Hello,
I've been developing a large Web Application (using Apache/MySQL/PHP/AJAX) for a school and now charged with suggesting requirements for a new server that my school will be buying. This server will be in charge of hosting the only the web application (and will run Apache 2.0, PHP 5 and MySQL 4/5, haven't decided on version yet). This machine will run Windows 2003 (unfortunately, no compromise on this).
To give an idea of what the system needs to be capable of: we have about 700 students (and each student also has a single parent account), and about 200 faculty members and administrators. This system is used to manage schedules (both faculty and students) set up classes, grade students, create and track transcripts, provide online assignments, document tracking, online submittal of documents, as well as provide personal home pages to all students/parents/staff.
What would you suggest in terms of hardware? I'm thinking at the base a dual processor machine, 10 RAID (with 4-6 hard drives). However, I'm more of a software developer than a network engineer, so I would welcome suggestions.
Thank You.