HP ProLiant MicroServer

johnybean

Maybe I'm missing something but isn't the server you linked to on Amazon.de €280 + shipping, the server linked to from servers direct will come to a total of £102 once you get the cash back. How is Amazon.de cheaper?

ringside

johnybean wrote: »

Maybe I'm missing something but isn't the server you linked to on Amazon.de €280 + shipping, the server linked to from servers direct will come to a total of £102 once you get the cash back. How is Amazon.de cheaper?

Sorry - I was comparing the price to hpshop.ie http://www.hpshop.ie/hp-proliant-g7-n54l-708245-425.html

The price that you quoted on http://www.serversdirect.co.uk/Hewlett_Packard_HP_Micro_G7_N54L_NHP_250GB_EU_Svr_704941-421/version.asp is far better. However the price is with a note that it is after the reduction already. I make it out to be €215 plus shipping when VAT of 17.5% and google convert £ to € which is still much much cheaper than my €280 plus shipping from Amazon.de.

However to further muddy the waters amazon.de have http://www.amazon.de/ProLiant-MicroServer-Hot-Plug-f%C3%A4hig-Netzteil-Server/dp/B00AHQUX86/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378135378&sr=8-1&keywords=n54l which is €216 plus shipping and more closely matches the spec from serversdirect. Other than 2GB of RAM, I'm not sure what the difference is between the two boxes on amazon.de but I guess at the end of the day it's a great price for a great box. My original N36L had been running VMware for the last 2.5 years and been down for a total of 60mins during that whole time. Real work horse and I regularly RDP into Win7 on it and it does not feel slow.

stimpson

ringside wrote: »

Sorry - I was comparing the price to hpshop.ie http://www.hpshop.ie/hp-proliant-g7-n54l-708245-425.html

The price that you quoted on http://www.serversdirect.co.uk/Hewlett_Packard_HP_Micro_G7_N54L_NHP_250GB_EU_Svr_704941-421/version.asp is far better. However the price is with a note that it is after the reduction already. I make it out to be €215 plus shipping when VAT of 17.5% and google convert £ to € which is still much much cheaper than my €280 plus shipping from Amazon.de.

However to further muddy the waters amazon.de have http://www.amazon.de/ProLiant-MicroServer-Hot-Plug-f%C3%A4hig-Netzteil-Server/dp/B00AHQUX86/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378135378&sr=8-1&keywords=n54l which is €216 plus shipping and more closely matches the spec from serversdirect. Other than 2GB of RAM, I'm not sure what the difference is between the two boxes on amazon.de but I guess at the end of the day it's a great price for a great box. My original N36L had been running VMware for the last 2.5 years and been down for a total of 60mins during that whole time. Real work horse and I regularly RDP into Win7 on it and it does not feel slow.

As was said before, you need to ensure it's an authourised UK HP reseller. You WILL NOT get cashback from german sellers. Check out the terms on the PDF.

Amazon.co.uk have one here for £223 delivered: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AKWUUXU/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1TFCEATB7YM20KWD5Q4H&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=418448347&pf_rd_i=468294


But check if amazon are official resellers by mailing promotions@out-bound.co.uk

And Amazon marketplace sellers are different to amazon, so ensure you're not buying from a marketplace seller (unless approved)

johnybean

Serversdirect have just upped the price to £288 + delivery the sh**s:eek::eek:
I emailed them and they said that prices will be updated tomorrow.
Ebuyer are out of stock and Insight UK still have the box priced at £363 + delivery.
God dam it!

Nforce

Still showing for me at £156.67?

http://www.serversdirect.co.uk/Hewlett_Packard_HP_Micro_G7_N54L_NHP_250GB_EU_Svr_704941-421/version.asp

johnybean

Nforce wrote: »

Still showing for me at £156.67?

http://www.serversdirect.co.uk/Hewlett_Packard_HP_Micro_G7_N54L_NHP_250GB_EU_Svr_704941-421/version.asp

Thats Ex VAT, comes to £288 + delivery when you add to basket. That £156.67 price was approx £76 an hour ago.

