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

ubern00b said:
I run an HD6450 & Tevii S470 in my Microserver. I know its not a dual tuner but as long as the tuner is PCI-e 1x and low profile you wont have a problem.
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Cool :)

Whats it like streaming TV? I don't know what app to use yet for the TV part, I have used Windows Media Centre in the past, although I want something that is a bit more lightweight as I find Media centre quite buggy sometimes and laggy and uses a lot of CPU power.
 
DJMK4 said:
Cool :)

Whats it like streaming TV? I don't know what app to use yet for the TV part, I have used Windows Media Centre in the past, although I want something that is a bit more lightweight as I find Media centre quite buggy sometimes and laggy and uses a lot of CPU power.
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DVBLink or 7MC, 7MC is definately the slickest interface but as you say it has its problems. Works fine for me though so I am pretty happy with it.
 
I dont currently have my environment set for wired ethernet connections in my house...the question is, will Powerline adaptors work fine with this setup to stream movies, data, etc?
 
Mikoyan said:
I dont currently have my environment set for wired ethernet connections in my house...the question is, will Powerline adaptors work fine with this setup to stream movies, data, etc?
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Theoretically yes. Powerline adaptors are only as good as the wiring they are being used over. You would have to plug some in and give them a test in your own environment to be sure though.
 
Im using Netgear XAV2001 and XAV1004 power line components and I'm getting between 165-192Mbps connection, which has been flawless for streaming 1080p between my Microservers and MacMini XMBC. The wiring in my house is pretty damn ancient, so I'm fairly impressed by it.
 
Mikoyan said:
I dont currently have my environment set for wired ethernet connections in my house...the question is, will Powerline adaptors work fine with this setup to stream movies, data, etc?
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I stream from the Microserver to my Media PC over powerline and in this current house it can only manage SD (1970's built property). In the old house with newer wiring (being a new build) I could stream HD material OK. YMMV
 
Whats the preferred method for sound if you are using as Media centre? I have had a look through the thread, some suggesting gfx card with audio built in, some suggesting USB sound

I am going to have ago at ripping my dual tuner out of my dead htpc now and putting it in the microserver


Has anyone had any cooling issues after turning this in to a media box?
 
Thinking about grabbing one of these still and maybe using it in place of my HTPC.

If doing that I would stick 4x 2TB Drives in for storage probably in a mirrored RAID array.

I have seen people stick a slimline optical drive with the 250GB HDD above and use that for OS.

How quiet is that likely to be? I have a Radeon HD5450 I can stick in and I would probably grab a USB tuner.

What is the best OS for that sort of setup? Win7?
 
blackice8r said:
I wrote down my plan and I calculated the costs , I'm not sure if it helps anyone but it might give someone like myself (at the beginning of the road) an overall idea.


110£ (after cash back) for Hp N36L Microserver P/N: 633724-421 (http://www8.hp.com/uk/en/campaign/proliantmicroserver/offer.html)
More specs for the box can be found on the internet
It’s a basic box with a dual core AMD Athlon II Neo N36L / 1.3 GHz
It can take 4 HDD, but it can be “hacked” to take 5 even 6 HDDs

35£ for KVR1333D3N9K2/8G - 8gb of basic non ECC DDR3 ram

75£ for 3 x 250 Gb 7200rpm HDD (The box comes with a 250GB 7200 rpm Hdd )


Total = 220£


The set-up

ESXi 4.0.1 of a flash drive
FreeNas/Openfiler/UnRaid - haven’t decided yet which one – as a VM ; I plant to implement a software RAID10 (overkill) or a RAID5; Role: storage, NZBd/torrents, print server
Endian Community Firewall VM ; Role: software firewall, VPN /remote control

I could add 1-2 more VMs if they are not CPU intense.

Summary:
Cost: 220£
Roles: NAS, software firewall, test lab
Space: 500GB on RAID10 or 750GB on RAID5
Power consumption: 3 or 4£ a month if kept on 24/7

I can get higher storage if I decide to spend more on bigger disks, for now this is the minimum I can get away with for a decent configuration..
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where did you get it for that price 210 ?

do you mind sharing my email is in trust. alternatively if anyone else knows please email me to let me now
 
Got mine now, grabbed a bargain on ebay

£200 delivered

N36L
DVD Drive
3GB ram
2x1TB WD 7200 HD's
WHS 2011

may sell the whs disc tho
 
guys i am really tempted to buy this server.

at the moment i have 3 mini itx systems running and thin client
+pfsense atom 230
+freenas atom 230
+askozia amd geode 500mhz
+ubuntu atom d410

after reading reviews etc. I am thinking of consolidating all my server into one box.

I just wanted to double check before i go out and buy it. Is the cpu and 8gb ram adequate enough for what i want to do with it.

My main use for it will be using esxi and running nas,voip,email,lamp server. I am thinking to keep one itx separate for my firewall(pfsense)

Also having gone directly on hp website I have noticed there is a new variant of the microserver HP ProLiant N40L which comes with 2gb ram and Processor
AMD Turion™ II Model Neo N40L as apposed to the current model with 1gb ram and AMD Athlon II Neo N36L / 1.3 GHz.

My question is it better to hold off for the cashback until they apply it to the new model. Or is it likely that this cashback wont come back
 
lixxus said:
exactly what i was thinking.
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I can see your point re eBay and cash back. But In his defence I guess the 200 he paid includes 3gb ram, 2 x 1tb drives and WHS 2011. For an extra 70-80 quid (if you would think he would be paying 220ish for a bog standard setup, no os, 1gb ram, 250gb hdd
 
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So this is a massive thread and i've read through some of it to try and answer my questions but I think I may have to admit defeat and just ask.

I'm thinking about a NAS box - maybe the QNAP, Synology or the HP Proliant.

Do I need a RAID card if I put 6 drives in?
What is the process around getting 5/6 drives? I see people saying they had to do xyz for 5, xyz for 6, etc
Any ideas if the LCD screen will work under WHS for SABNZDB
 
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oh sorry didnt see the replies

i wont be getting cashback on the £200 but it was more for the fact i could get the server, ram and drives i needed in one go at the actual price

being a student, being down £100 for 2 months waiting for HP to refund would've been annoying so getting one thats 2 weeks old was worth not waiting around
 
Vanilla said:
So this is a massive thread and i've read through some of it to try and answer my questions but I think I may have to admit defeat and just ask.

I'm thinking about a NAS box - maybe the QNAP, Synology or the HP Proliant.

Do I need a RAID card if I put 6 drives in?
What is the process around getting 5/6 drives? I see people saying they had to do xyz for 5, xyz for 6, etc
Any ideas if the LCD screen will work under WHS for SABNZDB
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in order to get >4 drives working u need modified/hacked bios.

Also bear in mind the proliant only support 4 sata drives. along with a empty sata which is used for the OD, but this is said to be pata and not recognized by the same controller used for the 4 drives. Hence why a modified bios is required. Also you can use the esata on the back, I have seen people utilize this by buying a esata to sata cable.

There is also pci slots available, therefore you can add a sata card adding up to an additional 4 sata ports.

so in theory you can fit up to 6 additional hard drives. But you will be limited to space obviously unless you modify the case or build a complete new case.
 
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