Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Microsoft Share (disa) Point (ment) Requirements

Keep in mind that I have only spent a few weeks working with SharePoint 2007 and I have no idea if 2010 is any good or has decent improvements. I do know that 2010 requirements are pretty high for a document sharing and web based application portal system. SharePoint Server 2010 requires a minimum for small deployments:
  • 64 bit / four core processor
  • 64 bit Sever (Microsoft 2008 RC 2) if I read correctly
  • 8 Gigs of ram
  • 80 Gigs of hard drive space.
And for medium deployments the hardware requirements for the CPU and RAM are doubled:
  • 64 bit / 8 core processor
  • Same Server because there is not a Server 2016 RC 4 yet!
  • 16 Gigs of ram
  • Still 80 Gigs of hard drive space.
In Microsoft's defense, the hard drive space is variable contingent on your how much content you're planning on serving but still to recommend 80GB by default seems ludicrous. I understand as systems become more powerful and complex that hardware upgrades are necessary and I am actually glad that Microsoft is forcing businesses to upgrade to a the 64 bit architecture. Although it is kind of ironic that the same company that has held back 64 bit computing from the business world is now forcing anyone that wants to use their latest business solution to update to 64 bit hardware.
In 2003 AMD released their flagship 64 bit Server Opteron processor but hardly any businesses could utilize the technology because they were still stuck running Windows 2000/2003 32 bit servers. Alright I admit that the discussion between 32 and 64 bit computing in the world of Microsoft is moot to this post but it is relevant in explaining the my issues with SharePoint's requirements.
Why is the system so resource intensive that it needs a quad or eight core CPU and 8 or 16 GB of memory to function and serve content?  
Disclaimer... I’m not a Microsoft expert and have very little knowledge of their business systems but I know that in today’s computing world and simplified web architecture that there is no reason for any web service software solution to be such a damn resource hog. Especially for small to medium businesses.
Can anyone shed a little light on why SharePoint’s hardware requirements are so high?
I’m sure there are a lot of SharePoint developers out there that have no few problems with the requirements but I just wanted to speak my mind about how ridiculous the minimum requirements are. Microsoft has designed lots of products that make businesses more productive and even intensified our gaming experiences but one day businesses need to realize there is more to technology than just Microsoft solutions.
Also, just because Microsoft’s marketers say SharePoint is the perfect solution doesn't mean that they’re right!
With all this said, I'm sure folks might be wondering if not SharePoint then what? Use your favorite search engine and type "SharePoint alternatives" to find your own solution.

1 comment:

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