Nforce

Ooops..yep..just spotted that, though looking on the bright side of it...

My "accountant" will be even more pleased when I mention just how much of a bargain this was!

johnybean

Nforce wrote: »

Ooops..yep..just spotted that, though looking on the bright side of it...

My "accountant" will be even more pleased when I mention just how much of a bargain this was!

Elara have it on their site for €232 and free delivery, if that's before the €120 cashback then that's pretty good, out of stock at the moment though. Due back in stock on the 9th apparently

Nforce

I just checked my account and the order is showing Awaiting Stock, despite being in stock when I placed the order.
I've sent them a mail to find out when it'll come back into stock.

johnybean

Nforce wrote: »

I just checked my account and the order is showing Awaiting Stock, despite being in stock when I placed the order.
I've sent them a mail to find out when it'll come back into stock.

When I contacted them today regarding the price jump they said that they didn't have any more stock at the original price and to check back tomorrow but they wouldn't confirm what price it would be, I'd say they realised that they were the cheapest online and bumped the price but I'd say you're ok, surely they can't try and cancel your order and try and charge you the "new" price

Nforce

Just got a reply from them..replacement stock due in 12/09/2013.

johnybean

Nforce wrote: »

Just got a reply from them..replacement stock due in 12/09/2013.

Wonder what price they'll be charging

stimpson

Damn you bargian alerts - I don't need another one, but I want to buy one cause it's such a bargain.

johnybean

Anyone purchased from Serverplus? They have 100 in stock and total price comes to £202 + £6.95 delivery if you use Parcel Motel

johnybean

Ok, just pulled the trigger on serverplus, hopefully order doesn't get cancelled or anything.
Made the order with Visa Debit card, used Parcel Motel as delivery address and used voucher code of MSFREENDUK for free delivery when using PM.
Total price comes to £203.95 which has been debited from my account so hopefully order goes through and I can finally get my hands on this bargain.

Remouad

stimpson wrote: »

Damn you bargian alerts - I don't need another one, but I want to buy one cause it's such a bargain.

I feel your pain. I'm thinking the same thing. No logical reason to buy one but deal is just so damn good!

danoriordan1402

Would this work ok as a home NAS, maybe stick a torrent client on it - looks a bargain..

Also will it be too big package wise for parcel motel?

stimpson

danoriordan1402 wrote: »

Would this work ok as a home NAS, maybe stick a torrent client on it - looks a bargain..

I'd be surprised if anyone on here uses it for anything else!

vibe666

stimpson wrote: »

I'd be surprised if anyone on here uses it for anything else!

would be ideal to set up a server lab environment running ESXi to help someone get a few IT qualifications under their belt.

even get 3 of them and use 2 for a vmware cluster and the other one as shared storage for it.

you'd need more RAM in them, but it would work a treat and would use a shedload less power than the usual 2nd hand ebay rackmount servers that people usually go for. not to mention being a whole heap quieter.

stimpson

vibe666 wrote: »

would be ideal to set up a server lab environment running ESXi to help someone get a few IT qualifications under their belt.

even get 3 of them and use 2 for a vmware cluster and the other one as shared storage for it.

you'd need more RAM in them, but it would work a treat and would use a shedload less power than the usual 2nd hand ebay rackmount servers that people usually go for. not to mention being a whole heap quieter.

Thanks vibe - now I have an excuse.

Where's me credit card?

claytonie

johnybean wrote: »

Ok, just pulled the trigger on serverplus, hopefully order doesn't get cancelled or anything.
Made the order with Visa Debit card, used Parcel Motel as delivery address and used voucher code of MSFREENDUK for free delivery when using PM.
Total price comes to £203.95 which has been debited from my account so hopefully order goes through and I can finally get my hands on this bargain.

Ordered from serversplus at 16:45 yesterday afternoon and its was received at ParcelMotel in Belfast at 13:52 today. Impressed I am Now roll on Friday so I can play.

