Business Intelligence PC Requirements

[jjb373]

Hello all - I have been given the job of putting together a list of hardware requirements for a "super data analysis/process modeling PC". Any suggestions on what hardware anyone out here is purchasing to run BI tools and modeling tools such as WebSphere? We are not looking into a server - just user desktops which would be ideal for running these types of applications and processing queries faster. If it matters, we will be hitting multiple types of databases, Oracle, SQL DBs etc...

I am looking for hardware/software rquirements a bit beyond the posted minimum for these types of applications.

Thanks!


-- JJB373 --

 

[wahnula]

Any idea which OS these PCs will be running? Due to the highly parallel needs of your applications (from my minimum research, please correct me if I'm wrong) you will benefit from many-core CPUs and loads of RAM. That's why I ask about the OS...64-bit OSes can utilize much larger amounts of RAM, and DDR2 is dirt-cheap now.

The graphics subsystem does not appear to need any sort of 3D help, so dare I say an IGP (integrated graphics processor) should suffice.

For starters, I'm going to recommend an Intel P35 chipset, a quad-core Q9300 (a Penryn dual-core would be OK too) and 4GB of DDR2 or DDR3 RAM. A RAID 0+1 array would be an optimal but expensive and high-maintenance storage solution, but I would still separate the OS and database HDDs (if the databases will be residing on the workstation and not the server) and go with a minimum of RAID 5 on the data array.

If the database is on a server then a gigabit network is a must, and a single HDD or RAID 1 would be fine.

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[jjb373]

Tony - thanks for the info. The operating system would be Windows XP Pro. The databases are on servers and I would connect from the desktop PC. Let me know your feelings/updates since I skipped out on this information before.

-- JJB373 --

 

[wahnula]

Other key considerations are budget and life expectancy. Are these to be state-of-the-art systems that will be good for 5+ years or something to simply handle the load and be replaced in a few years? Budget is especially important.

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[jjb373]

Basically we will use these PCs for a few years to handle the load since our current PC renewal program is every 3-5 years. Budget is in the range of a couple thousand dollars.

-- JJB373 --

 

[jjb373]

I was informed we are issued new PCs every 3-5 years because we have a lease/contract with IBM.

-- JJB373 --

 

[wahnula]

So...will you be assembling them yourself or looking for a complete assembled PC from one or many vendors like Dell, HP etc.? As a small business I get value (and personal satisfaction) by building everything on our network but that scenario doesn't play well on a larger company.

To my knowledge IBM is out of the desktop/workstation market. Lenovo took over that division.

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[jjb373]

Tony - Thanks for the info again. We will be purchasing from a company. Any suggestions on what brand and model out there will come close to the specs you suggested?

Thank you very much for your time.

-- JJB373 --

 

[wahnula]

The HP 7000 should probably be fine:

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF04a/12454-12454-64287-321860-3328898.html

...equipped with a Q9300 or E8500 CPU, 3-4GB RAM, and a single HDD or RAID 1 dual HDD combo + Windows XP. No need for an enormous HDD as the database is residing elsewhere. It has integrated Intel 3100 graphics and a Q35 chipset.

All for under $2000. I sniffed around the Dell site but they are not very forthcoming about the chipsets they use.

It would be nice to hear from another member familiar with your applications to see if this is a good match.

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[jjb373]

Tony - Thank you very much for taking the time to investigate this topic for me. Another reason why the users of this site are class A people.

Jeff

-- JJB373 --