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

MagicBoy · 29 Nov 2017 at 19:21

The WX2100 graphics card is an option...

Snapshot · 29 Nov 2017 at 21:44

doodah said:
Thanks.

So I just installed a new 3TB HD but disk management doesn't like it. It asks so choose either MBR or GPT when I open disk management but then says "the request could not be performed because of an I/O device error" every time. I have tried the HD in a couple of different slot but it still persists. Any ideas?

Try it in another machine. If it still fails, send it back.

Semple · 5 Dec 2017 at 12:07

covenantuk said:
Never needed iLO on my Microservers. Basically unless your server is sitting in a remote datacentre, it's a luxury.

As above, iLO was intended for rack mounted servers that are generally hosted away from the user. The microserver is not rack mountable, and will likely be housed on someones desk in an office, or for those using at home stored on a shelf or in a cupboard.

hyperseven said:
Not just for that, no need for monitor, keyboard, mouse to ever be used/connected.

What are you running on a microserver that doesn't have some form of RDP/SSH/Web server?

I agree that initial set up might require a monitor and keyboard/mouse to be connected, but after everything has been set up, should no longer be required.

The only time iLO actually comes in handy is if the server crashes and needs a forced reboot.

UberGinge · 5 Dec 2017 at 16:49

I currently have one of these setup with a 1260L (sandybridge) 16GB of RAM and running Server 2012 R2. 500 GB SSD in bay 1, 6 TB in bay 2, and 2 4 TB disk in the other bays. All are setup on the software raid as their own disk.

My current plan is to move the SSD to the ODD port, I am aware that I will need a floppy -> sata power cable + sata cable. I then wish to move over to CentOS or Arch instead of Server 2012 R2. The 6 TB has about 400 GB free, the other disks have about 2 TB used between them. My main question is, what will be the least awful way of migrating everything over to linux? I will be adding in another 4 TB disk after everything is moved, so I guess I will have to shuffle the 6 TB onto the other disks before hand and setup the 6 TB in linux.

Has anyone had any experience with migrating a plex server from windows to linux? I'm aware of how to do it from windows - windows, are there any specific things to do with linux?

Are there any "gotchas" to look out for when installing CentOS or any other distro on these servers?

ChrisD. · 6 Dec 2017 at 08:27

Just wondering why you want to make that move? If you don't know Linux well enough to answer your own questions you're in for a bit of learning and headaches on the way!

UberGinge · 6 Dec 2017 at 09:01

ChrisD. said:
Just wondering why you want to make that move? If you don't know Linux well enough to answer your own questions you're in for a bit of learning and headaches on the way!

I'm familiar enough with Linux to do most of what I need to do, I was more just looking to see if anyone else had done a similar move and what headaches they encountered so I can quickly work through them

maj · 10 Dec 2017 at 12:21

Went to finally get my gen 8 up and running last night but could only seem to be able to have a RAID array of either 0 or 1+0. What gives? Do I need some sort of firmware update to give me more options?

Trig · 10 Dec 2017 at 12:55

The onboard B120 will only do 0/1.

maj · 10 Dec 2017 at 15:30

Trig said:
The onboard B120 will only do 0/1.

Ok that makes sense. What board or extension card will I need to get full raid options?

Trig · 10 Dec 2017 at 16:04

I had a P222 in mine, worked a treat, question is though, do you really need RAID...

maj · 10 Dec 2017 at 16:20

P222 seems rather pricey but if it's what I need then so be it. That depends on the options available to me. I've got 4 3TB drives to do something with.

Trig · 10 Dec 2017 at 21:09

What are you trying to achieve?

maj · 11 Dec 2017 at 07:54

Trig said:
What are you trying to achieve?

Mostly as a NAS and host some VMs.

Trig · 11 Dec 2017 at 08:00

What OS?

maj · 11 Dec 2017 at 10:10

Server 2012 as I get it through work and wouldn't need a learning curve like FreeNAS.

Trig · 11 Dec 2017 at 11:05

Ok, why do you want RAID?
Is there some sort of working reason or are you thinking from a data security POV?

maj · 11 Dec 2017 at 11:21

I want to utilise as much of the potential storage capacity I have whilst still having redundancy for drive failure/data security.

I'm happy to consider other options at this stage.

Trig · 11 Dec 2017 at 11:28

Ok, have a look at the Stablebit stuff, Drivepool gives you the ability to mix and match drive types, data is stored on an NTFS/ReFS partition, so if something happens to the server you can simply stick the drive into another PC, it'll will let you pick what folders are duplicated so you don't waste as much drive space duplicating everything in the way you would with RAID.
Pair that with their Scanner software which monitors SMART on the drives, and when it detects an error will automatically evacuate a drive.

ChrisD. · 11 Dec 2017 at 11:30

Use storage spaces in Windows.

covenantuk · 12 Dec 2017 at 06:15

ChrisD. said:
Use storage spaces in Windows.

Seriously, don't. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but one day you'll regret it.

Maj, if you're interested I have an HP P410 raid card with battery backed cache I can stick on Members Market for you.