Lantech submitted the only white-box unit for our review, and we were somewhat surprised to find that every other PC tested offered better value than the 2700. It's a good little machine, but for the price you can get a significantly smaller server with a much better warranty.
The 2700 uses an Intel server board and standard components. By far the largest machine in our review, the 2700 didn't fit on the wire rack shelving we use for testing and had to be laid on its side.
The 2700, like the IBM eSeries xServer 205, uses the Intel 845E chipset, putting it at considerable disadvantage when compared with machines sporting the ServerWorks Grand Champion SL. However, the Database 2700 was assembled with care: All the fans in the system are ball bearing, and the cabling is carefully routed.
Connectivity is provided by two USB 2.0 ports, two standard serial ports and a parallel port.
The Database 2700 has a plethora of Ethernet connectors. The main board has two Intel-based 10/100 ports, and in an expansion slot there is an Intel copper Gigabit Ethernet adapter. The motherboard, frankly, is short on slots. It has only three 32-bit, 33-MHz slots and an AGP slot.
One of the PCI slots is taken up by the Intel copper Gigabit Ethernet adapter, and another PCI slot is used by the LSI SCSI controller for the hard disk, leaving only one PCI slot open. Considering the huge amount of room for disk drive and other devices, the choice of that motherboard is puzzling.
The Database 2700, with its SCSI drive, performed nicely. It won the IOPS test and the 64-KB read test, in addition to placing well in Web testing.
The 2700 comes with a three-year parts and labor ship-in warranty, and free cross-shipping--meaning Lantech will ship you a replacement machine, secured by a credit card, before it gets your broken one back. You can upgrade to next-day on-site for $299.
Steven J. Schuchart Jr. covers storage and servers for Network Computing. Previously, he worked as a network architect for a general retail firm, a PC and electronics technician, a computer retail store manager and a freelance disc jockey. Write to him at sschuchart@nwc.com.
REPORTS
Analyize In-Line NAC strategies and products.
ANALYTICS Plan and design your enterprise blade server deployments
InformationWeek U.S. IT Salary Survey 2008
Salaries for business technology professionals are falling. Here's what you need to know in order to make good hiring decisions and personal career choices. Download Today
Lantech submitted the only white-box unit for our review, and we were somewhat surprised to find that every other PC tested offered better value than the 2700. It's a good little machine, but for the price you can get a significantly smaller server with a much better warranty.
REPORTS
ANALYTICS
Follow 
