Help needed to replace HP Proliant N54L

[Misant]

Hello,

I need some help to replace my old HP Proliant N54L.
I'm searching since 3 weeks something good to replace it but I'm afraid to make a mistake and waste my money.

Next, I will provide some information about what I search :

Must Have :

- Data storage (movies, pictures...) 6 SATA 3.5 disk (6*3 TB) RaidZ2
- Enough Power for transcoding Plex (1080p 1 - 2 client max)
- Possibility to upgrade later for transcoding 4k Plex (1 client 4K second 1080p)
- Low budget (max near ~~300€/340$ without Disk)
- Good cooling for HDD/CPU

Should have :

- Low noise (My N54L is in my living room and it's silent... idealy my new NAS should be in the same place but I'm on budget so if no choice I will put it in another place)
- (relatively) low power consumtion if possible
- IPMI (or equivalent)
- 32 GB ram mini

Don't care :

- Hot Swap
- Case form factor

I'm in France.. there is nothing intresting locally :(.
I don't have access to ebay US (too much fees :'( ). I have to buy from UK or Germany (and shipping cost are high)

What I already have :

- HP Proliant N54L
- 16 GB ECC UDIMM
- 3 x 3TB WD red 5400 rpm (4 but one is dying, 1 with 48K hour uptime and 2 with 8000)
- Antec P8 case (but I think it's useless)

Idealy I want to keep the N54L for backup of main NAS (currently critical data are dispatched and mirored on usb key, SD card, old HDD, SSD on gaming pc...)

What I found on Ebay :

Show

#### Supermicro CSE-825 W X9DR3-LN4F+ ####

https://www.ebay.fr/itm/Supermicro-...049230?hash=item2cec2ec58e:g:TngAAOSwIlhc-Ovm

Good :
- SuperMicro
- Good CPU socket
- 2 CPU (maybe ready for 4K Plex, 7904 passmark per cpu)
- 32 GB Registred ram
- 2 To I can use for my N54L (backup)
- All HDD caddies

BAD :
- Unknown raid controller, may have to buy HBA (over budget but should be ok)
- Only one PSU
- Noise ? Cooling ?

#### Supermicro X10SLM+-F ####

https://www.ebay.fr/itm/Supermicro-...618050?hash=item443ec117c2:g:kh8AAOSwNX1cAVgs

Good :
- SuperMicro
- Good CPU socket
- CPU OK for 1080p plex (7150 passmark)
- LSI SAS 9211

Bad :
- Ram is UDIMM (I think with this cpu) so it cost a lot to upgrade
- Only 24 GB ram
- Maybe all HDD caddy are empty... (have to ask)
- Maybe no PSU... (have to ask)
- Maybe no fan... (have to ask)
- Noise ? Cooling ?

Question :
- Only one cpu socket... can I upgrade later for 4K plex ?...

#### XYRATEX IBM HS-1235T ####

https://www.ebay.fr/itm/XYRATEX-6x2...876265?hash=item4b61e3f3e9:g:VecAAOSwTHlckQXP

Good :
- 12 To (don't have to buy more disk so I can upgrade CPU and ram for more power)
- LSI SAS9201 (it's in hardware guide P15)
- This socket use Registred ECC ram (cheap)

Bad :
- Old CPU socket, weak cpu
- Low ram
- This : https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/will-it-backup-freenas.73538/#post-509814

This is a SAS attached JBOD disk enclosure. It is not designed to be able to mount a standard system board so it can function as a stand-alone server. It is intended to attach to a separate server by external SAS cables, but some of the parts are missing.

- Noise ? Cooling ?
- Unknown brand...
- Unknown number of PSU... (have to ask)
- Unknown number of max cpu...

#### HP DL380 G7 Serveur Rack 2U ####

https://www.ebay.fr/itm/HP-DL380-G7...909039?hash=item3b21d8876f:g:Oa8AAOSwxOFaWMil

Good :
- 12 To (don't have to buy more disk so I can upgrade CPU and ram for more power)
- 2 CPU socket (easy upgrade for 4K plex)
- 48 GB ram, can use registred (cheap)
- 2 PSU

Bad :
- Useless raid controller, have to buy HBA
- Old CPU socket, weak cpu
- HP (???)
- Noise ? Cooling ?

