HP ProLiant MicroServer

I heard that they were finished doing the standard £100 (or whatever it is) cashback deals for the G7, from now on it'll be for the (much more expensive) G8.

witnessmenow

Sorry for digging this up a small bit, but has anyone used plex server on these?

Is it able for the transcoding?

I have one already, that I use as a download box/ NAS, but it would be nice to add plex to the arsenal if its able for it.

ballooba

Plex reaked havoc with my file permissions, so I got rid of it.

stimpson

witnessmenow wrote: »

Sorry for digging this up a small bit, but has anyone used plex server on these?

Is it able for the transcoding?

I have one already, that I use as a download box/ NAS, but it would be nice to add plex to the arsenal if its able for it.

When testing Plex I found it buffered a bit with the stock configuration when running 2 streams.

Once I stuck 8 gigs of RAM into it, I had it playing back a high bitrate BR rip, and transcoding 2 other movies to an iPad and an iPhone without issue. RAM usage settled at about 40%. CPU usage was fairly low IIRC.

Yakuza

I stuck 3 3TB WD Red drives into mine (and 8GB RAM). After waiting for (literally) days to format a 6TB RAID-5 drive under Windows 2012 on the (6TB Data, 3TB parity), I gave up and went with a 3TB RAID 1 (under Windows) and a 3TB standalone drive. Windows didn't like the built-in RAID 1 - I probably should have waited until I got the extra drives before installing anything, and I didn't want to go to the palaver of installing all my dev tools again, so I went with a software/Windows RAID volume. I use the machine primarily as a development machine, and it runs SQL Server 2012, Team Foundation Server Express and IIS fairly well. It's quiet as well (I don't put it through any strenuous loads compared to transcoding or streaming), even with the 4 drives humming away.

I was looking to get a second one (with the cashback offer) to use as a media server, but they're getting harder and harder to find. I had one ordered via Misco but cancelled after a month (they had a back order dating back to last June) so I might have to go for a Gen 8 when they've dipped in price a bit.

witnessmenow

stimpson wrote: »

When testing Plex I found it buffered a bit with the stock configuration when running 2 streams.

Once I stuck 8 gigs of RAM into it, I had it playing back a high bitrate BR rip, and transcoding 2 other movies to an iPad and an iPhone without issue. RAM usage settled at about 40%. CPU usage was fairly low IIRC.

Thanks for the info, I think I still only have the 2gb that came with it.

Are you using windows or linux as your OS?

stimpson

witnessmenow wrote: »

Thanks for the info, I think I still only have the 2gb that came with it.

Are you using windows or linux as your OS?

unRAID, which is a stripped down Slackware distro designed for serving media, with drive pooling, parity and web based config tools.

witnessmenow

stimpson wrote: »

unRAID, which is a stripped down Slackware distro designed for serving media, with drive pooling, parity and web based config tools.

Cool, its unix anyways, so hopefully I have similar results with Ubuntu server.

gerryk

ballooba wrote: »

Plex reaked havoc with my file permissions, so I got rid of it.

Really? In what way? I have been using it a few months now and have had no issues.

ballooba

gerryk wrote: »

Really? In what way? I have been using it a few months now and have had no issues.

It was a while ago, but if I recall correctly it changed the ownership of all files under the library directory to the plex user.

gerryk

ballooba wrote: »

It was a while ago, but if I recall correctly it changed the ownership of all files under the library directory to the plex user.

Ok... I can see how that would be a pain in the arse. I haven't seen that myself, but I created a group called 'media' and added myself (for remote access over SMB) and plex to the group, and then granted group rwx to the media directory + children. All seems fine.

vibe666

i'm nearly done with this, so here's something for all you microserver nas/media server groupies and fellow data hoarders to drool over. :pac:



give it a few years of hoarding data and you'll be here too.

this is me migrating from my old NAS to my new one (which is my old old NAS with newer, bigger HDD's in it).

the freenas one is a vmware virtual machine with eight 2tb samsung spinpoints as RDM's in RAIDZ2 which is basically (without going into the technical details) more or less the freenas equiv. of having RAID6 using the ZFS filesystem.

the new NAS is my old (previous) Thecus N7700 7 bay NAS with the old 1.5tb drives removed and five (for now) new 4tb hitachi deskstars using RAID6 and ZFS, with another 1tb or so unused space for expansion.