Kingkong

Hey Claytonie,

Im lookng at this and wana get one.

Damn Bargain Alerts.

Ive a few Questions

1. What is the price before and after HP Rebate (do I get £100 back)
2. I need this for storage/plex/Remote desktop - Is this hard to do / expensive
3. I have UPC does connecting this to the router sound ok or do I need to invest in better network hardware
4. Where is the best place to pick up more RAM/ Hard Drives Space?

Tks, Sry for the stupid Qs

positron

johnybean, Claytonie and others, I was looking for a NAS setup for a while, but this looks ideal for what I want to do. A few questions though...

* Did you guys go for the additional 3 year warranty for £20 - sounds like great value to get 2 additional years of warranty for 20 sterling.
* I hope to achieve the following with this once setup:
- share couple of hard disks on the wireless network so that laptops, PS3 and smart TV can read and play media including 1080p mkvs (DLNA?)
- be able to copy photos and stuff from laptops whenever
- run uTorrent or something similar
- Wake on Wireless etc to save power

How much of this is feasible, perhaps basic Windows 7 as OS?

positron

PS: It says this on their 'claim form - terms and conditions - end user' part:

This promotion is only available to end user customers based in the UK and does not apply where product will be resold or leased. Claims
must be submitted by the end user customer only. This offer is not open to employees of participating stockists or anyone connected with
the promotion. Resellers may not submit claims on behalf of their customers.

I am not sure if this is applicable to cash back as well as the offer for extended warranty for £20, or if it's just for the warranty. It's a bit messy. Why wouldn't HP / retail partners reduce the cashback on the first instance and make life easier for everyone, darnnit.

paddyp

positron wrote: »

It's a bit messy. Why wouldn't HP / retail partners reduce the cashback on the first instance and make life easier for everyone, darnnit.

Its like gift vouchers only 40-60% of people will ever claim the money.

Nforce

positron wrote: »

johnybean, Claytonie and others, I was looking for a NAS setup for a while, but this looks ideal for what I want to do. A few questions though...

* Did you guys go for the additional 3 year warranty for £20 - sounds like great value to get 2 additional years of warranty for 20 sterling.
* I hope to achieve the following with this once setup:
- share couple of hard disks on the wireless network so that laptops, PS3 and smart TV can read and play media including 1080p mkvs (DLNA?)
- be able to copy photos and stuff from laptops whenever
- run uTorrent or something similar
- Wake on Wireless etc to save power

How much of this is feasible, perhaps basic Windows 7 as OS?

I do all of the above with my current HP server ( I'm running Win 12 Server but Win 7 will do the job). For streaming 1080p video I'd recommend using powerline network plugs as wireless streaming probably won't be up to the job.

positron

Sounds great. I don't have much 1080p stuff anyway, so I can live with that.

On the OS side of things, Windows Server 12 would cost a fair whack, wouldn't it? I was thinking Windows or freeNAS... but then again I don't really fancy messing around with *nix and Vi editor too much either. Everyone is probably tired of talking OS choices with a thread this long - I'll read back and figure out. Thanks again!

arikv

I'm not Claytonie but I'll answer anyway.

Kingkong wrote: »

Hey Claytonie,

Im lookng at this and wana get one.

Damn Bargain Alerts.

Ive a few Questions

1. What is the price before and after HP Rebate (do I get £100 back)
>Not sure, I'll let someone else answer.

2. I need this for storage/plex/Remote desktop - Is this hard to do / expensive
>No, you can use free OS, Plex server is free.

3. I have UPC does connecting this to the router sound ok or do I need to invest in better network hardware
>No, if you set up a Server on the Microserver, just give it an IP of say 192.168.1.200 on the same IP Range as the router, use the router IP 192.168.1.1 as the gateway, no need to change anything on the router (unless you're building a network and for that DNS and Firewall rules are to be set up.

