Several of our customers recently purchased HP DL180 G6 servers.  They are perfect (and economical) servers for iSCSI storage as they support up to 14 drives in a 2u form factor.  We however ran into a logistical problem in the purchase as the servers ordered were a HP Smart Buy, meaning that it’s a preconfigured server for a bit of a discount. 

This particular Smart Buy came with a PCI cage in the rear of the server for 2 PCI-E slots and a slimline DVD drive.  Well it being a storage server we had no need for the DVD drive and really wanted additional expansion slots.  The standard PCI cage will allow for 3 PCI-E slots or 4 with an optional riser card.  So I called HP and they directed me to a part number and so I ordered it.  When it arrived I could tell by the box that it was too small and sure enough it was just a PCI-e riser card, not the cage.  So I called them back and explained the situation and after I talked to 3 different departments I was still not convinced that the part they were telling me to order next was the right one.  Being in a crunch I ordered all rear PCI-e accessories.  When they arrived I opened box after box and they were all wrong! 

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Woo Hoo!  The floodgates are now open:  starting today, you can officially purchase a retail copy of Windows 7 or an OEM version included with your new computer.  Microsoft is coming out in full force with this release, which promises to be the most stable and thoroughly tested release ever.  They have dedicated their home page to the Windows 7 love-fest today, displaying comments from satisfied users via twitter.

We, at Advanced Data & Network Solutions, are fully prepared to assist you with purchasing, installing/upgrading, and maintaining your new Windows 7 installation in a home or business environment.  In fact, most of us here have been using Windows 7 as our OS of choice for a few months, with some having gone through the beta testing for almost a year!