In the next month or so i'll be throwing another two 4tb disks in to fill the free disk bays and expanding it out to the full maximum 16tb (32bit OS limitation for a single volume on the NAS) and probably using the rest for iSCSI storage for vmware, although I might stay cautious and just use 6+1 spare in the last bay so I have a hot spare as I had a minor issue with bad blocks on one of the 4tb drives during the data migration, so probably better to be safe than sorry i reckon.

so, in the interests of 'NAS envy', has anyone got a bigger one?

stimpson

Photo is borked.

I'm nowhere near that kind of setup. Currently 2x3tb and 1x2TB WD reds. I have 4x1TB drives in an eSATA JBOD from my old setup which I'm planning on connection to the Microserver when I get to 80% capacity.

howamidifferent

vibe666 wrote: »

so, in the interests of 'NAS envy', has anyone got a bigger one?

Here's my last build...

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/w1zseunj8xxy6af/pAelWDeXxJ

stimpson

howamidifferent wrote: »

Here's my last build...

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/w1zseunj8xxy6af/pAelWDeXxJ

That's just mental. Have you considered counselling?

vibe666

stimpson wrote: »

Photo is borked.

should be de-borked now? :pac:

vibe666

howamidifferent wrote: »

Here's my last build...

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/w1zseunj8xxy6af/pAelWDeXxJ

there's always someone to make me feel like an amateur just around the corner! :pac:

what were the specs?

howamidifferent

vibe666 wrote: »

there's always someone to make me feel like an amateur just around the corner! :pac:

what were the specs?

I built it from the following after selling the two microservers I had in use along with a 8 bay external esata enclosure.


SuperMicro X9SCM-F Board
Intel Xeon E3-1230 v2 3.3GHz
16GB ECC RAM (4x4GB DDR3-1333)
HP Smart Array P410 256MB cache
HP SAS Expander 24 Port
X-Case RM 424 - 24 Hotswap Bay 6GB Mini SAS (SATA/SAS Backplane)

Has 20 x 2TB drives of various makes and models in it along with a 500GB boot disk. It's been setup and wiped numerous times over the past few months as I played with Hyper-V and ESXi. Its currently got Windows Server 2012 R2 on it with a few VM's to manage downloading, some learning labs and a few misc OS's to play with. I use FlexRaid to manage the storage. I dont want to rely on hardware raid...

stimpson

Here's my old Mac mini with hacked eSATA:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=72400343

That was replaced last Christmas with a 2012 Mac mini quad 2.6 ghz i7 with 16 gigs of ram and a 256 gig ssd /1tb fusion drive. A usb3 to eSATA adaptor allowed me to connect the eSATA box.

I have recently run CAT 5e to the spare bedroom for the microserver. The plan now is to sell the mini when I replace it with something cheap and silent to do plex playback.

paddyp

howamidifferent wrote: »

I built it from the following after selling the two microservers I had in use along with a 8 bay external esata enclosure.


SuperMicro X9SCM-F Board
Intel Xeon E3-1230 v2 3.3GHz
16GB ECC RAM (4x4GB DDR3-1333)
HP Smart Array P410 256MB cache
HP SAS Expander 24 Port
X-Case RM 424 - 24 Hotswap Bay 6GB Mini SAS (SATA/SAS Backplane)

Has 20 x 2TB drives of various makes and models in it along with a 500GB boot disk. It's been setup and wiped numerous times over the past few months as I played with Hyper-V and ESXi. Its currently got Windows Server 2012 R2 on it with a few VM's to manage downloading, some learning labs and a few misc OS's to play with. I use FlexRaid to manage the storage. I dont want to rely on hardware raid...

No need to worry about heating for the winter either with that running :pac::pac:

vibe666

just to make us ALL feel like rank amateurs...

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1393939



lol, wouldn't even make the top 20 with both NAS's combined.

Remouad

vibe666 wrote: »

just to make us ALL feel like rank amateurs...

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1393939



lol, wouldn't even make the top 20 with both NAS's combined.

197.4 TB??

Now we know who backs up the internet!

And I thought I had a lot with 8 tb.....

gerryk

Hehe... that's cute.

