T2000 arrives

Just under a week since I got the approval email telling me that my application for a Try before you Buy T1000 had been approved, today my T2000 (no, that's not a typo) has arrived.

First impressions:

• For some reason it is slightly larger than I expected - that's even thought I've seen the V40z in the flesh (a big beast) and the X2100 and X4200 (the T2000 shares its case with the X4200).
• The unit has by far the best and most useful 'on-box' set of diagrams and guidance that I've seen. There are guides on changing fans, PSUs, RAM and PCI cards, with colour-coded guides for whether each operation is a hot, or cold, plug item.
• The T2000 requires a serial cable for set up - you have to configure the server management port (for OOB Ethernet admin) via serial. Once that is configured, you can then login and boot up the rest of the machine. I can see both sides of the argument for and against this - supporting DHCP would be much easier, but in a large deployment, it could get complicated. Fortunately, I have an Ultra3 Mobile Workstation on extended test at the moment (review is, I promise, coming soon), and that happens to come with a convenient serial cable.

Unfortunately, the machine has not arrived at a convenient moment, as I'm just about to go away for eight days on business, but I've got 10 days when I return when I have nothing to work on but the new machine. Expect some more detailed reviews and experience on my return.