The Xenon Radon Duo ASR was the only machine in this review running Linux (Red Hat). For a sub-AU$2500 machine, a lower-cost operating system really makes sense as more hardware goodies can be packed into the chassis for the price. OK, I don't want to start the war over the cost of servicing and supporting a Linux box. Suffice to say, if your technicians and administrators know what they are doing, they will do the best job they can with the tools they choose.
The Xenon server was also the only one to be shipped in a 2RU chassis, and this chassis, manufactured by SuperO, is definitely the best 2U chassis we have seen in the Test Lab. It incorporates six SATA removable drive bays at the front. It was the only server in the review to have plenty of room for expansion.
Internally there are four large fans, as well as the Intel CPU fan. There is also the space on the PCI-X riser to fit two full-height/length PCI-X cards. The power supply is a single 550-watt unit however a dual redundant 500-watt unit is available as an option. There is plenty of ventilation grilles along both sides as well as the rear of the machine.
The Xenon server is very well constructed with complementary components, the performance test under WebBench left a little to be desired, however with some tweaking of Linux and/or the Apache Web server, or with a Microsoft server operating system, the performance would be in the same ballpark as the other servers in this review. Like the HP server, the test results are certainly nothing to be worried about.
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| Product | XENON Radon Duo ASR |
| Price | AU$2490 |
| Vendor | XENON Systems |
| Phone | 1300 888 030 |
| Web | www.xenon.com.au |
| Interoperability |  ½ |
| Very good OS support: MS, Linux, Unix, and Novell. Good range of ports. | |
| Futureproofing |  ½ |
| Excellent expansion capabilities. | |
| ROI |  |
| Nothing comes close to the features this server has. | |
| Service |  |
| Three-year RTB warranty included.Onsite available. | |
| Rating |  ½ |
