Gateway Touts Low-Cost and High Availability

Looking for a server that’s cool, reliable and quiet — and inexpensive and expandable to boot? If so, Gateway has a server it wants you to consider.

With prices starting at $599, the Gateway E-9220T server is based on a BTX chassis and offers you a large range of processor options, RAID 5 functionality and redundant power supplies.

BTX (short for Balanced Technology Extended) is a computer system design that’s optimized for newer technologies such as PCI Express and Serial ATA. The two-fan BTX design is built to keep things quiet and cool because it allows for better heat dissipation by incorporating a new thermal module design for better air flow. The result, according to Gateway, is higher internal component reliability — by 82 percent compared to single-fan ATX designed chassis.

The server’s tool-free chassis is easy to open for quick maintenance and upgrades of hard drives, fans and other components. The E-9220T also offers Intel’s latest E7230 chipset, which is designed for entry-level servers.

With a base price of $599, the Gateway E-9220T features a long list of cutting-edge options.

The E-922OT supports processors ranging from single Celeron CPU up to P4 dual core processors, according to Tim Diefenthaler, senior director of server product marketing, Gateway. He added the server’s flexibility and performance make it suitable for a wide range of environments including file and print sharing to use as an application server. Also, with its high availability features the E-9220T is an ideal remote or branch office server, according to Gateway.

Designed to grow as your server needs change, the new server offers several hard drive options with support for up to four SATA or SCSI hard drives totaling 1.6TB of internal storage.

To provide data protection and maximum uptime, the E-9220T offers RAID 5 capabilities that are designed to spread data across three drives, leaving the fourth as an optional drive that can be used as a hot spare. Diefenthaler said the new server is the only product in this price category to offer dynamic load sharing redundant hot swappable power supplies (for an additional $199).

Other features of the E-9220T include the following:

• Support for up to 8GB of the latest dual channel 533MHz ECC DDR2 memory
  
• An integrated Quad-port SATA controller providing support for up to four SATA hard drives
  
• Choice of 80GB, 250GB or 400GB SATA II hard drives (500GB SATA drives will be available in about a month, Gateway’s Diefenthaler said.
  
• Choice of 73GB, 146GB or 300GB SCSI hard drives
  
• Support for embedded SATA RAID 1/10
  
• Five expansion slots (three PCI express slots and two 32-bit PCI slots)
  
• Multi-optical drive support including CD, DVD/CD-RW and DVD-RW
  
• Single fixed 400W power supply standard or an optional dual 500W redundant power supplies (required for Pentium D and Pentium Extreme Edition processor options)
  
• Gateway System Management Monitoring Service

The E-9220T is expected to ship on September 26 and supports multiple Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP1 operating systems, including standard and premium editions of 2003 Small Business Server SP1, 2003 Standard Edition SP1, 2003 Enterprise Edition SP1 and 2003 Web Edition SP1.

According to Gateway’s Web site, a fully configured server (including 2003 Small Business Server SP1) will cost approximately $2,200.

Dan Muse is executive editor of internet.com’s Small Business Channel, EarthWeb’s Networking Channel and ServerWatch.

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