HP ProLiant MicroServer

GekkePrutser · 19-01-2015 7:22pm

I'm thinking of ordering one of these with Parcel Motel (so using a UK address) but I wonder has anyone ever tried getting the cashback this way? The 180 pounds with 35 cashback is an attractive offer (works out at about 200 euro I guess)

I wonder if that works as the cashback form seems to be UK only and I'll need to cash the cheque at an Irish bank.

surpy · 19-01-2015 8:40pm

GekkePrutser wrote: »

I'm thinking of ordering one of these with Parcel Motel (so using a UK address) but I wonder has anyone ever tried getting the cashback this way? The 180 pounds with 35 cashback is an attractive offer (works out at about 200 euro I guess)

I wonder if that works as the cashback form seems to be UK only and I'll need to cash the cheque at an Irish bank.

I ordered but it looked like it would be uk customers only.
I cancelled in the end and just have my old desktop ticking along for now

stimpson · 19-01-2015 8:50pm

surpy wrote: »

I ordered but it looked like it would be uk customers only.
I cancelled in the end and just have my old desktop ticking along for now

The cash back is available to irish customers. Outbound, who run the promotion will send you a euro claim form.

GekkePrutser · 20-01-2015 12:27pm

Thanks stimpson, that sounds good! I think I'll go for it then. This will give me much more flexibility than a NAS.

johnybean · 03-02-2015 8:42pm

Just wanted to post back and let anyone that's interested know that the expansion bay that stimpson sent me works an absolute treat. I now have 4 more bays to fill with hard drives, thanks stimpson, you are an absolute gent.

stimpson · 03-02-2015 8:49pm

johnybean wrote: »

Just wanted to post back and let anyone that's interested know that the expansion bay that stimpson sent me works an absolute treat. I now have 4 more bays to fill with hard drives, thanks stimpson, you are an absolute gent.

Glad you got sorted and sorry about the delay with the power cable. I take it you got the custom firmware installed?

johnybean · 03-02-2015 9:52pm

stimpson wrote: »

Glad you got sorted and sorry about the delay with the power cable. I take it you got the custom firmware installed?

Actually didn't bother, just plugged in the sata cable and rebooted the server and expansion bay with a drive in it and all worked perfectly without any fuss so decided if it ain't broke don't fix it

stimpson · 03-02-2015 10:03pm

Ah. You'll get a single drive allright. If you want to put a second drive then you'll need the custom firmware.

johnybean · 03-02-2015 10:04pm

stimpson wrote: »

Ah. You'll get a single drive allright. If you want to put a second drive then you'll need the custom firmware.

Thanks for the heads up

GekkePrutser · 05-02-2015 6:12pm

Just to let you guys know: There's a seller on eBay offering iLO advanced licenses for 26$! (Only applicable if you have the New G8 microserver ofcourse as the old ones don't have iLO): http://www.ebay.ie/itm/110897570685

Only issue is he charges 40$ for shipping to Ireland (of an envelope :rolleyes: ). Whereas US shipping was free. So I asked him if he could just email me the code for free and he accepted.

I've ordered one and will try the code tonight to see if it's good. I think it's a good deal because they usually cost more than the server itself! (got mine for the 180 pounds and I should be getting 45 euro back)

PS: I have no affiliation with the guy and I don't know yet if the codes are genuine or not!

Edit: The code worked, Tried it last night.

stimpson · 13-04-2015 11:31am

Gen 8 Microserver £120 after cashback this month:

http://www.ebuyer.com/517760-hp-proliant-gen8-g1610t-microserver-712317-421

zom · 13-04-2015 2:33pm

stimpson wrote: »

Gen 8 Microserver £120 after cashback this month:

http://www.ebuyer.com/517760-hp-proliant-gen8-g1610t-microserver-712317-421

Is ebuyer delivering to Ireland?

long_b · 13-04-2015 2:52pm

zom wrote: »

Is ebuyer delivering to Ireland?

Don't think so.

This crowd do though - same price

http://www.serversplus.com/servers/tower_servers/hp_tower_servers/712317-421

bored_newbie · 13-04-2015 3:29pm

long_b wrote: »

Don't think so.

This crowd do though - same price

http://www.serversplus.com/servers/tower_servers/hp_tower_servers/712317-421

How much are they to Ireland? Their site just says UK mainland.

It can be bought on Amazon (Aurora company) for £20 shipping so £199.

stimpson · 13-04-2015 3:33pm

bored_newbie wrote: »

How much are they to Ireland? Their site just says UK mainland.

It can be bought on Amazon (Aurora company) for £20 shipping so £199.

