Good Cheap Server - HP Proliant Microserver 4 BAY - OWNERS THREAD

Cool Breeze said:
Hey Mel,

I'm going to make a couple of assumptions 1 you have a microserver Gen 8 and 2 your trying to install windows.

Here is how my Gen 8 is configured

1 SSD in port 5 the DVD sata port 5 (Windows 8.1)
4 2TB HDD's in the drive bays (Raid array Data)
OS windows 8.1 Pro

I found out the hard way that you cannot just install windows the old fashioned way, i.e boot from a DVD or USB key and load the thing. You have to use HP's embedded configuration tool on the server. The reason is it is expecting a server OS and it basiacally embeds the drivers required while installing the OS. For windows 8.1 you get way with it as it uses server 2012 r2 so with Windows 7 it'll use 2008.

While you are trying to boot from a pre ordained windows 7 install I don't think this will work because of what I have stated, and I'm guessing that the errors on the Disks a red herrings due to the server not seeing drivers or the like correctly.

In my config I set the SSD to a single raid 0 and then set the 4 HDDs to their own raid 0 array. The server will boot from port five but the HP ACU has to provision which device is bootable when you select where the OS is installed.

again this info is based on my own wasted 4 hours or so sussing out this thing.

Keep at it these boxes are dinamite once configured.
CB
Click to expand...

Only 4 hours - I've wasted more than 4 days - perhaps I should have bought Server 2012 R2! - but it's £500!!

I had mine set up in the same manner as yours:
1 SSD in port 5 the DVD sata port 5 (Windows 7 HP)
2 6TB WD Red HDD's in drive bays 1/2 (Raid array Data)
2 3TB WD Red HDD's in drive bays 3/4 (Raid array Data)

OS windows 7HP (which as you say is equivalent to Windows 2008 Server R2 so should also be OK in principle. The drives all showed as having drivers they were happy with BUT the setup was unstable).

It all seemed to set up OK but as I began transferring data it "fell apart". I don't think it was red herrings - the drives disappeared from Windows explorer and disc manager. One 6TB drive wouldn't (re)format and I have sent this back! I think the 6TB is a step too far?

I not that fussed about RAID I just want to store all my photos and other stuff so that they are accessible to several computers. I have the originals on another computer and a backup on a portable hard drive.

I have now set it up in ACHI mode with the SSD in bay 1 and the 2 3TBs in bays 3 and 4. The first time I did this I put the 6TB in one bay after it was all set up and it didn't like it - I had to reinstall Windows after a manual "button it" as the system froze after I put the 6TB HDD back in.

It's now up and running again (bays 1, 3, 4) - can't use bay 5 as in ACHI mode it always boots from Bay 1! (set in BIOS). The ACHI drivers are Microsoft 2006.

Not sure about Bay 2. I have a new (RMAd 6TB HDD on the way back but I am not sure I am going to risk it again.

I have tried looking for HP ACHI drivers but none seem available - installations on the web use standard microsoft issue.

I'm a bit stuffed really - it seems if I continue with Win 7 I'm going to have continuing issues. I sold this to my better half as a lower cost way to go to upgrade our ageing 500GB D-Link NAS. She is not now convinced!!! But I don't think a suggestion of another £500 for software would go down well. A new NAS (using the drives I have bought for the ProLiant would be cheaper and perhaps for me more reliable. The ProLiant would be shelved (or perhaps made into a new home PC for web surfing.

The peculiar thing is that the OS drive in all scenarios (RAID0, bay 5 ACHI bay 5 (but only on its own) and ACHI Bay 1 has always been rock steady??

Mournful Mel!
 
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Question - for ProLiant Microserver Gen 8 1610T - do I need please:

Windows server 2012
Windows server 2012 R2 (£550)
Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials - <£300.

Is there still a 180 day trial? (perhaps after 6 months I would be happier to shell out.)

Advice please, thanks, Mournful Mel
 
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any :) but no point getting 2012 over 2012 r2.

but it depends what you want/need from your OS.

there is still a trial period too, personally i'd use that then keep my finger crossed 2016 is out by then and get that instead :)

Nox
 
There were some 2012 R2 OEM ones that were going for about £270 on ebay - you could ask the seller if they have any more?

2012 R2 is the one to go for but hyper-v server is free (no GUI but you can manage it with RSAT on 8.1
 
if it's just sharing out data, you don't need server 2012.

Plenty of other free options - vmware is easier to manage and also free for the basic edition. You can look at freenas, or xpenology (although i've never used the latter) or a centos server.

Have always had isues managing hyper-v outside a domain environment :(

Nox
 
the-evaluator said:
What about Hyper-V Manager? I'm using that right now on a couple of 2012 R2 data centre edition boxes.
Click to expand...

That too :) That looks after the VMs (might come with RSAT - not actually sure as I don't use it personally). Five 9s also has a clone of hyper-v manager that runs on hyper-v server itself.
 
