Recommend a home server?

[RonSwanson]

The HP MicroServer Gen10 Plus should be arriving on our shores soon. Maybe wait for pricing before you buy anything now.

https://www.hpe.com/uk/en/product-catalog/servers/proliant-servers/pip.overview.1012325617.html

True, but indicative pricing is quite painful (over 13K), as is power consumption (180W) . I am liking the quad ethernet ports though... maybe in a few years when they release the Gen12... who knows?

 

[RonSwanson]

My main concern is the 2TB limit on the hard drives. There is a possibility that this can be overcome by running GPT non-boot drives on Linux. Looking across some forums it looks like there are mixed results for this. Some have found that it works well, while others have stability problems.

No problem running 3x 4TB drives on mine and yes, they are non boot using Ubuntu. Will add a fourth one soon.
Edit: Apologies, this is a Gen8 Microserver, not a N40L.

 

[newby_investor]

True, but indicative pricing is quite painful (over 13K), as is power consumption (180W) . I am liking the quad ethernet ports though... maybe in a few years when they release the Gen12... who knows?

That power is quite high... My Gen7s consume about 50W normally, and that's filled with drives.

 

[xrapidx]

Are servers for a home server really nessesary?

Could build a Ryzen 6/8 core box for cheap.

From the Gen8 - the Microserver feels and behaves like a proper server, I've tried various platforms, Pi3, old laptop, etc - nothing beats the stability I get from the server. If it wasn't for two loadshedding slots a day - the server would have an uptime of over a year.

 

[garyc]

What functions are you seeking to replace? I love my Synology but they tend to be underpowered for what you pay. So if you are planning of running VMs and stuff I wouldn't recommend them. I have the DS418 and I use mine for Plex/Emby, recording security camera footage, torrenting, nzbget, and general backups for everything digital that I have.

My usage is reasonably similar, and therefore there is a good chance that a Synology would do the job. My main reservation is that my usage tends to change over time, where the server can adapt well to new tasks.

 

[garyc]

From the Gen8 - the Microserver feels and behaves like a proper server, I've tried various platforms, Pi3, old laptop, etc - nothing beats the stability I get from the server. If it wasn't for two loadshedding slots a day - the server would have an uptime of over a year.

Mine hit an uptime of two years once before Eskom decided to switch it off. These little servers are very stable.

 

[Compton_effect]

My trusty old Media Server finally gave the ghost.
Looks like the motherboard or CPU. Boots up, runs for about 5 minutes, then freezes.
First thought it was one of those recent Microsoft patches that messed up the OS. But when I tried to change the Boot order to boot from my trusty Ubuntu Thumb Drive - the board gave one long beep that didn't stop.
Still boots up, but now I can't even power it down if it freezes - need to pull the power cable.

Any recommendations for a cheap-ass board, cpu and memory? It runs Plex and torrent software, otherwise its barely used.
Its also on a UPS - so I'm not blaming Eskom for this one.

 

[newby_investor]

My trusty old Media Server finally gave the ghost.
Looks like the motherboard or CPU. Boots up, runs for about 5 minutes, then freezes.
First thought it was one of those recent Microsoft patches that messed up the OS. But when I tried to change the Boot order to boot from my trusty Ubuntu Thumb Drive - the board gave one long beep that didn't stop.
Still boots up, but now I can't even power it down if it freezes - need to pull the power cable.

Any recommendations for a cheap-ass board, cpu and memory? It runs Plex and torrent software, otherwise its barely used.
Its also on a UPS - so I'm not blaming Eskom for this one.

If you're in Cape Town, I have a couple of N40L servers which are sitting idle, available for sale...

 

[krycor]

You could do. But proper server hardware has some advantages.

These microservers are very nicely put together, low power and quiet. And they just keep on working for years.

was actually considering replacing my N54L one and then i realized use case should be storage only.. if so, no need to replace. So gonna get me a Apple Mini for heavy lifting (need a mac since work gave me a dell :'( ) but otherwise there are plenty small boxes u can use as a processor server for heavy lifting.

 

[Compton_effect]

If you're in Cape Town, I have a couple of N40L servers which are sitting idle, available for sale...

Thanks. But I'm up in Johannesburg.