Alwaysonacoffebreak Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Hey, I'm planing to buy a used server for home usage. There will be couple of uses for it. File sharing between desktop and the server, hosting a couple of game servers (CSS and CSGO) and basically file storage (but nothing big - around 250-500gb worth) and maybe finally move two websites onto it if possible (low traffic mostly, gaming forum and such) I've looked at eBay but can't really decide how much horsepower I actually need for this kind of thing.. Thanks for Your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindovermaster Moderator Posted October 31, 2014 Moderator Share Posted October 31, 2014 Why not go with a HP Prolient system? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc302 Veteran Posted October 31, 2014 Veteran Share Posted October 31, 2014 You can make anything into a "server". The question is do you need business quality, always up, hardware or can you get away with pc grade equipment. You can pick up a small dell server or a small hp server for under 1000 new but they aren't any better than a pc with a name that states "server". You could make your own "server" out of pc hardware and call it a day. You can look here for some ideas http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=hp+microserver&N=-1&isNodeId=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbamaris Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Be mindful of noise too, Most older servers generate a lot of noise... Dell PowerEdge servers are pretty noisy... For your uses, it would be more logical to get a used business desktop... like a Dell Optiplex system... but you also want to consider clock speed for game servers... higher clock speed is better. If you however are looking for something with RAID / hotswap hard drives... an HP Proliant's are generally not as loud... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alwaysonacoffebreak Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 Okay, I finally decided to go with an used server. While not the newest hardware on the block it still has some life in it and probably more than enough for me. This one to be exact. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-CS24-Twin-2x-Quad-Core-Xeon-L5420-24GB-RAM-SATA-RAID-1U-C1100-Web-Server-/121453910854?pt=UK_Computing_Servers&hash=item1c47379b46 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n_K Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Okay, I finally decided to go with an used server. While not the newest hardware on the block it still has some life in it and probably more than enough for me. This one to be exact. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-CS24-Twin-2x-Quad-Core-Xeon-L5420-24GB-RAM-SATA-RAID-1U-C1100-Web-Server-/121453910854?pt=UK_Computing_Servers&hash=item1c47379b46 It's an old dell... As an owner of an old dell, be prepared for constant loud noise, if you leave it running in your room where you sleep 24/7, it will take you a few days/nights to adjust to the noise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alwaysonacoffebreak Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 It's an old dell... As an owner of an old dell, be prepared for constant loud noise, if you leave it running in your room where you sleep 24/7, it will take you a few days/nights to adjust to the noise. Oh, it's not staying in the same room. It'll stay in the hallway most likely. (Pantry should be the right word I think?) And since it's kinda dirt cheap I think it's more than enough for me to start up :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim K Global Moderator Posted November 2, 2014 Global Moderator Share Posted November 2, 2014 It is loud. Just sayin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alwaysonacoffebreak Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 It is loud. Just sayin Just looked up a full load noise test...holy cow. Are HP's from that time any better maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian M. Veteran Posted November 2, 2014 Veteran Share Posted November 2, 2014 For what you're doing - you really don't need anything powerful. A HP micro server will be more than powerful enough for file sharing and apache, and will be almost silent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alwaysonacoffebreak Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 I seriously doubt that an dual core can handle all that workload I have planed. The "dual cores" are pretty crappy at holding up game servers. I've actually tried that before (not with server CPU's but still..) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim K Global Moderator Posted November 2, 2014 Global Moderator Share Posted November 2, 2014 Just looked up a full load noise test...holy cow. Are HP's from that time any better maybe? (lik I don't know of any rack units (1u, 2u, etc) that are "quiet". I would stick with some of the other recommendations....a simple repurposed desktop pc can serve as a webserver/gameserver (or like Brian mentioned...the HP Powerserver). You also have to look at your outgoing data...that will probably be your biggest bottleneck....not the processing power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n_K Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Just looked up a full load noise test...holy cow. Are HP's from that time any better maybe? I've got a dell poweredge 2950 and a hp prolient DL160 G6 and used to have older dells too, 