Cool Breeze said:
Hey Mel,

I'm going to make a couple of assumptions 1 you have a microserver Gen 8 and 2 your trying to install windows.

Here is how my Gen 8 is configured

1 SSD in port 5 the DVD sata port 5 (Windows 8.1)
4 2TB HDD's in the drive bays (Raid array Data)
OS windows 8.1 Pro

I found out the hard way that you cannot just install windows the old fashioned way, i.e boot from a DVD or USB key and load the thing. You have to use HP's embedded configuration tool on the server. The reason is it is expecting a server OS and it basiacally embeds the drivers required while installing the OS. For windows 8.1 you get way with it as it uses server 2012 r2 so with Windows 7 it'll use 2008.

While you are trying to boot from a pre ordained windows 7 install I don't think this will work because of what I have stated, and I'm guessing that the errors on the Disks a red herrings due to the server not seeing drivers or the like correctly.

In my config I set the SSD to a single raid 0 and then set the 4 HDDs to their own raid 0 array. The server will boot from port five but the HP ACU has to provision which device is bootable when you select where the OS is installed.

again this info is based on my own wasted 4 hours or so sussing out this thing.

Keep at it these boxes are dinamite once configured.

CB
Click to expand...

That's not strictly true... you CAN install windows in the normal fashion, you do not need to use the HP config tool to do it... I installed from USB in the same way you would on any normal PC. I've had S2008R2 and Win7 on these units easily.

All I needed was the sata raid driver which I downloaded from the HP website.

Quite a few other people have put 7/8/8.1 on these too as they use them as an HTPC.

Other people (myself included) use XPEnology which boots the whole OS from the USB stick, as you would have it boot on any "normal" PC.

Mel_P said:
Only 4 hours - I've wasted more than 4 days - perhaps I should have bought Server 2012 R2! - but it's £500!!

I had mine set up in the same manner as yours:
1 SSD in port 5 the DVD sata port 5 (Windows 7 HP)
2 6TB WD Red HDD's in drive bays 1/2 (Raid array Data)
2 3TB WD Red HDD's in drive bays 3/4 (Raid array Data)

OS windows 7HP (which as you say is equivalent to Windows 2008 Server R2 so should also be OK in principle. The drives all showed as having drivers they were happy with BUT the setup was unstable).

It all seemed to set up OK but as I began transferring data it "fell apart". I don't think it was red herrings - the drives disappeared from Windows explorer and disc manager. One 6TB drive wouldn't (re)format and I have sent this back! I think the 6TB is a step too far?

I not that fussed about RAID I just want to store all my photos and other stuff so that they are accessible to several computers. I have the originals on another computer and a backup on a portable hard drive.

I have now set it up in ACHI mode with the SSD in bay 1 and the 2 3TBs in bays 3 and 4. The first time I did this I put the 6TB in one bay after it was all set up and it didn't like it - I had to reinstall Windows after a manual "button it" as the system froze after I put the 6TB HDD back in.

It's now up and running again (bays 1, 3, 4) - can't use bay 5 as in ACHI mode it always boots from Bay 1! (set in BIOS). The ACHI drivers are Microsoft 2006.

Not sure about Bay 2. I have a new (RMAd 6TB HDD on the way back but I am not sure I am going to risk it again.

I have tried looking for HP ACHI drivers but none seem available - installations on the web use standard microsoft issue.

I'm a bit stuffed really - it seems if I continue with Win 7 I'm going to have continuing issues. I sold this to my better half as a lower cost way to go to upgrade our ageing 500GB D-Link NAS. She is not now convinced!!! But I don't think a suggestion of another £500 for software would go down well. A new NAS (using the drives I have bought for the ProLiant would be cheaper and perhaps for me more reliable. The ProLiant would be shelved (or perhaps made into a new home PC for web surfing.

The peculiar thing is that the OS drive in all scenarios (RAID0, bay 5 ACHI bay 5 (but only on its own) and ACHI Bay 1 has always been rock steady??

Mournful Mel!
Click to expand...

You're not having much luck, are you?

To confirm for you - 6TB isn't too much... I have 4x6TB drives in one of mine and they have been functioning without issue for over 6 months.

They are not hot-swap bays, so that *may* explain windows freezing when you put the new hard drive in... you should add/remove hard drives to this system when it is powered off and then power it back on again.

Although, usually... if I have seen a hard drive make windows freeze like that (whether the bay is hot-swap or not) then it is usually a faulty hard drive... so you may have just been unlucky with that drive (or possibly the sata connection/controller in your unit).

The reason you may not have been able to get back into windows after reconnecting the drive... is that the new drive might have jumped to the top of the boot order and so the system couldn't boot from the windows drive... you would need to change this in the bios. Worth checking after connecting each drive.

