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

slewis1972 · 19 Mar 2011 at 22:31

In ref to power, has anyone tried using SmartPower, and whether it can save a few more watts?

Ultim8 · 20 Mar 2011 at 14:53

Im gonna buy a couple of these as i dont think you can go wrong for the money.
Im interested in using one for Vortex but i have a couple of questions and noticed a few people here use it.

I will use it to backup my existing DVD collection but i want to know a few things about how it names the folders and files. I use XBMC on all the HTPC's throughout the house and i use ember media manager which gets all my fan art, plot ect from IMDB/thetvdb.
now i want to know how vortex names the files/folders so that it continues the same regime as i have always used.

elrasho · 20 Mar 2011 at 22:02

I've searched the thread and cant find the answer so here goes: is the onboard graphics enough to play 1080P HD mkv videos?

Nikumba · 20 Mar 2011 at 22:03

elrasho said:
I've searched the thread and cant find the answer so here goes: is the onboard graphics enough to play 1080P HD mkv videos?

Not really, its more CPU limited I think, in Ubuntu seems fine at 720p and struggled at 1080p

But I put in a GF210 and now it plays all fine

Kimbie

elrasho · 20 Mar 2011 at 22:07

Nikumba said:
Not really, its more CPU limited I think, in Ubuntu seems fine at 720p and struggled at 1080p

But I put in a GF210 and now it plays all fine

Kimbie

Cool I'll pick one of those up too. I also want to output sound to my receiver which takes in coaxial and optical connections, does this microserver have either of those connections on the back?

Nikumba · 20 Mar 2011 at 22:08

elrasho said:
Cool I'll pick one of those up too. I also want to output sound to my receiver which takes in coaxial and optical connections, does this microserver have either of those connections on the back?

No it doesn't have any on board sound at all.

Can your receiver not take audio in from the HDMI connection?

Kimbie

elrasho · 20 Mar 2011 at 22:16

Nikumba said:
No it doesn't have any on board sound at all.

Can your receiver not take audio in from the HDMI connection?

Kimbie

nope its a cheapo argos job, Acoustic Solutions DS133 I think. I was hoping this microserver could have been used for runnings VMs and a media center

Al Vallario · 20 Mar 2011 at 22:24

elrasho said:
Cool I'll pick one of those up too. I also want to output sound to my receiver which takes in coaxial and optical connections, does this microserver have either of those connections on the back?

Just a little heads-up; instead of splashing out on graphics and sound cards to make the MicroServer perform tasks it isn't really intended for, you might want to have a look at the Western Digital TV Live.

The device can be had for £67 right now, about the price you'd pay to get a basic graphics card and sound card with optical output for the MicroServer. It plays any video file you throw at it (up to 1080p), has component, HDMI and TOSLINK outputs so should be perfectly suited to your needs

elrasho · 20 Mar 2011 at 22:39

Al Vallario said:
Just a little heads-up; instead of splashing out on graphics and sound cards to make the MicroServer perform tasks it isn't really intended for, you might want to have a look at the Western Digital TV Live.

The device can be had for £67 right now, about the price you'd pay to get a basic graphics card and sound card with optical output for the MicroServer. It plays any video file you throw at it (up to 1080p), has component, HDMI and TOSLINK outputs so should be perfectly suited to your needs

Ive got the Geni1 WD, the reason I dont want to get another one is that after w while WD stop updating the firmware and so the later MKV files wont play on it. Yes I can use MKVmerge to remux the audio and make it work but its the principal that counts... also I want one of these microservers to mess around with VMs on it anyway just thought it might work as a media centre too

pespro · 21 Mar 2011 at 00:23

Al Vallario said:
Just a little heads-up; instead of splashing out on graphics and sound cards to make the MicroServer perform tasks it isn't really intended for, you might want to have a look at the Western Digital TV Live.

The device can be had for £67 right now, about the price you'd pay to get a basic graphics card and sound card with optical output for the MicroServer. It plays any video file you throw at it (up to 1080p), has component, HDMI and TOSLINK outputs so should be perfectly suited to your needs

That looks decent, but would you recommend it for plugging it into a tv which is not internet enabled, just keeping the media files on the server?
So TV -> WD TV live via HDMI -> internet to server.

Looks tempting but the lack of a Freeview recorder might mean its no good.
Would this server take a tuner card? or usb one ?

Im making a generalisation here, but i pressume the usb tuners would be weaker than the onboard cards?

Al Vallario · 21 Mar 2011 at 00:48

pespro said:
That looks decent, but would you recommend it for plugging it into a tv which is not internet enabled, just keeping the media files on the server?
So TV -> WD TV live via HDMI -> internet to server.