4. Where is the best place to pick up more RAM/ Hard Drives Space?
Amazon/ebay, from a reputable seller or one of the UK websites.

Tks, Sry for the stupid Qs

positron

Okay, so I am in. I have placed an order wtih ServerPlus via ParcelMotel. Total is 212.28, of which 6.xx is 'Next Day Delivery' shipping. They couldn't quote me shipping to the Republic, asked me to ring, so I went with Parcel Motel Newry address. With cashback, hopefully this works out as £112.28 + €3.50 Parcel Motel = < €140. I am happy with that - although I do need to source more RAM. If anyone has any sticks lying around, I can collect around Dublin - Drogheda. Thanks in advance.

Oh, I see that ServersDirect has dropped the price back to sensible levels again. Yesterday(Tuesday) they were the cheapest, then they bumped up the price to £288 + delivery (according to johnybean) and now its back down to £225 or so including 12 euro 3 day delivery to Ireland (no need for ParcelMotel).

Jonathan

positron wrote: »

although I do need to source more RAM. If anyone has any sticks lying around, I can collect around Dublin - Drogheda. Thanks in advance.

I have 2 * 1GB EEC DDR3 DIMMS that originally came with my Microserver if you are interested.

johnybean

positron wrote: »

johnybean, Claytonie and others, I was looking for a NAS setup for a while, but this looks ideal for what I want to do. A few questions though...

* Did you guys go for the additional 3 year warranty for £20 - sounds like great value to get 2 additional years of warranty for 20 sterling.
I didn't bother with this option
* I hope to achieve the following with this once setup:
- share couple of hard disks on the wireless network so that laptops, PS3 and smart TV can read and play media including 1080p mkvs (DLNA?)
- be able to copy photos and stuff from laptops whenever
- run uTorrent or something similar
- Wake on Wireless etc to save power
These boxes are designed to run 24/7 and are very low powered so I wouldn't worry too much about turning the server on and off, you can set the hard drives to spin down after a period of inactivity which is a more efficient method of saving power.

How much of this is feasible, perhaps basic Windows 7 as OS?

As Nforce said, all of the above can be achieved fairly handy, I think I might go ahead and get Windows 7 just for ease of use but I might just mess around with a few OS's for a while as I am in no panic to get this set up, I just wanted to get it at the reduced price, probably wont get it up and running for a month or 2. Another user on her called PogMoThoin had a pretty sweet setup detailed here(Its a couple of posts down) He set up his microserver with Win7 due to ease of use. Unfortunately he has since closed his account but you can go back through his older posts for some good ideas.

stimpson

I'd advise any new purchasers to take the time to read this thread from start to finish. There is tons of useful information beyond the questions that are being asked here.

rovoagho

Jonathan wrote: »

I have 2 * 1GB EEC DDR3 DIMMS that originally came with my Microserver if you are interested.

He should replace his with yours? Is yours magic?

Yakuza

stimpson wrote: »

Damn you bargian alerts - I don't need another one, but I want to buy one cause it's such a bargain.

LOL, same here. I'd given up on getting a second tower when I had one on back order with Misco for over a month in July/August. I was sort of relieved that the decision had been taken out of my hands and that I wouldn't have to explain to the missus why we're getting another PC in the house. Now I've just had to order one through ServersPlus (free delivery via PM and the MSFREENDUK voucher code). At that price (£203.94, not even counting the cashback voucher), it would be rude not to.

Nforce

Just got word that my server is despatched!

positron

I placed an order just past midnight and order status was "SHIPPED" when I checked around 11 am. They are fairly quick alright.

PS: Darn darn darn, forgot to use that voucher code last night.

positron

Jonathan wrote: »

I have 2 * 1GB EEC DDR3 DIMMS that originally came with my Microserver if you are interested.