A medium sized LTE network will generate 10s of TB/day in performance and fault data... this is generally warehoused in raw form for ~90 days.

vibe666

apples and oranges. we're talking about home users here, not businesses. i'm currently sitting about 50m from several petabytes of storage for several of the largest companies in the country, but it bares no significance here.

gerryk

Yeah, I know... I was just having a bit of a laugh.

For personal use, though... that sort of storage is just nuts.

vibe666

i just read my previous reply back and it came across as really snarky (to me at least). not sure why, but apologies anyway.

i blame a hard day of muppet juggling at work!

arikv

Remouad wrote: »

197.4 TB??

Now we know who backs up the internet!

And I thought I had a lot with 8 tb.....

I hope he's not with Eircom's "Generous" allowance, otherwise he'll be paying for the upkeep of the entire Internet.

tonto2010

Folks is the cashback offer still available? a little confusing reading through the thread. If someone could link me to the server and cashback form I would appreciate it.

Thanks

tonto2010

tonto2010 wrote: »

Folks is the cashback offer still available?

Thanks

No, not currently and probably never again.

The N54Ls are discontinued and the replacement G8 Microserver is much more expensive and with a worse cashback (you need to buy a £100 switch with the server to qualify).

tonto2010

Ahh well, thought as much. Can someone stick an expired tag on this thread so others know.

Cheers

rovoagho

The G8 is just new to market, they're hardly going to start knocking them out cheap at the start. It'll probably be next year before they come down in price on a similar deal, but it'll happen. They wouldn't have done the 40 and 54 deals if the 36 (and subsequently 40) deals weren't successful for them.

witnessmenow

witnessmenow wrote: »

Cool, its unix anyways, so hopefully I have similar results with Ubuntu server.

I installed plex on my server last night and it seems to be working fine with just the stock amount of RAM. I didnt try it too much but seemed to stream to the Now Tv perfectly fine.

takes a good while to scan, but thats understandable

stimpson

witnessmenow wrote: »

I installed plex on my server last night and it seems to be working fine with just the stock amount of RAM. I didnt try it too much but seemed to stream to the Now Tv perfectly fine.

takes a good while to scan, but thats understandable

Directplay won't tax the RAM too much. Transcoding is what puts it through its paces.

gctest50

vibe666 wrote: »

i just read my previous reply back and it came across as really snarky (to me at least). not sure why, but apologies anyway.

i blame a hard day of muppet juggling at work!

there a cat for that :P , print and stick on yer desk :

thesteve

Blinked_Missed It wrote: »

Sorry to wreck everyones head with this but how are people getting their orders processed with ebuyer.com. Im' getting rejected with my Irish visa and my paypal linked to that visa. What method is everyone using?

I ordered via elara the last time I bought one of these. Ebuyer couldn't accept an order from Ireland last time I tried to order anything from them (over 2 years ago now)

vibe666

thesteve wrote: »

I ordered via elara the last time I bought one of these. Ebuyer couldn't accept an order from Ireland last time I tried to order anything from them (over 2 years ago now)

if the price is right at ebuyer then parcel motel is the way to go.

thesteve

vibe666 wrote: »

if the price is right at ebuyer then parcel motel is the way to go.

True, I didn't know of this service back then but iirc, they blocked the transaction based on the payment source and not the delivery location. Could be wrong though!

tonto2010

tonto2010 wrote: »

Folks is the cashback offer still available? a little confusing reading through the thread. If someone could link me to the server and cashback form I would appreciate it.

Thanks

Deleted User wrote: »

No, not currently and probably never again.

Cashback is back! I knew it would be

http://h41225.www4.hp.com/UK_focus/PA0074%20-%20HP%20Microserver%20%C2%A3100%20Cashback%20September%202013%20v3.pdf?jumpid=re_r10104_uk/en/ent/tsg/promoindex-ot-xx-pu-golden_offers_smb/chev-hp_microse_17923/

vibe666

also great value on the 3yr HP care pack for £20 too if you get it with the microserver.

HP Care Pack for only £20!
Enhance your MicroServer’s warranty with 3 Years onsite cover
with HP Care Pack (details below). If we are unable to rectify a fault
over the phone and need to send out an engineer, you will incur no
additional charge, plus parts and labour costs are also included.
In support of this offer, attach HP Care Pack (UR482E) and claim a
further £76 cash back - making the price of your HP Care Pack just
£20!