You shouldn't need any extra drivers for AHCI, only Raid.

If you are having problems with Win 7, you will have problems with 2012... you don't need the extra software, I'm certain of that.

Mel_P said:
Question - for ProLiant Microserver Gen 8 1610T - do I need please:

Windows server 2012
Windows server 2012 R2 (£550)
Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials - <£300.

Is there still a 180 day trial? (perhaps after 6 months I would be happier to shell out.)

Advice please, thanks, Mournful Mel
Click to expand...

You really do not need a server operating system, not at all. It's up to you if you want to get it, I just don't want to see you waste that money when you don't need to...

You can get a six month trial though, directly from the Microsoft website.
 
Just to confirm, 4x6TB drives in a Gen8 with over 125 days of uptime:
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Here are a bunch of images from the bios:
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lqjiSLo.png

jjUQ7zY.png

Pk4pAmM.png


No need to even assign the drives to a raid-0 group for XPEnology (you do need to for windows, or use AHCI)
gCNx33K.png
 
crinkleshoes said:
That's not strictly true... you CAN install windows in the normal fashion, you do not need to use the HP config tool to do it... I installed from USB in the same way you would on any normal PC. I've had S2008R2 and Win7 on these units easily.

All I needed was the sata raid driver which I downloaded from the HP website.

Quite a few other people have put 7/8/8.1 on these too as they use them as an HTPC.

Other people (myself included) use XPEnology which boots the whole OS from the USB stick, as you would have it boot on any "normal" PC.
Click to expand...

Not Strictly, but I could not create a bootable partition to install windows, and when it did after installing the raid drivers prior it BSOD'd so I relented and did it the HP way which saved me a lot of hastle.

I also run another server with Xpenology and love it these servers are great value especially after cash back.

I would just say to Mel you don't have to install a server OS you can install any windows OS you want, the HP tool will still embed the correct drivers during install. If your just after a file server Xpenology is a great option and is stable.

CB
 
Mel_P said:
I sold this to my better half as a lower cost way to go to upgrade our ageing 500GB D-Link NAS. She is not now convinced!!!
Click to expand...

In that case go for Xpenology, it's full Synology DSM boot's from the internal USB port so is effectively embedded. Free's up all bays for data HDD's and is a cracking NAS OS ported from Synologys own NAS eco system.

Best part is it's free (apart from the USB stick you need your own).

A quick google should see you right.

If you have all the data you want backed up else where this is what i'd do and then migrate over from the back ups.

CB
 
Hello All, thanks for all of your inputs - you can all come round and help if you want (I'll get the pizzas in)!

I am sure there are other server solutions - but for me they would have a steep learning curve (I've been a Windows PC man since 1999 and only flirted with other OSs (i.e. Linux)once - and this could be a "simple" hardware fault?

Another update. I reloaded windows 7 yesterday evening and it did 200 updates overnight. By this morning (in SATA / ACHI mode)it was running OK with 2 x 3tb drives in bays 3 and 4 and the OS drive 128GB SSD in Bay 1

(NB- I have always "cold" swapped drives with mains connector unplugged to ensure circuits are "dead").

I set up shares and ran it all day leaving it uploading about 2GB of data - no issues

About 18.15 - the one drive I wasn't using at that time "disappeared" from Windows explorer and Disk Manager.
When I rebooted the 3 drives showed up in the HP POST (after ACHI initialisation) and in Windows at start the "other" data drive said it needed to run CHKDSK. A few dozen orphaned files were "reconnected".

In Windows all looked / worked OK again.

Set me thinking - I had read somewhere drives should run all of the time in servers.

Event viewer showed ATAPI fault on IDE3. Did a bit of internet search - could be HDD controller OR disc powering down and not powering up? Checked "power scheme" -this was set to power down HDDs after 20 minutes of non-use (Win 7 standard power scheme). SO have set to "never" power down - leaving overnight to check what happens!

Mel
 
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03:23 - ATAPI error (red !) - device has detected an error in IDE3. Puts my theory about disc powering down as not relevant.

Now put discs on bay 2 and bay 4. leave to soak test. Woe - Both storage discs disappeared after 2 minutes!

Rebooted - both storage discs appeared, then after a while, disappeared again. ATAPI errors in event viewer.

Going to try trial version of Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials. I suspect it won't make any difference - but . . . .
 
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Anyone recommend an expansion solution for the microserver? what do you guys do once you've filled up the drive slots? Is there anything out their to say connect to the external sata port and give you x number of bays? or is it a case of just running a 2nd microserver?
 
You would be after a DAS. They come in eSata or USB varieties. I have two 5 bay units to give me space for 10 HDDs outside the case. Both of mine are eSATA ones, one connected to the built in eSATA port on the microserver and one connected to a PCI-e expansion card.

They do not seem very common and would set you back about £100-£160 at last check.
 
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