Microserver Help

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Mr.X

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Hey guys

I want to be able to download with ease and around the clock, but I don't want to leave my everyday computer running 24/7. I'm thinking of buying a new HP ProLiant Microserver since its going for so cheap, but I have a few questions and when it comes to microservers I'm an ultra-noob.

1) How exactly does a microserver work?

2) Does it need a monitor to run 24/7?

3) Can I copy files from it and put them onto my computer's hard drive?

4) How can I remotely download NZB's/Torrents from e.g my phone?

5) What OS should I install onto it?

6) Will it cease operation frequently?

7) Is it worth it?

Thanks in advance :D
 
Hey guys

I want to be able to download with ease and around the clock, but I don't want to leave my everyday computer running 24/7. I'm thinking of buying a new HP ProLiant Microserver since its going for so cheap, but I have a few questions and when it comes to microservers I'm an ultra-noob.

1) How exactly does a microserver work?
Same as a normal pc

2) Does it need a monitor to run 24/7?
No

3) Can I copy files from it and put them onto my computer's hard drive?
Yes

4) How can I remotely download NZB's/Torrents from e.g my phone?
Sabnzbd with port forwarded through your router

5) What OS should I install onto it?
What do you want to use it for?

6) Will it cease operation frequently?
Depends on the os

7) Is it worth it?
I am using it as an xbmc machine and it's well worth it.

Thanks in advance :D
 
I run Ubuntu Server 11.10 x64 on my HP Microserver, with SABnzbd+ and Sickbeard.

My server has no monitor attached to it, and Sickbeard automatically downloads all the series that I watch, so I never really need to manually add things to download.

The Microserver was definitely a worth while upgrade for me from an Intel Atom with 1x 1.5TB to 4x 2TB in RAID 5, seeing that I now have much more storage space and it runs more cool & quiet. My previous CFi case that I had with the Intel Atom was way too small.
 
Also running xbmc openelec, sabnzbd, sickbeard and couchpotato. You can log in to the microserver using a web browser from a smartphone or another pc to add/remove/manage downloads.

A nice remote (android) app for sabnzbd is nzbAir. Manage the queue, pause, throttle, add/remove downloads.
 
Pada said:
I run Ubuntu Server 11.10 x64 on my HP Microserver, with SABnzbd+ and Sickbeard.

My server has no monitor attached to it, and Sickbeard automatically downloads all the series that I watch, so I never really need to manually add things to download.

The Microserver was definitely a worth while upgrade for me from an Intel Atom with 1x 1.5TB to 4x 2TB in RAID 5, seeing that I now have much more storage space and it runs more cool & quiet. My previous CFi case that I had with the Intel Atom was way too small.
Click to expand...

I'm most likely also going to use Ubuntu Server 11.10

nadimm said:
Also running xbmc openelec, sabnzbd, sickbeard and couchpotato. You can log in to the microserver using a web browser from a smartphone or another pc to add/remove/manage downloads.

A nice remote (android) app for sabnzbd is nzbAir. Manage the queue, pause, throttle, add/remove downloads.
Click to expand...

Can I contol everything that happens on the microserver from a web browser?
 
I'm going to place an order in May/June for my microserver, but in the meantime I have an old Pentium 3 computer lying around, can I convert it into a microserver, since it would be very helpful and informative before I buy a HP ProLiant Microserver. If I can can convert my old PC, what are the steps I need to do? I have a 500GB HDD, do I just need to reformat it and perform a clean install of Ubuntu Server 11.10? Are there any special steps that need to be done?

Final question, what is the difference between a microserver and NAS (Network Attached Storage) ?
 
Mr.X said:
I'm going to place an order in May/June for my microserver, but in the meantime I have an old Pentium 3 computer lying around, can I convert it into a microserver, since it would be very helpful and informative before I buy a HP ProLiant Microserver. If I can can convert my old PC, what are the steps I need to do? I have a 500GB HDD, do I just need to reformat it and perform a clean install of Ubuntu Server 11.10? Are there any special steps that need to be done?