Beware where you buy it. The seller must be a HP authorised reseller for you to get the cashback.

I got mine from ebuyer, but it was 2 years ago. I'd drop them a mail to see if its a problem. Might be worth using Parcel Motel too.

edit: I just checked and I used PM with ebuyer. Delivery to NI is a tenner.

long_b · 13-04-2015 3:39pm

bored_newbie wrote: »

How much are they to Ireland? Their site just says UK mainland.

It can be bought on Amazon (Aurora company) for £20 shipping so £199.

Apologies, I meant they (Servers plus) ship to Parcel Motel.
Ebuyer stopped shipping to PM afaik

Received a cheque from HP for the money back from a purchase from this crowd no problem.

It was in EUR but drawn against a UK bank so my bank charged me FX (much to my annoyance! )

zom · 13-04-2015 4:26pm

I hope we will get the same bargain in Ireland at some stage. I got mine Gen7 though Misco for €100 after €120 cashback few years ago. Would be nice to get Gen8 same way.

54kroc · 13-04-2015 4:40pm

bored_newbie wrote: »

How much are they to Ireland? Their site just says UK mainland.

It can be bought on Amazon (Aurora company) for £20 shipping so £199.

I got mine from serverplus, I highly recommend them.

stimpson · 13-04-2015 4:49pm

zom wrote: »

I hope we will get the same bargain in Ireland at some stage. I got mine Gen7 though Misco for €100 after €120 cashback few years ago. Would be nice to get Gen8 same way.

They always do the offers for UK and Ireland. You just need to mail promotions@out-bound.co.uk for a Euro claim form.

will56 · 02-06-2015 9:34am

£100 on Serverplus after cashback
https://www.serversplus.com/servers/tower_servers/hp_tower_servers/712317-421

Is this worthwhile as a back up box/downloader/stream to tablets and Raspberry Pi connected to TV ?

witnessmenow · 02-06-2015 10:24am

will56 wrote: »

£100 on Serverplus after cashback
https://www.serversplus.com/servers/tower_servers/hp_tower_servers/712317-421

Is this worthwhile as a back up box/downloader/stream to tablets and Raspberry Pi connected to TV ?

I have the N54L doing that and its great. Have it about 2 years or so and its been rock solid.

stimpson · 02-06-2015 10:32am

Me too. I'm running Plex on an Unraid server. There is a fairly up to date implement ion of the client on the Pi called RasPlex.

The N54L is a quality piece of kit. I'm sure the Gen8 kit is just as good.

will56 · 02-06-2015 10:35am

Is it possible to copy from these servers to an external USB drive, ie copy backed up photos to a USB stick to give to other people ?

mik_da_man · 02-06-2015 11:33am

Yep, just depends on what operating system you put on it as they don't come with one.

I have a windows home server on mine, have it about 4 years and its going strong still.

stimpson · 02-06-2015 12:01pm

As mik says it depends how you use it. I have shared folders for stuff like that and would use a laptop to copy them locally.

There's nothing stopping you running a desktop OS on it, but I like running it as a headless server and configure it from the laptop.

will56 · 02-06-2015 12:11pm

Thanks for the responses. I'm trying to do as much research as I can before I commit to buying.

Does anyone run Xpenology on their microservers ?
Its a port of the Synology DSM software and looks like it would be easy to use once set up ?

Nollog · 02-06-2015 1:59pm

will56 wrote: »

Is it possible to copy from these servers to an external USB drive, ie copy backed up photos to a USB stick to give to other people ?

Which one?

I have a N54L running windows server 2012 r2 dc

I could literally drag and drop. My model has 3/4 USB ports on the front and 2 on the back. I have it set up as a network drive on my main PC, so I can access all the files I want at any time, and a VNC Server for anything un-automatic.
You can just make it a PC with a lot of hard drive slots, honestly not a bit of difference between a PC and the microservers.

zom · 02-06-2015 2:10pm

Great discussion on HUKD about this miniserver. Worth having a look to get some clue.

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/hp-gen8-microserver-179-94-now-99-after-80-cashback-4-95-delivery-184-89-delivered-2217762

I like especially this comment:

First things first. This isn't a silent machine - it is quiet, but not silent. Depending on the mode you have the disk controller in you may have noisier fans (in AHCI it is increased) this may be fixed in bios releases. You can sleep with it in the same room, but you probably won't want to. And you certainly will be aware when it reboots - the start up beep is LOUD.

2nd support only exists for one year, after which you do not have access to HP updates. (Though you may get them through separate routes.) NBD support exists for 3 yrs 9-5 for an additional £40 if you buy the support and get cashback with the purchase of the server.