Absolutely, streaming media from networked devices is ostensibly the main purpose of the WD TV Live. If you have a switch (or a router with one built-in), simply connect both the WD TV Live and the MicroServer to your network; you'll be able to share media between the two as well as utilise the Internet functionality of the former.

pespro said:
Looks tempting but the lack of a Freeview recorder might mean its no good.
Would this server take a tuner card? or usb one ?

Im making a generalisation here, but i pressume the usb tuners would be weaker than the onboard cards?

As stated, the MicroServer isn't designed to be a media centre solution per se; it's certainly not designed for media playback (no built-in audio output, no graphics card or any significant GPU acceleration for video playback). There's nothing stopping you putting a tuner in via PCI-E or USB, but given the audio/video limitations I'm not sure how you would control recordings exactly. Also, someone else who has tried something like this might be able to advise you more accurately, but I believe the CPU might be a limiting factor for Freeview recording.

The MicroServer is great at what it does, and with the cashback offer represents phenomenal value for money — I have mine running FreeBSD with a ZFS storage array, SABnzbd+/sickbeard for automated newsgroup downloads and streaming content to my TV via DLNA, couldn't be happier — but it sounds to me as if you're looking for more of a HTPC solution

pespro · 21 Mar 2011 at 00:59

Al Vallario said:
Absolutely, streaming media from networked devices is ostensibly the main purpose of the WD TV Live. If you have a switch (or a router with one built-in), simply connect both the WD TV Live and the MicroServer to your network; you'll be able to share media between the two as well as utilise the Internet functionality of the former.

As stated, the MicroServer isn't designed to be a media centre solution per se; it's certainly not designed for media playback (no built-in audio output, no graphics card or any significant GPU acceleration for video playback). There's nothing stopping you putting a tuner in via PCI-E or USB, but given the audio/video limitations I'm not sure how you would control recordings exactly. Also, someone else who has tried something like this might be able to advise you more accurately, but I believe the CPU might be a limiting factor for Freeview recording.

The MicroServer is great at what it does, and with the cashback offer represents phenomenal value for money — I have mine running FreeBSD with a ZFS storage array, SABnzbd+/sickbeard for automated newsgroup downloads and streaming content to my TV via DLNA, couldn't be happier — but it sounds to me as if you're looking for more of a HTPC solution

I would have to use homeplugs to get the WD on the network. It would still work? If it had tuners would have bought one

With the tv tuner in the server, with it being on the network i would just want the server to record the programs and watch them on something else.

Just thought could add 4 2TB drives and have a massive collection of videos and music etc to stream around the home.

Even though i dont have freeview HD thinking to the future should i wait for tv tuners that can record HD Freeview or just get something now that can record standard Freeview?

Just wish you could take the saved programs off Sky and watch them elsewhere! would be saving this hassle lol

slewis1972 · 21 Mar 2011 at 11:44

Anyone used the inbuilt raid , and tried replacing a disc? I tried and there does not seem to be the option to replace a faulty one. Mine just says continue.

Also - any tips on ubuntu server power. I am using granola and thats got the power down to averaging 35w with 3 drives in it.

I am still torn about going to Windows2008 which I can get down to 22W approx, but I need ssh enabled, and then theres the overhead as soon as you put in a antivirus etc.

enigmo · 21 Mar 2011 at 11:51

I'm loving mine! Turns out a 2.5" HD will fit with about 6mm clearance between the back of the case near the thumbscrew and the optical drive. I've dropped in a teeny PCIe1 SATA controller and split the power, so now I have a bootable 2.5" HD, the optical drive, and still all four bays free for TB loveliness! :cool:

daz.rathbone · 21 Mar 2011 at 17:13

Bought one of these little lovelies....

Ubuntu 10.10 installed on 4GB USB stick, internal. Upgraded memory to 2x2GB ECC. Config'd to spin down the HDDs after 20mins inactivity to make it nice and quiet.

Currently 4x1TB configured in zpool as raidz, approx 3.6TB of storage and absolutely floods my Gb NIC to it for writes, reads at about 50-70MB/sec. Will upgrade the drives to 2TB when I can be bothered.

Very respectable and cheap upgrade from a DNS-323.

settepunti · 21 Mar 2011 at 17:40

pespro said:
Is this good enough for putting a Tv tuner in and recording TV to the attached drives?
Or would it be better getting something abit more powerful to do the job then transfering the files to this.

If i wanted to watch the recorded files on the server id need a proper graphics card?

Has anyone used this to wirelessly connect to their network using a USB dongle?

