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Xeon Servers: They're a Gas, Gas, Gas

Have you spent too much on your low-performance, high-maintenance server? Maybe it's time to upgrade to a Xeon- or Pentium III-based powerhouse. With faster cache and more of it, plus built-in redundancy and reliability features, the seven workgroup servers we tested are no flash in the pan.

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How We Tested

Centennial Networking Labs, a North Carolina State University­affiliated hardware-testing facility near Raleigh, helped us stress-test these servers' file, application, and network capabilities. For performance testing, we turned to three commercial server benchmark packages: Bluecurve's Dynameasure File Professional 2.0, which tests file service performance; Dynameasure SQL Professional 2.0, which evaluates a system's suitability for database tasks that require raw processing power while minimizing disk and network usage; and Ganymede Software's Chariot, which tests network response time, throughput, and connectivity.

Appropriately, performance made up the lion's share--35 percent--of a system's overall rating. Features accounted for another 25 percent; price, 25 percent; and service and support, the remaining 15 percent.

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