#### Other option (I don't like it but budget is budget...) ####
- Keep my N54L for storage only, buy 5.25 to 3.5 rack and use Raidz2 with 5 x 3TB disk (I read it should be ok with compression)
- Buy a dedicated mini pc for plex (will do only transcoding)

#### I'm not afraid to buy parts and put them toggerters (already done on a lot of gaming pc) but shipping cost are a real issue so don't know what to buy with my budget... that's why I posted only retired servers.

Thanks for your help.
Regards

Misant.

 

[jenksdrummer]

Don't forget power consumption for those older servers. Om-nom-nom, next thing you know your power bill is double. Lots of power used, which is lots of heat, which is lots of fan noise...

Also, if you're not afraid to swap disks, swapping to fewer, larger drives can make things easier to shoehorn into a smaller lower-powered/lower-heat/lower-noise system. a 4-bay system is easier to come by than a 6-bay, for example.

 

[Inxsible]

Any server rack will usually not care about noise because they tend to be targeted to customers who put it in separate rooms. So they will all be noisy.

For the Supermicro X9, ask the seller what RAID controller is included. You might get lucky and get one that supports FreeNAS. All you might have to do is flash it to IT mode.

The Supermicro X10 based rack is also not a bad deal. Seems the RAM is included. Also you have a 16GB UDIMM which might work with the server if you want to increase the RAM by a few GB. (although, you didn't mention whether you had DDR3 or DDR4 -- just make sure they are compatible before trying to force it in.)

Not sure why UK and France vendors include HDDs in their sales. I wouldn't trust those HDDs at all and probably just toss them in the trash.

 

[Misant]

Thx for the replies it helped me.

I finally choose the the Supermicro X10 based rack because I found cheap memory sticks, it has only one CPU (less power, less heat, less noise...) and If I don't like rack it will be easy to put the motherboard in desktop chassis and sell the rack.
Also I changed my mind, transcoding 4K will only be needed in living room and for this a Nvidia shield or similar should be ok (and if not I hope an upgrade with a Xeon E3-1285L will work) . Other client (room "tv" with low power random computer pluged with hdmi on "small" full HD screen) will be happy with 1080p.

I also got 10% discount from ebay seller.

Last thing is this post :
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/first-build-uk-will-it-freenas.76418/post-531204

It's the same (from same ebay seller) but with 32 GB instead of 24 and as I saw during my search if it's validated by Chris Moore it's safe to go for it.

So I will have :

Supermicro X10SLM+-F
https://www.ebay.fr/itm/Supermicro-...618050?hash=item443ec117c2:g:kh8AAOSwNX1cAVgs

- Motherboad : X10SLM+-F
- CPU : Intel Xeon E3-1220 V3
- 1xPSU : PWS-563-1H 80 plus gold 560W low-line and 600W high-line
- 24 GB DDR3 : Kingston KVR1333D3E9S/8G DDR3 ECC Server RAM x3
- 8 x HDD caddies
- 120 GB SSD (Kingston)
- 500 GB HDD (will not be used)
- SC825 chassis
- LSI SAS 9211

I also ordered 2 * 8 GB DDR3 Kingston 8go KVR16E11/8 Unbuffered (I already have 2 of these in my Hp Proliant N54L) had a local seller with ultra low price :) (12,51 $ each stick)

I will swap memory so I will have 32 GB KVR16E11/8 in my new server and 16 GB KVR1333D3E9S in my N54L.
I will sell the last 8GB stick (no use)

I won't use the 500 GB HDD provided with server
I will use the SSD for OS (I know 120 GB is overkill)

Next things I will have to buy :

- 240 GB SSD (for torrent) because :
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/first-build-nas-plex-server.76956/post-535764
- 3 x 3TB WD RED 5400 RPM HDD (I will have 6 x 3TB) Done.
- Maybe a new heatsink for the cpu

I have some questions :

- Should I buy a new cpu heatsink ? I don't like the one provided with the server. It has a small fan on it and I don't know if I can trust it. Or just remove the fan and check if its ok with the airflow of the 3 other fan or put it in the other side (if it fail, airflow won't be blocked) :

- I want to remove all old thermal past (from cpu, HBA and other thing if possible). I can do this easly. I will use this :
https://www.ebay.fr/itm/Thermal-Gri...991077?hash=item520ba9bae5:g:XSAAAOSwzzVbJ1X4
or this :
https://www.ebay.fr/itm/Thermal-Gri...922303?hash=item1cc852517f:g:TeAAAOSw8PJcUSdH
I already have the two so don't have to buy anything. This kind of thermal past is used for overclocked gaming pc so it's good quality.
Do you think it's a good idea ?