Final question, what is the difference between a microserver and NAS (Network Attached Storage) ?
Click to expand...

One is a server with all possibilities that it can do including media playback and a NAS is a storage device although the newer ones can be leveraged as download/bittorrent servers as well.
 
Microserver is brand name. It is simply a computer with low cost, entry level server hardware.

Network attached storage (NAS) is hardware/software that provides storage over the network. What you use in your computer (USB, Hard-drives, etc.) is called Direct Attached Storage (DAS). A server can be a NAS, so long as it provides services for network storage.

It is just a concept.

Any device can be a "microserver", LOL, if you want to use your Pentium 3 as a server, no problem. Might not be reliable but there is no reason not to.

Also HP Microserver's don't use much power and they were built with 24/7 reliable operation in mind. Your Pentium 3 was built with Desktop computer in mind which is rarely 24/7 and most definitely not mission critical (eg. down-time is acceptable).

In the end Server/Desktop/etc. is terminology. You can use any computer as a server.
 
Gnome said:
Microserver is brand name. It is simply a computer with low cost, entry level server hardware.

Network attached storage (NAS) is hardware/software that provides storage over the network. What you use in your computer (USB, Hard-drives, etc.) is called Direct Attached Storage (DAS). A server can be a NAS, so long as it provides services for network storage.

It is just a concept.

Any device can be a "microserver", LOL, if you want to use your Pentium 3 as a server, no problem. Might not be reliable but there is no reason not to.

Also HP Microserver's don't use much power and they were built with 24/7 reliable operation in mind. Your Pentium 3 was built with Desktop computer in mind which is rarely 24/7 and most definitely not mission critical (eg. down-time is acceptable).

In the end Server/Desktop/etc. is terminology. You can use any computer as a server.
Click to expand...

Thanks for clearing that up. On Ubuntu 11.10 Server Edition, it comes with no GUI, can a GUI be installed onto it? Also how do I log onto my microserver with Ubuntu 11.10 Server Edition? If I install Ubuntu Desktop 11.10 would it still be able to work as a microserver? When you said that any computer can be used as a server, can I use my current PC to stream files and remotely access it to download files? Sorry for my questions, but as I said I'm a noob when it comes to microservers :D
 
Mr.X:
I installed Ubuntu 11.10 x64 server (no GUI) on my HP Microserver, and then I installed the desktop/GUI packages afterwards.
If you're going to do this, then you might as well just start off with the desktop one to begin with.

Secondly, if you're going to use VNC to remote desktop to your Ubuntu server's desktop, then I would suggest that you turn off the effects (compiz), by selecting Ubuntu classic theme on the login screen. If you don't do that, then your VNC's screen won't refresh properly.

Lastly, the microserver that we refer to here is the HP ProLiant Microserver, which is just a very small & cheap (very well built, and not cheap quality parts) PC that many people use for home servers.
A "web server" is typically a PC/server that is dedicated to just serving webpages. It may also refer to the web server service that is an application like Apache (httpd) / IIS. So this term is rather ambiguous.

If you install SABnzbd+, SickBeard & WebMin, then you can basically control your whole Ubuntu server through a web browser, and you don't even need to install the Desktop/GUI parts!
If you want to use VNC on that server, then you need to install the Desktop/GUI too. Like I use my HP Microserver's desktop for light web browsing every now and then, which won't really work in a terminal (w3m [terminal web browser] sux).
 
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If you're not comfortable using Ubuntu or whatever you can also look into using Windows Home Server 2011 (works really great for automatic backups on a home network). Just a normal Windows 7 installation should also work great (just keep it nice and tidy and add a decent MediaCenter application like XBMC or whatever on top).

As for torrents, once you set up Port Forwarding and get your router set up to use DNS you can also make use of uTorrent to enable the Web Interface and access your torrent client from anywhere using your web browser. The smartphone versions of utorrent can also then be set up to use your Microserver's torrent client directly, works really great and it's pretty easy to set up.
 
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