Backup management within Biology

Practices have been established by Biology Computing Support for server hardware, operating system and software management and support for equipment hosted within the Biology Server Facility, located in 14 Mudd (partially pictured to the right).

Our hardware and software standards, in conjunction with our server facility, provide several benefits for you and for us, as follows:

• Support for standard Windows, Apple and Linux-accessible web, file and database services (Apache, SMB/CIFS Samba, AppleShare, MySQL/PostreSQL, etc.)
• Centralized, standardized security and patch maintenance practices by our staff, helping ensure maximum uptime
• Account management
• Temperature- and humidity-controlled environment, with battery backup for temporary power outages
• Dedicated 100 and 1000 Mbit network connectivity (depending on location)
• Optional data backup by our staff

If your lab group would like our Computing Support group to provide maintenance and hosting support for your server hardware, it must meet the specifications outlined in this document. Please contact us to arrange a meeting to obtain quotes for a detailed specification that will meet your data and service needs.

Note that it is not required that you host your server in our facility and have our group provide support for your custom setup, if you choose to configure and manage your own hardware and software arrangement.

However, it is important to note that your lab group will then be responsible for many important aspects of your setup, including physical storage of the server hardware, network security, data reliability, user account management, and other server management and environment issues that would be your responsibility to manage.

Supported server hardware platform

The current supported server hardware platform is the 1U-high Apple XServe G5, which can run from $2500 to $5200 depending on configuration options.

Its price-to-performance ratio is better than IBM and Dell blade server alternatives and runs all the same file, web, and other services that your users will need. It has low power consumption (and therefore lower heat output) and requires minimal storage space in our facility.

Finally, hardware standardization allows our staff to monitor component status remotely, so that we can better anticipate when a part might fail and prepare its replacement beforehand.

Other server hardware may include the Apple XServe RAID and a Fibre Channel card, if you have need for greater data storage than that provided within the XServe's 1U enclosure. The XServe can store up to 1 TB, while the XServe RAID offers up to 7 Terabytes of data storage. We can also propose other RAID storage arrays based on cost and connectivity specifications.

Supported server operating system platform

The Apple XServe G5 runs Mac OS X Server 10.4. Specific details on this operating system are located here.

OS X Server is built upon a BSD kernel and comes with many pre-built and integrated services and a centralized management system which we use to manage all the servers within the facility. Other services can be compiled and installed as needed with free development tools.

An unlimited client license of Mac OS X Server is included with the XServe, thus eliminating the need for you to budget for the cost of per-user licenses, as is the case with Microsoft server options.

Mac OS X Server is also one of the safest commercial server platforms to use on the market, being highly resilient to network attacks out of the box. It uses many open-source services that are repaired quickly, when security issues are found.

Supported services

The following is a small selection of services packaged with Mac OS X Server that are commonly used by labs within Biology for sharing data within and outside a research group.

Many other pre-built services are available and others can be compiled on demand. Visit the Apple Mac OS X Server site for more detailed specifications on included services.

[1] File services

• Apple file sharing over IP
• Windows file sharing over IP (via Samba)
• Linux and other UNIX clients via NFS
• File sharing to all via FTP service

[2] Web services

• Apache 1.3 or 2.0, with Perl and PHP support built-in

[3] Database services

• MySQL and PostreSQL

Optional data backup option

Current data backup options include an Apple XServe RAID storage array, a AIT-3 tape backup mechanism, or LTO-2/-3 tape backup mechanism, as well as commercial backup software.

We can also propose Fibre Channel-based SAN options where the application is appropriate.

Costs vary depending on the selection, features and storage capacity, generally starting at $3000 and up.

This will also increase the cost of the server hardware, due to added connectivity and backup software license requirements. We can discuss this option when evaluating specifications with you.

Additional information

Please email us at bio-computing@sas.upenn.edu if you are interested in a server quotation or more detail on our support service and facility.