- LSI SAS 9211 can use 8 sata disk. Should I put all 6 HDD and 2 SSD on it or use all the possible sata port on motherboard and if not enough use the LSI SAS 9211 ? (Maybe it does not change anything and if it's the case I will use the LSI SAS 9211 only)

- I read I will have to do some burnin tests before use the new server. Should I do this on the drive I already use or only on the future new drives ? It make sense to do it on SSD too ?

- Buy a second PSU is useless ? (If I remember I read that somewhere here)

- Any suggestion ? (something mandatory I forgot to do or buy...)

Thanks again for your help

Don't forget power consumption for those older servers. Om-nom-nom, next thing you know your power bill is double. Lots of power used, which is lots of heat, which is lots of fan noise...

Also, if you're not afraid to swap disks, swapping to fewer, larger drives can make things easier to shoehorn into a smaller lower-powered/lower-heat/lower-noise system. a 4-bay system is easier to come by than a 6-bay, for example.

Yep, I know it can (and will) increase my electrical bill significantly. So I took MB with one cpu and not too old. I don't want to use larger drives, I don't have money for this for the moment and I read it take a lot of time to resilver.

Any server rack will usually not care about noise because they tend to be targeted to customers who put it in separate rooms. So they will all be noisy.

Finally it will be in my garage so no issue with noise. I just hope it can handle negative temperature as insulation isn't realy good (but no humidity).

The Supermicro X10 based rack is also not a bad deal. Seems the RAM is included. Also you have a 16GB UDIMM which might work with the server if you want to increase the RAM by a few GB. (although, you didn't mention whether you had DDR3 or DDR4 -- just make sure they are compatible before trying to force it in.)

It's DDR3 :), 2 x 8 GB

Not sure why UK and France vendors include HDDs in their sales. I wouldn't trust those HDDs at all and probably just toss them in the trash.

Why you won't trust those HDD ? If properly tested and ok ? I ask this for my knowlege (I have bad feeling about unknown and used HDD but can't explain why so your vision of this may help)

Misant

 

[Inxsible]

Why you won't trust those HDD ? If properly tested and ok ? I ask this for my knowlege (I have bad feeling about unknown and used HDD but can't explain why so your vision of this may help)

The only reason is that used HDDs are just that -- used by someone other than you. You can check the SMART values like power on hours and errors etc. But you can never really tell how the original users kept it -- in terms of temperature of the unit which housed the HDD and the general cleanliness regarding dust build-up in the machine.

Used HDDs tend to fail at the worst time. I'd rather trust the HDDs that I have bought.

I will gladly use used hardware(after appropriate testing- of course). But I still shy away from used HDDs.

 

[Misant]

Ok thanks, I understand now. It's like used gaming CPU. You can't know if it was manually overclocked and if voltages and temps was good... (or worst, maybe it was used in a contest with ln2 and ultra high OC/voltage).

 

[Misant]

Hello,

Server received, HDD receveid and ram received :)

Actually burning HDD with hard disk sentinel

Got a ram stick with one micro capacitor broken (not from the ebay seller who sold me the server), so I think I can trash it... (someone can confirm ?)

I have question because maybe I have to order a new one or maybe it's useless.

I have :

24 GB DDR3 KVR16E11/8 (3 x 8GB) UDIMM 1600Mhz

24 GB DDR3 KVR1333D3E9S (2 x 8GB // 2 x 4GB) UDIMM 1333 Mhz ("native" ram provided with server)

What should i do ? Keep 24 GB ? buy a new 8GB 1600Mhz stick and go for 32 GB (75 $) ? Mix ram an go for 32 GB ? (Don't specialy like the idea of mixin brand and frequency...

thanks for your help

 

[Misant]

Hello,

Finally got a new 8GB stick KVR16E11/8. I have 32 GB ram now :)
I'm running memtest (24/48h I think). I'm using Memtest Pro from HCI design in dos mode.

I received a 240 GB SSD (crucial BX500) and here is why you should always test HDD and SSD before use....
I'm doing surface test with HDD sentinel, disk is brand new, outside the case and with a fan spinning on it (low end consumer grade fan)... current ambiant temp is 26°C :

Translation :
Crurent temp 74°C
Average temp 65.33°C
Max Temp 74°C

With this temperature, max speed is 100Mb/s with drop to 0-20Mb/s

===> I will send back this trash to amazon tomorow...