Nforce

Deleted User wrote: »

Cashback is back! I knew it would be

http://h41225.www4.hp.com/UK_focus/PA0074%20-%20HP%20Microserver%20%C2%A3100%20Cashback%20September%202013%20v3.pdf?jumpid=re_r10104_uk/en/ent/tsg/promoindex-ot-xx-pu-golden_offers_smb/chev-hp_microse_17923/

Cheers!

Just picked up another one of these from http://www.serversdirect.co.uk/Hewlett_Packard_HP_Micro_G7_N54L_NHP_250GB_EU_Svr_704941-421/version.asp . Cost me £206 inc. delivery.

johnybean

Nforce wrote: »

Cheers!

Just picked up another one of these from http://www.serversdirect.co.uk/Hewlett_Packard_HP_Micro_G7_N54L_NHP_250GB_EU_Svr_704941-421/version.asp . Cost me £206 inc. delivery.

Sorry to repeat one of the questions that has been asked a trillion times on this thread but how did you pay for this? I just did a livechat with one of their staff and they said that the only method of payment that they would accept would be bank transfer. Was hoping to use Visa debit card and deliver to Parcel Motel

Nforce

johnybean wrote: »

Sorry to repeat one of the questions that has been asked a trillion times on this thread but how did you pay for this? I just did a livechat with one of their staff and they said that the only method of payment that they would accept would be bank transfer. Was hoping to use Visa debit card and deliver to Parcel Motel

I paid using visa debit card with delivery direct to ROI. Order went through no problem.

johnybean

Thanks for that. Now to home and run it by the "accountant" :cool:

Nforce

Do as I did. Purchase first and apologise for it afterwards.

vibe666

johnybean wrote: »

Thanks for that. Now to home and run it by the "accountant" :cool:

protip: make sure you lead in with how much money you'll SAVE by buying it.

also, try and avoid comparing it to a shoe or handbag purchase, for some bizarre reason this just seems to rile them up?

johnybean

vibe666 wrote: »

protip: make sure you lead in with how much money you'll SAVE by buying it.

also, try and avoid comparing it to a shoe or handbag purchase, for some bizarre reason this just seems to rile them up?

Nforce wrote: »

Do as I did. Purchase first and apologise for it afterwards.

Just sprayed coffee all over my keyboard, thanks:D

ringside

Consider amazon.de http://www.amazon.de/Micro-NAS-Server-Turion-keine-4-Bay/dp/B00AKWUUXU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1378130994&sr=8-2&keywords=n54l

comes in at €280 plus shipping rather than (€457-€120) €337 plus shipping and you don't have the hassle of having to claim back the money. Amazon.de are cheaper for lots of electronic goods despite the slightly higher shipping costs.

Remouad

vibe666 wrote: »

protip: make sure you lead in with how much money you'll SAVE by buying it.

That's what she said!

vibe666 wrote: »

also, try and avoid comparing it to a shoe or handbag purchase, for some bizarre reason this just seems to rile them up?

Using reason is never a good idea. Best approach is explain why your actually buying it for her....

johnybean

ringside wrote: »

Consider amazon.de http://www.amazon.de/Micro-NAS-Server-Turion-keine-4-Bay/dp/B00AKWUUXU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1378130994&sr=8-2&keywords=n54l

comes in at €280 plus shipping rather than (€457-€120) €337 plus shipping and you don't have the hassle of having to claim back the money. Amazon.de are cheaper for lots of electronic goods despite the slightly higher shipping costs.

Serversdirect are selling the HP for £202 delivered less the cashback of £100=£102 final cost of the server. You also have to buy the server off a HP approved seller to be able to claim the cashback and I'm not sure if any of the sellers on Amazon are approved

ringside

johnybean wrote: »

Serversdirect are selling the HP for £202 delivered less the cashback of £100=£102 final cost of the server. You also have to buy the server off a HP approved seller to be able to claim the cashback and I'm not sure if any of the sellers on Amazon are approved

You can't claim the money back from Amazon but it still works out cheaper than ordering in from an authorised HP reseller and getting the money back. The shipping from amazon.de was very reasonable the last time I did this. hpshop is €10 and amazon.de was ca €20 so you're still ahead