You probably want to make sure that you use Windows 8 enterprise (you can get licences for eval use) as the one you have on the existing computer/laptop may not properly join the domain(s). This ->https://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/evalcenter/bb291020.aspx should be engrained in your browser. It enables you to download pretty much everything you need to learn with.

First upgrade the memory - it comes with 2GB, best is to buy 2x8GB of 1600 DDR3 ECC unbuffered. should be about £60 a stick, but you can probably be ok with just 1.

First thing is that there is an onboard usb internal that can be used to boot from, as well as a microsd. Put ESXi or Hyper-V on there depending on your desire, and then install Windows 7/8/10techpreview.

If you really need to install a DVDdrive, but you are better of using the fifth sata port for an SSD - again depending on wishes this will be a sata 1 (1.5Gb/s) or if you move the drive bays it can be a SATA 2 (3Gb/s) - in case you didn't know there are 2x 3Gb/s and 2+1 x1.5Gb/s ports on the controller card. (2+1 being the 2 for the drive bay and the +1 for the ODD.

For installing you will need to use either USB with installation abilities- search for "rufus iso install", usb with iso images, and use the ILO (Integrated Lights Out Management - remote access over the network) to create mount points for the images, or have a server on a network with the images available and have ILO mount the image. Read the HP ILO documents hp.com/go/ilo

At some point buy 4 identical low capacity drives, (go to cex or ebay and buy 4 x 500gb). Then play with RAID. install with 1, benchmark, 2 benchmark, raid 0 and raid 1 benchmark, add 3, benchmark, raid 0, raid 1, and raid 5 benchmark. Pull a disk in raid 5, what happens? what happens with software raid 5 (windows server) as opposed to hardware raid 5 (onboard psuedo raid) if you have the additional HW raid (hp222 - 275exVAT) again what is the difference. Crucially, can you put the other disk in and rebuild the array? A fundamental law of server management is that disks fail. At some point you will need to know when to rebuild, and when just to kill and restore from backups. Get 4 higher capacity disks upgrade one by one - can you expand the array? what if you use BTRFS or ZFS or XFS?

You can then install server 2012 R2, exchange, sql, etc... at some point you may find that you have cpu issues due to insufficient capacity. You can then upgrade to a Xeon processor for around 2-300. You will need thermal compound, a low TDP xeon and have spent some time reading and watching the upgrade process/videos.

For an additional 25quid you can get the TPM module. play about with that at your own risk - however it will be an advantage for if you ever need to work in secure environments that require rigid change management or security. At risk means if you forget or lose the tokens/keys/passwords you've pretty much lost the environment and you'll need to rebuild.

At this stage, you should have some idea of whether you want to go further in administration (sql/active directory/exchange) or networking (ip routing/cabling/data center) or maybe storage (NAS/SAN) and so your next steps will be based on that.

Buy a 2nd box,
play with network teaming and the removal of network switches/cables and still have the network operational though it may be degraded.
As there is a PCIe slot, buy 2 4Gb/10Gb fibre network adapters and cable - should be about 100-150 in total off ebay.
Play with clustering, host migration, and live migration.

durtybit · 02-06-2015 5:51pm

will56 wrote: »

£100 on Serverplus after cashback
https://www.serversplus.com/servers/tower_servers/hp_tower_servers/712317-421

Is this worthwhile as a back up box/downloader/stream to tablets and Raspberry Pi connected to TV ?

Its a great deal! Pity the cashback only open to UK residents

stimpson · 02-06-2015 6:00pm

durtybit wrote: »

Its a great deal! Pity the cashback only open to UK residents

It's open to Irish residents too. Email promotions@out-bound.co.uk and they'll send you a euro claim form.

durtybit · 02-06-2015 6:06pm

stimpson wrote: »

It's open to Irish residents too. Email promotions@out-bound.co.uk and they'll send you a euro claim form.

"This promotion is only available to end user customers based in the UK and does not apply where product will be resold or leased."

Thats what the T&Cs state, will that bypass it?

stimpson · 02-06-2015 6:13pm

durtybit wrote: »

"This promotion is only available to end user customers based in the UK and does not apply where product will be resold or leased."

Thats what the T&Cs state, will that bypass it?

It's always been open to Irish customers too. Email them and see. If you read back over the thread you'll see they've looked after people on here in the past.

The only requirement has been that it must be an authorised HP reseller in the UK or Ireland.

stimpson · 02-06-2015 6:16pm

Here's the euro claim form

http://h41111.www4.hp.com/egpromo/ie/pdf/HP_ProLiant_MicroServer_Gen8_Offer.pdf

Misco.ie have it for €160 after cashback.

will56 · 02-06-2015 9:13pm

stimpson wrote: »

Here's the euro claim form

http://h41111.www4.hp.com/egpromo/ie/pdf/HP_ProLiant_MicroServer_Gen8_Offer.pdf

Misco.ie have it for €160 after cashback.

