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

Puzzu · 3 May 2011 at 13:14

Hi Guys,

I think this has been answered before but can't seem to find it, need help setting up RAID1 on my box.

Currently I've got the server set up on Ununtu(server) 10.04 with Webmin installed and running all off the USB drive. (250GB taken out, 1GB ram)

I've just installed the 2 x 2TB drives and can't seem to find any post on how to set up the RAID.

I'm newish to Ubuntu(server) and thought it would have a GUI how wrong was I.

I've only found posts on how to setup RAID during initial setup and not on a live system running OS on a USB drive.

I could scrap this install and start again fresh but prefer not to as the last install took 4 hours to complete. (slow internet connection) and at a later date I will be adding 2 more drives.

Just need pointers to post thats easy to follow (asking a lot I know).

thanks

beavis · 3 May 2011 at 15:48

Anyone know if HP are extending the offer again this month?

aspirin · 3 May 2011 at 21:03

macfanuk said:
Not sure if this has been covered but does anyone know how I can install Windows Server 2008 R2 onto a USB pen?

I don't believe so but it is possible through Hyper-V:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee731893(WS.10).aspx

On a slight tangent I found a great utility to install from USB pen:

http://images2.store.microsoft.com/prod/clustera/framework/w7udt/1.0/en-us/Windows7-USB-DVD-tool.exe

I'm sure it has already been noted in this huge thread already but install the .exe, insert pen drive, execute tool, point to the ISO (can be any Windows OS) and within a few minutes there is a bootable USB drive.

gothi · 3 May 2011 at 21:05

Puzzu said:
Just need pointers to post thats easy to follow (asking a lot I know).

thanks

Try http://www.howtogeek.com/51873/how-to-setup-software-raid-for-a-simple-file-server-on-ubuntu/

I used that and had it all up and running within minutes

aspirin · 3 May 2011 at 21:15

beavis said:
Anyone know if HP are extending the offer again this month?

Hey Beavis, I asking myself the same question but it looks as if the offer ended on the 30th April.

http://h41112.www4.hp.com/promo/proliantmicroserver/index.html

Puzzu · 3 May 2011 at 23:06

Thanks,

It's a long read will update when i get to the end......

AbsenceJam · 4 May 2011 at 08:37

DIABLO said:
Bought 1 of these for the optical drive bay so i can have 6 harddrives enclosed within the system.

Couple questions,
Would this take 12.5mm drives do you think?

What's the shortest eSATA > SATA cable you've been able to find?

Just seen that the 1TB Samsung HM100UI/Z4 is only £63. That is just co cheap for a 2.5" disk. One of those and 5 other disks will make for an awesome little box.

beavis · 4 May 2011 at 11:19

aspirin said:
Hey Beavis, I asking myself the same question but it looks as if the offer ended on the 30th April.

http://h41112.www4.hp.com/promo/proliantmicroserver/index.html

Thanks for the reply Aspirin. I've seen more than one place (competitor so I can't name/link) claiming it has been extended until the end of May. The HP site hasn't been updated to reflect this so I'll hold on for the moment.

edit - HP site now also updated: 'Offer Extended to the 31st May 2011'

Sareth · 4 May 2011 at 19:04

Ozymandias said:
I used an Icy Box IB-168SK-B. The rubber mounts on it are a bit of a pain the Microserver as they allow the side screws to come out of the rails so I glued a plastic support under each of the four corners to prevent the side angle brackets from coming out of the rails.

I went for a couple of binder clips down the left hand side, seem to brace it fairly well.

DIABLO · 4 May 2011 at 21:31

AbsenceJam said:
Couple questions,
Would this take 12.5mm drives do you think?

What's the shortest eSATA > SATA cable you've been able to find?

Just seen that the 1TB Samsung HM100UI/Z4 is only £63. That is just co cheap for a 2.5" disk. One of those and 5 other disks will make for an awesome little box.

Only a 9.5mm hight drive will fit i believe and i hav'nt bought a sata>esata cable yet.

aspirin · 4 May 2011 at 23:28

beavis said:
Thanks for the reply Aspirin. I've seen more than one place (competitor so I can't name/link) claiming it has been extended until the end of May. The HP site hasn't been updated to reflect this so I'll hold on for the moment.

edit - HP site now also updated: 'Offer Extended to the 31st May 2011'

What odd timing! Thanks for the update

xtremedetailz · 5 May 2011 at 11:08

Hey guys thinking of getting one of these to use as a network backup and to play films and stuff onto my xbox 360.

I have a copy of WHS would that be ok for what i need ?

Saviola · 5 May 2011 at 12:54

Quick Question about noise. How loud are these little beasts?

Might grab me one if not 'too' loud.

Puzzu · 5 May 2011 at 18:35

Saviola said:
Quick Question about noise. How loud are these little beasts?

Might grab me one if not 'too' loud.

comparing to my single core Revo about the same

smargh · 5 May 2011 at 21:34

My sister's Revo R3600 is virtually silent. The MicroServer fan is noticeably louder, but not by much. With 4 hard drives, resonance can be annoying depending on location and what it's sat on top of.

Puzzu · 6 May 2011 at 10:44

Sorry this may not be hte best place to ask,

but what happens if you poweroff during the Raid1 mirroring? :rolleyes:

Saviola · 6 May 2011 at 12:00

Thanks guys will go grab one, I am sure someone will take it off my hands if its too loud for my needs.

Cheers

Burnsy2023 · 6 May 2011 at 12:03

Puzzu said:
Sorry this may not be hte best place to ask,

but what happens if you poweroff during the Raid1 mirroring?

Not sure on this particular server, but it's happened to me before when I was reconstructing a RAID1 array. It corrupted the whole array and I had to recover from tape.

Puzzu · 6 May 2011 at 13:32

Burnsy2023 said:
Not sure on this particular server, but it's happened to me before when I was reconstructing a RAID1 array. It corrupted the whole array and I had to recover from tape.

Will wait and see when I get back home tonight, there's no data on the raid yet, still going through the building process of mirroring for the first time.

so a rebuild won't be as bad, just need to remember not switch off untill it finishes.......

aspirin · 7 May 2011 at 10:02

xtremedetailz said:
Hey guys thinking of getting one of these to use as a network backup and to play films and stuff onto my xbox 360.

I have a copy of WHS would that be ok for what i need ?

I have installed WHS without issues.