Digital recording is not a CPU intensive task, basically the tuner(s) only transfer one or more digital streams to the disk, and any CPU can do it.
I bought one Microserver, added 4 Gb of RAM to be on the safe side, a G210 video card to have HDMI and sound over HDMI and a cheap USB TV tuner.
With Win7 it can easily record an HD program while playing another on my telly. The noise is minimal and the little beast hibernates when idle and wakes-up automagically when it needs to record a program.
I wouldn't use wireless for HD programs, it might work but it's very sensitive to every other wireless activity around your flat.

Methanoid · 21 Mar 2011 at 18:19

daz.rathbone said:
Bought one of these little lovelies....

Ubuntu 10.10 installed on 4GB USB stick, internal. Upgraded memory to 2x2GB ECC. Config'd to spin down the HDDs after 20mins inactivity to make it nice and quiet.

Currently 4x1TB configured in zpool as raidz, approx 3.6TB of storage and absolutely floods my Gb NIC to it for writes, reads at about 50-70MB/sec. Will upgrade the drives to 2TB when I can be bothered.

Very respectable and cheap upgrade from a DNS-323.

Surely Ubuntu only needs the std 1Gb.. why more? And I'd be grateful for some RAIDZ links.. never installed it before... but sounds like a nice storage solution

pespro · 21 Mar 2011 at 18:57

settepunti said:
Digital recording is not a CPU intensive task, basically the tuner(s) only transfer one or more digital streams to the disk, and any CPU can do it.
I bought one Microserver, added 4 Gb of RAM to be on the safe side, a G210 video card to have HDMI and sound over HDMI and a cheap USB TV tuner.
With Win7 it can easily record an HD program while playing another on my telly. The noise is minimal and the little beast hibernates when idle and wakes-up automagically when it needs to record a program.
I wouldn't use wireless for HD programs, it might work but it's very sensitive to every other wireless activity around your flat.

Did you have to buy the graphics card to record HD sound or did you buy the graphics card to playback the media on the server itself?

I was speaking to a mate and to get HD recorded i need to use a DVB-2 or something and there is hardly any out + i dont have freeview HD just wanted be futureproofed.

I would transfer the files to the other pc or an external usb drive if the quality was to poor using the wireless.

daz.rathbone · 21 Mar 2011 at 19:49

Methanoid said:
Surely Ubuntu only needs the std 1Gb.. why more? And I'd be grateful for some RAIDZ links.. never installed it before... but sounds like a nice storage solution

ZFS loves memory... makes the storage fly along.

For ubuntu 10.10 installing zfs is quite straightforward:

apt-get install nfs-kernel-server
mkdir zfs_build; cd zfs_build
wget http://www.vx.sk/download/source/zfs-linux/zfs-linux-20110303.tar.bz2
tar xfj zfs-linux-20110303.tar.bz2
./misc-scripts/create_debian.sh
dpkg -i spl_0.5.2-2.6.35-22-server.deb
dpkg -i zfs_0.5.1-2.6.35-22-server.deb
dpkg -i lzfs_1.0-2.6.35-22-server.deb

Job should be done.
You'll have the zpool and other zfs commands available.
Then this link is a good starter for a zfs tute: http://flux.org.uk/howto/solaris/zfs_tutorial_01

Use Solaris lots so easy transition for me.
Feel free to trust email me if you need any direction, would be happy to help.

slewis1972 · 21 Mar 2011 at 22:14

ok - bit an update if anyone like myself is looking at reducing the power consumption and has gone the ubuntu route.

Install
Ubuntu 10.10 64bit, 3 drives (old 2 x old 80gb sata, 1 x 500gb sata), stock 1gb ram (4gb corsair ordered). OS installed on a 8gb HP mini usb stick. Bios set to ide mode for the discs

So far I have set all 3 discs to spin down after 10mins with hdparm eg
/sbin/hdparm -S120 /dev/sdx

installed powersave utilities https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PowerManagement/ReducedPower

set:
# echo ondemand > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_governor

and have installed granola

http://grano.la/software/?os=linux

I have updated all software and have webmin, transmission bitorrent installed plus other std software.

When not in use, its averaging 27w (does fluctuate between 24 & 29w approx)

Not tested it with torrents downloading as yet, but pretty happy with that but will like to bring it down some more or atleast stop the fluctuating.

Next step is to install vmware server, postfix or sendmail and get my other two 500gb drives and get them setup in a zfs raid environment I hope before I splash out on some 2tb drives. Plus I am going to order another 8gb HP mini usb stick and setup a cron job to back it up every month by dd command, as mentioned here:

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/hp-...delivered-crescent-electronics/888083?page=31

So I can have the Ubuntu OS backed up if usb stick dies.

If anyone else has any power saving ideas or issues with myself, let me know.