Server for home office use.

[RobWHS]

Hello all.

I recently purchased a couple of cheap HP Proliant ML110 G6 servers with Xeon processors and 8GB ram each.
One is chugging along nicely as a workstation the other I want to use as a home / office file server.
I used to use Windows seven Ultimate and share folders from 1 PC but I found it running out of space very quickly, so decided a dedicated server would be the solution.

I'd like to use all the hardware that came with the server (if possible)

1) I know Freenas can't use hardware RAID so that's out the question.
2) Forget any obsolete Windows software such as Windows Home Server, not interested for obvious reasons.
3) I hear Windows server 2008 / 2012 R2 would be overkill?


The specs are as follows.

HP Proliant ML110 G6 Socket 1155
8GB Unbuffered DDR3 RAM
Xeon X3430 Processor
HP P212 Smart array controller with 512mb cache module and write cache charger.
HP NC112T PCI Express Gigabit Server Adapter
4 x WD Enterprise black Hard drives @ 1TB each

All help is appreciated.

 

[RobWHS]

you are either limited to linux or i would say server 2012 or 8 i dont think its over kill.

Cheers Leigh.

HP being HP want to sell their new kit ASAP and drivers support for their older servers becomes redundant.
The G6 support stops at M$ small business server 2012 (Now Server essentials)
I know I could go down the Linux root but all our machines have windows on them.

 

[RobWHS]

Nix, OpenMediaVault

Check it out, put it in a VM and have a play.

Thanks,

Before I do, does it support hardware RAID?
This is the problem I've been having with free software, all seem to be software raid only....
I can discard the Array controller but I'd rather keep it working.

 

[RobWHS]

Out of interest why are you disregarding software raid?

ZFS has heaps of advantages over hardware raid, and should you ever move the drives to different hardware you'll have no worries about the controller being able to import the array or not

I'm not. I know the benefits of ZFS but wanted to utilise the hardware I have.
Basically I don't want to put it on eBay with the other array controllers that sellers are keen to get rid of. It could sit there for months.......

 

[RobWHS]

Off the top of my head I honestly cant say.
Best bet it to jump onto http://forums.openmediavault.org/ and ask the boffins, or join #openmediavault on freenode.

From the irc channel
[CaNsA] Davidh2k, does OMV support hardware raid ?
[CaNsA] HP P212 Smart array controller with 512mb cache module and write cache charger.
[+Davidh2k] Erm... what do you mean by support?
[CaNsA] http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18621702
[CaNsA] i suggested OMV to that dude
[+Davidh2k] Well... I wouldn't say 'supported' as in has WebGUI support, but it works
[+Davidh2k] cansa: works just fine... I use HWraid too
[+Davidh2k] its just that you can't read smart via webgui

Will do that, thanks.

 

[RobWHS]

Server 2012 R2 runs fine on an ML330 G6 so an ML110 should be ok?

Thanks......Now just need a copy at reasonable price
I did try the trial of Server 2012 but that touch screen interface M$ forced on us is not my thing.

 

[RobWHS]

I see your point the P212 can't be cross flashed with an LSI IT firmware which is the preferred method for ZFS

It looks like I will have to ditch the P212 if I want to go down the Freenas route. P212 cards with all the trimmings are still going for a nice price on eBay but I'd rather keep it and use it.
I can get M$ server 2008 R2 for cheap. Same with M$ server 2012 datacentre, thanks to a lot of companies now using the hackable cloud services.

 

[RobWHS]

Are you planning on using drives larger than 2tb? If not then the Dell SAS 6/ir is cheap as chips on eBay and can be flashed with LSI IT firmware, think I paid about £15 for mine.

If your looking for cheap/simple then Debian/CentOS/Ubuntu Server with webmin installed will give you low overhead, low maintenance, free and simple to setup using the webmin gui

No, I've got 4 X 1TB WD Enterprise drives. I don't think I'll be expanding.
Will the Dell SAS 6/ir work in my G6? If so you may have solved the nightmare.

Thanks for the info.
(Over at Tom's hardware I didn't get an answer from anyone)

 

[RobWHS]

I don't even notice it - R2 has the start button but 99 of the time I use it it's to right-click on it, almost everything needed is on there.

My bad, was thinking of windows 8.

 

[RobWHS]

I'm 99% it should work in anything. It's just a rebranded LSI card.

You may have to cover a couple of the pins as they can be a bit finicky with Intel stuff but you shouldn't have that problem on enterprise grade hardware. My Gigabyte Z68ap-d3 doesn't recognise the card without the mod but my AMD Asrock 970 pro3 which is in my server does

Thanks,

I've got one on my watch list at eBay. £25 with the cables.