2650, etc. The 2950 is by far the loudest and sounds like a jet engine when you remove the cover, the DL160 doesn't have a sensor cover and so fan speed is purely dependent upon temperature and is by far the quietest server I've ever had, and the over servers, dell 2650 etc. are all louder than the HP but quieter than the 2950. For what you're doing - you really don't need anything powerful. A HP micro server will be more than powerful enough for file sharing and apache, and will be almost silent. This. You don't really need proper server hardware, it's pushed to be in as small a space as possible and is designed to be cooled using air conditioning in a properly ventilated rack mount. If you want something powerful enough for games, make much less noise, etc. then just get a dell tower or make your own tower, gpu can be integrated, won't need ECC RAM or intel Xeon which will reduce the cost quite a bit and will have lower latency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jones111 Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 A good server is noisy even today. This is because the rack servers are flat and have multiple small fans to compensate one or two that are not working properly anymore. Choosing the right hardware can be quite difficult for servers mainly because you have to ask yourself how important uptime and data throughput is for you. Uptime is guaranteed by components being replaceable while the server is running and server clusters so you can move your applications to another system while you're doing maintenance tasks. A good server should have two power supplies. The os, website and database reside on SSDs, and large data on SATA or SAS drives. You should at least configure a RAID level of 1 for all of your data. If you've got enough drives, you should configure a RAID 5 with a spare drive that automatically kicks in once another drive fails. Mind that servers often have custom slots that can only be populated with drives from the same manufacturer. A server as powerful as you've chosen can run Virtual Machines. VMs cut only a little bit of your performance if you choose the right tools to virtualize. Server 2008 R2 and newer has Hyper-V built-in for free which is a great tool for small clusters or single server setups. ESX is also possible but harder to configure. I don't know of a similar free tool for Linux and VirtualBox is just crap for people who want to play a bit. VMs allow you to separate local services and data from public services and data. This allows you to have a demilitarized zone without having to buy additional hardware. If you have another server, you can move the VMs to that server as simple as clicking three times with your mouse. Two network ports allow you to configure teaming to double data throughput or connecting one to your lan and one to your internet connection. Also, if one adapter fails, you still have access via another one. The low price of your ebay server can be explained very simple. First, the server has nearly no spare parts. Second, it has no remote control card that is available when the OS does not respond anymore. Third, it has no external connectors for storage hardware - meaning that you will have to use only four drives configured with RAID 1 wich reduces the usable number to 2! Alwaysonacoffebreak 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alwaysonacoffebreak Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 Thank You for a very detailed post. The low price of your ebay server can be explained very simple. First, the server has nearly no spare parts. Second, it has no remote control card that is available when the OS does not respond anymore. Third, it has no external connectors for storage hardware - meaning that you will have to use only four drives configured with RAID 1 wich reduces the usable number to 2! These wont really be a big probleem since this server will be my first and even if the game servers go down then no harm done. You wouldnt believe how many "older" parts we have moving around here so parts are no problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusi0n Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 You can get a used Dell Poweredge 1950 dual quadcore cpu with 32GB of ram pretty cheap on ebay.. $300ish.. cheaper if you go down on the ram and go to dual core cpus.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alwaysonacoffebreak Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 You can get a used Dell Poweredge 1950 dual quadcore cpu with 32GB of ram pretty cheap on ebay.. $300ish.. cheaper if you go down on the ram and go to dual core cpus.. Care to show me some? :) International delivery would be perfered. I have only looked trough UK ebay since they deliver to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+LogicalApex MVC Posted November 2, 2014 MVC Share Posted November 2, 2014 I don't know of any rack units (1u, 2u, etc) that are "quiet". I would stick with some of the other recommendations....a simple repurposed desktop pc can serve as a webserver/gameserver (or like Brian mentioned...the HP Powerserver). You also have to look at your outgoing data...that will probably be your biggest bottleneck....not the processing power. My Dell R620 and my Lenovo RD630 are both very quiet rack servers. Newer generation rack servers are quiet. Just be sure to keep the room ambient temp low as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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