Why have a MicroServer instead of pc or or network hdd ?
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Ability to use ECC memory. Ability to use operating systems and filesystems that take advantage of that memory (such as BTRFS on Linux or ZFS on Linux and FreeBSD/FreeNAS).
Flipping 1 bit of information in your data is enough to seriously **** it up. I wouldn't use anything that didn't use ECC for storage these days.
It's like the digital equivalent of film negatives. When you used to get your film camera pictures printed you'd have the original negatives back. But if you got even the smallest amount of damage on the film negatives, if you tried to have more copies made from those damaged negatives, it would include the defect, which when blown up into print could entirely ruin a photo. Digital data is not much different. Flipping a bit ****s up data. Flip enough bits and you now have a techno-art movement called "glitch art".
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A server IS a pc... it's just one that's more generally designed for business applications.
I just bought two of the HP microservers with 4x main hard drive bays + one extra for less than the price of a single Synology 4-bay NAS... plus you can do more with it.
My *main* home server is a personal build "PC" running windows 7 with about 10 drive bays... using 8x 3TB drives + 1x 1TB + 1x 750GB.
I have 2x Synology DS214j with 4x4TB each
I am running out of storage.
With the recent cashback deals that are valid this month, you can buy an HP Gen8 Microserver for £120 after cashback... with 4x full size drive bays and an extra internal usb or internal sata for the operating system.
The HP Gen8 is much more powerful than the Synology, you can run the Synology OS on it if you would like to... otherwise you can run a fully fledged OS on it if you choose also & do a lot more with it than a basic NAS can do.
Currently, one is running Windows Server 2012 as a trial and the other is running Windows 7 like my primary server.
It's unlikely these will be used for more than fileservers and maybe a dev webserver for my wife... but they were under half the price of a Synology and more functional while drawing not much more power from the wall.
It's a no-brainer in my opinion... unless you're desperate for more drive bays in a single unit or more processing power (although the ram and cpu can be upgraded in the Gen8).. grab the deal while it's available
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Now some info on my end,
I use my main pc store all my movies, images and music.
and I was also thinking of getting a small pc HTPC or media box like the android fire tv,
Im not sure when but I was thinking of getting a HTPC to use in the living room, is there I could do the same with Micro Server.
I know these 2 are unlikely but could I run 2 os at the same time from it ?
and use it from another room with a pc in the room just tv ?
I use my main pc store all my movies, images and music.
and I was also thinking of getting a small pc HTPC or media box like the android fire tv,
Im not sure when but I was thinking of getting a HTPC to use in the living room, is there I could do the same with Micro Server.
I know these 2 are unlikely but could I run 2 os at the same time from it ?
and use it from another room with a pc in the room just tv ?
There's a video of someone on Youtube taking out the Celeron and dropping a Xeon into one. That kind of blew my mind when I saw that. Compact Xeon power. Although it's probably a bitch to cool.
A server IS a pc... it's just one that's more generally designed for business applications.
I just bought two of the HP microservers with 4x main hard drive bays + one extra for less than the price of a single Synology 4-bay NAS... plus you can do more with it.
My *main* home server is a personal build "PC" running windows 7 with about 10 drive bays... using 8x 3TB drives + 1x 1TB + 1x 750GB.
I have 2x Synology DS214j with 4x4TB each
I am running out of storage.
With the recent cashback deals that are valid this month, you can buy an HP Gen8 Microserver for £120 after cashback... with 4x full size drive bays and an extra internal usb or internal sata for the operating system.
The HP Gen8 is much more powerful than the Synology, you can run the Synology OS on it if you would like to... otherwise you can run a fully fledged OS on it if you choose also & do a lot more with it than a basic NAS can do.
Currently, one is running Windows Server 2012 as a trial and the other is running Windows 7 like my primary server.
It's unlikely these will be used for more than fileservers and maybe a dev webserver for my wife... but they were under half the price of a Synology and more functional while drawing not much more power from the wall.
It's a no-brainer in my opinion... unless you're desperate for more drive bays in a single unit or more processing power (although the ram and cpu can be upgraded in the Gen8).. grab the deal while it's available
What do you do with so much storage ?
I should be fine with 4 drive I only use 4tb, and knowing me I will still have my main PC for storage also,
are these fast as the pc to transfer data ?
Thanks, What's the warranty on these Gen8,
If Im asking silly question just say, I'm asking because I don't know.
Im assuming the speed of the broadband is not important
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You can run 2OS simultaneously yes, although the basic CPU is not the most powerful... it can do basic tasks like fileserver & htpc as two seperate OS without much trouble.
Yes... you can drop a couple of decent processors into the unit without any change to the cooling...
Movies... mostly. I like full, uncompressed blu-ray rips rather than the web-encoded 4GB 1080p movies floating around... a movie is easily 20-25GB each.
TV episodes also take up about 9TB.
The HP Gen8 is faster than the Synology DS214j for transferring files, you can easily max out a gigabit ethernet connection with 4x drives if you set the server up correctly.
More speed than you'll need for a decade really... for media streaming, at least.
1. How many cpus can they take, Im so use to assuming everthing has one slot.
2. I there any way to use it from another room without a pc room just TV ?
if so what would i need, I was thinking this way i could just use this as a pc from other areas of the house and not need a laptop or tab.
3. can it be used for downloading instead of the main pc.
I'm assuming this should be possible.
