spares actually change, why rebuild windows grew with...
data security
Server Firmware Updates: Why and How
Firmware is the software nobody patches - and the fix for half the weird behaviors refurbished owners meet. What each layer does, the order that avoids...
data security
Used Drives: Reading SMART, Hours and Wear
Every used drive carries its own service record - if you know which SMART fields to read. Power-on hours in context, the sector counts that predict...
data security
Why Servers Insist on ECC Memory
Bit flips are real, measurable and mostly invisible - until one lands in a filesystem structure or a database page. What ECC actually corrects, what registered...
data security
RAID Levels in Practice: 1, 5, 6 and 10
RAID levels are trade-offs between capacity, speed and how many failures you survive - and the right answer changed as drives grew. Why RAID5's era ended...
data security
A Backup Target That Holds: Repository Server Hardware
A backup repository has one job on a bad day: restore fast and be there at all. Sizing drives for capacity and rebuild time, why repository...
Business Server
Tips for Choosing the Right Business Server
Tips for Choosing the Right Business Server Choosing the right business server is a critical decision that can greatly impact your organization's productivity and success. With...