Thanks Jonathan, I will take one if mine comes with a 2GB DIMM and a slot to spare. Will come back. Thanks again.

witnessmenow

I have mine set up using Ubuntu Server LTS (12.04 I believe) if I was setting it up again I would just use Ubuntu Desktop LTS as I installed XFCE as a desktop environment anyways and it was a decent amount of effort and I dont think its as good as the one that comes with ubuntu. Go for the LTS as a regular version constantly looks for updates.

Some things I have set up on it (feel free to ask me for more information on anything)

• Network Share (SMB)
• VNC Server
• Web Server
• Plex Server
• PS3 Media Server
• Subsonic Server
• Qbittorrent client - (I am using a torrent RSS feed so it automatically downloads things when they become available, Qbittorrent allows you to set up rules to make it download certain files to different folders, I also have it set up to email me when a file is finished. It has a web interface aswell, so you can go to it on your laptop or whatever and add a file then you can shutdown your laptop or whatever. Also if you have an android phone have a look at "Transdroid", its really good.

danoriordan1402

where would be the best/cheapest place to pick up a set of disks for this server - great thread by the way, very informative

twigsirl

"This promotion is only available to end user customers based in the UK"

So no £100 rebate to us here in Ireland at all?

stimpson

twigsirl wrote: »

"This promotion is only available to end user customers based in the UK"

So no £100 rebate to us here in Ireland at all?

If you email the address on the form they will send you out a euro claim form.

stimpson

danoriordan1402 wrote: »

where would be the best/cheapest place to pick up a set of disks for this server - great thread by the way, very informative

What size drives are you looking for? I like Amazon for free delivery and no hassle returns. I'm sure you can find the same drive cheaper elsewhere. hardwareversand.de are popular.

You can get WD green drives cheap enough, but I paid a few bob more and got WD reds - designed for NAS boxes and a 3 year warranty.

danoriordan1402

Will prob start with 2 x 2tb ones initially - , I usually get my stuff off Amazon also, will have a good trawl around there

Yakuza

I bought 3 3TB Western Digital Red drives from www.dabs.ie - very quiet and very reliable so far.

rovoagho

I've been buying one of these every week or two, albeit direct from Amazon, can't find the Amazon listing right now. My N54L has 4 in it now, and I've another 2 in a rack-mounted box in Cork Internet Exchange. Haven't had any problems so far.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006H32Q3S

One slot still available in the 54.

Dravokivich

stimpson wrote: »

If you email the address on the form they will send you out a euro claim form.

Can someone attach a form they received? Or are the unique to the claimant?

studentgrant

Has anyone received there’s yet via parcel motel? Only I was wondering with packaging would it fit in there containers, the largest is 41 X 38 X 64 cm

kaltz

Yep. I got mine throughout parcel motel and it fits in one of the bigger lockers.

studentgrant

Thanks kaltz, think I might have to order one. Serverrplus seem the cheapest.

vibe666

danoriordan1402 wrote: »

where would be the best/cheapest place to pick up a set of disks for this server - great thread by the way, very informative

depending on what you're looking for, scan.co.uk, overclockers.co.uk, amazon.co.uk, dabs.ie, elara.ie, komplett.ie just pcik the drive you want and see who has it cheapest (don't forget delivery costs) on any given day, as it can fluctuate.

if you're not in an urgent rush, give flubit a go. tell them what you want and how many and they'll usually find it cheaper within 48 hours.

personally, depending on what you'd be using them for and your budget, WD's are always a good bet, red, blue, green or black, look into them and pick your colour based on what your plans are for it.

i just bought seven 4tb hitachi deskstars which are pretty popular with the enthusiast NAS crowd at the moment (bought in 3 batches from different sellers over several months) and quite reasonable price wise, but two of them have a habit of crapping themselves (a lot of I/O errors) on long, heavy write operations for some reason which is causing them to drop out of the RAID6 volume they are members of, so i might have to RMA them which is a bit of a bitch.

oddly though though, scans show up clean on both disks and they rebuild fine if i pull them and then put them back in again, but i'm not feeling the love with them. the problem is, i'm not sure if an RMA will get them replaced or not if they look to be functioning normally.