Consumer gear vs server grade

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#198760 21-Jul-2016 13:58

At the moment, I have a home "server" which is running on a HP ML110 (i think) with a dual core Pentium CPU and 4GB RAM. Its been running flawlessly for a freebie, only time its had to be restarted is for Windows updates.

However I have been given a Core 2 Quad CPU and ASUS motherboard. Different socket CPU's unfortunately.

So do I stick with the HP, or use the Core 2 Quad and board ?

Upgrade of the CPU is obviously a no-brainer, but would I be able to rely on the overall system to be as stable as the HP considering the HP is "server grade" hardware and designed for 24x7 running.

Currently running Plex, HmailServer but want to fire up XAMPP and possibly a Minecraft server once I obtain some more RAM.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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Dynamic

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#1596265 21-Jul-2016 14:05

ML110 is a great little workhorse with fantastic reliability. Obviously you have an older generation of that machine. Given the RAM is ECC it was always expensive, but you may be able to find it cheaply these days.

Perhaps if you are keen on setting up the new bits, run them for a month with XAMPP and Minecraft to let them prove their reliability.

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jnimmo

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#1596267 21-Jul-2016 14:08

Go for the Quad core - probably use less power and should be just as reliable

Things that would be most likely to go wrong I imagine would be fan bearings etc but I'm guessing you're more meaning system stability, having to swap out a fan probably less of an issue?

Put it on a good UPS

timbosan

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#1596274 21-Jul-2016 14:12

I have had 'pro' grade servers in the past, SuperMicro mainly, for home use, but I have moved away to normal consumer gear as I found too many issues:

1. Noise - server grade is designed to run in a tightly packed rack, hence has lots of fans and lots of noise
2. Compatibility - server grade hardware normally needs registered DIMM's or uses SAS drives over SATA, or DDR2 instead of DDR3
3. Upgrading - specifically with 1U cases there is no room for extra drives, cards
4. Old tech - server grade usually has older tech like USB2 over USB3 unless you go new, which is $$$

I have 3 servers running 24/7 (one Linux gateway, one VM Server running 4 VM's and a file server) along with the HTPC and have had no problems with any hardware except hard drives dying, which are mainly in batches like the 3TB Cuda's which are crap and fail all the same time

Also if your not having problem with the existing hardware, why go through the pain of change?

timbosan

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#1596276 21-Jul-2016 14:12

jnimmo:

Go for the Quad core - probably use less power and should be just as reliable

Things that would be most likely to go wrong I imagine would be fan bearings etc but I'm guessing you're more meaning system stability, having to swap out a fan probably less of an issue?

Put it on a good UPS

I think he said Quad CPU, as in 4 sockets, not a quad core single socket?

gbwelly

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#1596285 21-Jul-2016 14:19

If it is working for you then leave it alone.

Were you expecting to put the new motherboard and CPU into the existing HP case? If so then you are likely to find it wont fit.

xpd

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#1596305 21-Jul-2016 14:59

timbosan:

jnimmo:

Go for the Quad core - probably use less power and should be just as reliable

Things that would be most likely to go wrong I imagine would be fan bearings etc but I'm guessing you're more meaning system stability, having to swap out a fan probably less of an issue?

Put it on a good UPS

I think he said Quad CPU, as in 4 sockets, not a quad core single socket?

Core 2 Quad - single socket 4 core

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AHitman

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#1596532 21-Jul-2016 21:49

In a home environment real server gear is not really needed, the main difference is that enterprise grade servers have redundancy built in and are made to survive hardware failures where downtime costs real money.

For my home environment I have just stuck to consumer grade gear with a good backup.

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#1596548 21-Jul-2016 22:06

Minecraft need a bit of ram and CPU that's for sure. That setup should handle a small server with a few plugins. I can build you a server config and plugins with permissions etc.

ArcticSilver

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#1596582 21-Jul-2016 23:43

timbosan:

I have had 'pro' grade servers in the past, SuperMicro mainly, for home use, but I have moved away to normal consumer gear as I found too many issues:

1. Noise - server grade is designed to run in a tightly packed rack, hence has lots of fans and lots of noise
2. Compatibility - server grade hardware normally needs registered DIMM's or uses SAS drives over SATA, or DDR2 instead of DDR3
3. Upgrading - specifically with 1U cases there is no room for extra drives, cards
4. Old tech - server grade usually has older tech like USB2 over USB3 unless you go new, which is $$$

I have 3 servers running 24/7 (one Linux gateway, one VM Server running 4 VM's and a file server) along with the HTPC and have had no problems with any hardware except hard drives dying, which are mainly in batches like the 3TB Cuda's which are crap and fail all the same time

Also if your not having problem with the existing hardware, why go through the pain of change?

To be fair:

1. Noise - This depends on your server, if you get a rackmount server you will usually find it is very noisy as it is not designed to sit in the office, where as a tower server is far less audible.

2. Compatibility - Yes servers do generally need ECC (buffered or unbuffered) which does cost more, however they can use SATA drives (SAS is compatible with SATA) and there is no reason they would use DDR2 over DDR3, that depends on the generation of the server (much like it does your desktop)

3. Upgrading - Again, not an issue with desktop cases, you generally buy servers to fit a specific need.

A ML110 is very much a entry level server, it has the benefits of server hardware without a lot of the redundancy (such as dual CPU's and dual power supplies). Considering it is used for home I would personally go with the Core 2 Quad, it should be far more powerful than a Pentium dual core and be cheaper to upgrade.

clinty

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#1596592 22-Jul-2016 00:34

So do I stick with the HP, or use the Core 2 Quad and board ?

Do you have memory for the Core2 board? If not that may help make the decision :)

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#1596650 22-Jul-2016 08:40

gbwelly:

If it is working for you then leave it alone.

Were you expecting to put the new motherboard and CPU into the existing HP case? If so then you are likely to find it wont fit.

No, would be throwing the parts into a different case, with a decent PSU.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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#1596652 22-Jul-2016 08:41

clinty:

Do you have memory for the Core2 board? If not that may help make the decision :)

Yes, have had quite a few similar aged systems come into my possession over the past year, so stripped them of their RAM etc ;)

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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#1596653 22-Jul-2016 08:44

Guess I'll throw the Core 2 Quad system together over next week or so and start migrating non essential services over to it (ie: Plex) to ensure its stable before I put my mail/web server onto it.

And yes, I could run both systems (leave mail/web on the HP) but think the wife may have something to say about that - she dosent understand why I need one running 24/7 let alone two ;)

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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