4. Can I login to it from any location and use watch play, anything on this as you would with web servers.
Few more questions,
1. What should i look for in a micro server ?
2. Is it worth getting a older used model ? or would i be better off getting the latest,
3. what socket are these ? and what decent priced cpu could I upgrade to I dont really feel like spending another £150 on a cpu plus the cost of ram + hdd
1. What should i look for in a micro server ?
2. Is it worth getting a older used model ? or would i be better off getting the latest,
3. what socket are these ? and what decent priced cpu could I upgrade to I dont really feel like spending another £150 on a cpu plus the cost of ram + hdd
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For most uses you will be fine with one of the HP Gen 8 "microserver" as already mentioned. Unless you want to start running virtual machines for example you wont need a CPU upgrade, if you do there are a few you can put it in. I would recommend buying one and setting up for your needs and seeing if you really need a boost.
You could just install Win 7 on it and set this up to be your file server to other PCs, plug it into a TV and watch media directly through it (like a HTPC), set up your torrent downlaods and do pretty much anything else you need it too.
Note many people often put in a cheap fanless graphics card just to provide a little boost for playing media from the microserver.
For the price I would just get a brand new one.
You could just install Win 7 on it and set this up to be your file server to other PCs, plug it into a TV and watch media directly through it (like a HTPC), set up your torrent downlaods and do pretty much anything else you need it too.
Note many people often put in a cheap fanless graphics card just to provide a little boost for playing media from the microserver.
For the price I would just get a brand new one.
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the microservers are 180 on certain forest based websites
edit: nvm just google you find the cashback one
edit: nvm just google you find the cashback one
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I've got a Gen 8 and a Xeon on the way as an upgrade to my older N54L. The key advantage this unit has over a NAS is it's versatility, it can be whatever you want it to be.
The key advantage of the microserver over a PC is that it is a proper enterprise-class server in a small reliable energy efficient package. The means you can gain access to all the systems and utilities associated with the HP server platform. This is great if you want to learn this stuff or just need a test lab to experiment with stuff. This model also has ILO which gives you remote console access to the system from boot. So it can be run headless - without a keyboard or monitor.
As with my N54L I will be running ESXi Hypervisor on mine. You can get a free licence from VMware but actually install the custom build from HP; exactly the same as used in a datacentre. Then you can install whatever operating systems you like, side-by-side. This can include a dedicated NAS OS if you like, alongside Windows server or desktop, or any flavour of Linux.
The key advantage of the microserver over a PC is that it is a proper enterprise-class server in a small reliable energy efficient package. The means you can gain access to all the systems and utilities associated with the HP server platform. This is great if you want to learn this stuff or just need a test lab to experiment with stuff. This model also has ILO which gives you remote console access to the system from boot. So it can be run headless - without a keyboard or monitor.
As with my N54L I will be running ESXi Hypervisor on mine. You can get a free licence from VMware but actually install the custom build from HP; exactly the same as used in a datacentre. Then you can install whatever operating systems you like, side-by-side. This can include a dedicated NAS OS if you like, alongside Windows server or desktop, or any flavour of Linux.
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1. How many cpus can they take, Im so use to assuming everthing has one slot.
2. I there any way to use it from another room without a pc room just TV ?
if so what would i need, I was thinking this way i could just use this as a pc from other areas of the house and not need a laptop or tab.
3. can it be used for downloading instead of the main pc.
I'm assuming this should be possible.
4. Can I login to it from any location and use watch play, anything on this as you would with web servers.
1. What should i look for in a micro server ?
2. Is it worth getting a older used model ? or would i be better off getting the latest,
3. what socket are these ? and what decent priced cpu could I upgrade to I dont really feel like spending another £150 on a cpu plus the cost of ram + hdd
4. is it still worth getting even if you im not sure if I would use it much ?
2. I there any way to use it from another room without a pc room just TV ?
if so what would i need, I was thinking this way i could just use this as a pc from other areas of the house and not need a laptop or tab.
3. can it be used for downloading instead of the main pc.
I'm assuming this should be possible.
4. Can I login to it from any location and use watch play, anything on this as you would with web servers.
1. What should i look for in a micro server ?
2. Is it worth getting a older used model ? or would i be better off getting the latest,
3. what socket are these ? and what decent priced cpu could I upgrade to I dont really feel like spending another £150 on a cpu plus the cost of ram + hdd
4. is it still worth getting even if you im not sure if I would use it much ?
1. Just the one CPU/socket.
2. For the best experience you would need something that could run client connection software. Typically this would be a small form factor computer, tablet or smart phone. However you could setup remote desktop access which works in a browser. So as long as your TV has a reasonable browser this should work.
3. Yep, of course.
4. Within reason. You would need to setup your router for external access. Then the scope of what you can do will be dependent on your broadband upload speed.
1. You will not find anything better than the HP.
2. Your better off with the new one given the cash back offer. The old model wouldn't be much cheaper.
3. LGA 1155. The cheapest upgrade is the dual core i3-3220T which is £40 - £50 used. The top of the range upgrade is the quad core E3-1265L which is £200+ used.
4. That's a difficult one to answer. What exactly are your requirements? It sounds like your are looking for a HTPC with a lot of storage. That is a common use for the microserver but you would need to fit a better graphics card. The built-in one is no good for media playback.
2. For the best experience you would need something that could run client connection software. Typically this would be a small form factor computer, tablet or smart phone. However you could setup remote desktop access which works in a browser. So as long as your TV has a reasonable browser this should work.
3. Yep, of course.
4. Within reason. You would need to setup your router for external access. Then the scope of what you can do will be dependent on your broadband upload speed.
1. You will not find anything better than the HP.
2. Your better off with the new one given the cash back offer. The old model wouldn't be much cheaper.
3. LGA 1155. The cheapest upgrade is the dual core i3-3220T which is £40 - £50 used. The top of the range upgrade is the quad core E3-1265L which is £200+ used.
4. That's a difficult one to answer. What exactly are your requirements? It sounds like your are looking for a HTPC with a lot of storage. That is a common use for the microserver but you would need to fit a better graphics card. The built-in one is no good for media playback.