Can I buy from a UK site and then submit a euro claim form ?
Even with the crap conversion it seems to be cheaper on UK sites ?

KeRbDoG · 02-06-2015 9:36pm

will56 wrote: »

Can I buy from a UK site and then submit a euro claim form ?
Even with the crap conversion it seems to be cheaper on UK sites ?

Worked for me with my Gen8 Microserver a few weeks ago

stimpson · 02-06-2015 9:59pm

will56 wrote: »

Can I buy from a UK site and then submit a euro claim form ?
Even with the crap conversion it seems to be cheaper on UK sites ?

Yes you can. As long as it's an official HP partner. I think you can only claim in Euro though.

Danger781 · 03-06-2015 2:41pm

Is dabs.ie an authorised reseller? If dabs.com works for it..

will56 · 03-06-2015 2:53pm

Cashback info is on the Dabs.com site but it is out of stock at the moment

Danger781 · 03-06-2015 5:01pm

Has anyone looked at buying it from Servers Plus? After delivery it's coming to about €270.. I know you get €110 back but still

will56 · 03-06-2015 5:07pm

Similar price on Dabs. Seems to be working out at €160 ish after cashback when you take delivery into account.

Still worth it ?

Danger781 · 03-06-2015 5:09pm

will56 wrote: »

Similar price across Dabs and Misco. Seems to be working out at €160 ish after cashback when you take delivery into account.

Still worth it ?

It's working at about €290 on Misco after delivery..

Edit: Total €287.81 Inc VAT

Edit 2: ServerPlus is coming in below €270 before any PM charges.. Will likely work out slightly cheaper to use ServersPlus but then you have to take into consideration PM charges, and the effort of going to collect it in the depot. I can't see it fitting into a shelf at the collection unit.

Edit 3: Was just reading back through the thread apparently it fits in a locker, server plus it is!

will56 · 03-06-2015 5:27pm

On Dabs.com
£189 incl delivery to Parcel Motel, Approx €260
(4% cashback on Quidco = £7.48) so about €246
€110 cashback from HP

€136

Still worth it ?

stimpson · 03-06-2015 5:28pm

Danger781 wrote: »

It's working at about €290 on Misco after delivery..

Edit: Total €287.81 Inc VAT

Edit 2: ServerPlus is coming in below €270 before any PM charges.. Will likely work out slightly cheaper to use ServersPlus but then you have to take into consideration PM charges, and the effort of going to collect it in the depot. I can't see it fitting into a shelf at the collection unit.

Edit 3: Was just reading back through the thread apparently it fits in a locker, server plus it is!

I got my N54L via Parcel Motel. The Euro/Sterling rate is not doing you any favours (I think mine worked out at €120 after cashback), but it's still a lot of machine for the money.

Danger781 · 03-06-2015 5:32pm

will56 wrote: »

On Dabs.com
£189 incl delivery to Parcel Motel, Approx €260
(4% cashback on Quidco = £7.48) so about €246
€110 cashback from HP

€136

Still worth it ?

Don't think Dabs will ship to Parcel Motel, unless I'm mistaken..

EDIT: To clarify, I placed an order in with them in 2013 and they cancelled it the following day as it was shipping to parcel motel

GekkePrutser · 03-06-2015 5:34pm

will56 wrote: »

Similar price on Dabs. Seems to be working out at €160 ish after cashback when you take delivery into account.

Still worth it ?

It is absolutely totally worth it. I only got £35 cash back on mine so I paid a bit over €200 and that was worth it.

You're getting a professional server with 4 bays and ILO (granted you need to buy a license key for full functionality) for a price that's way lower than a cheap 4-bay NAS.

The CPU and memory are a bit weak but both can be upgraded. And they're plenty for NAS use.

Danger781 · 03-06-2015 5:42pm

Job done

Nollog · 03-06-2015 5:43pm

Danger781 wrote: »

Has anyone looked at buying it from Servers Plus? After delivery it's coming to about €270.. I know you get €110 back but still

I think that's where I bought mine from 9 months ago.

Danger781 · 06-06-2015 8:45pm

Got mine today

It's surprisingly compact!

Hand for scale (Sorry I had no bananas)

Danger781 · 06-06-2015 8:52pm

Now I'm trying to figure out how to connect to ILO from my desktop. Just to go over what I've done:

I have an ethernet cable connected to NIC 1 port and from what I can tell this is shared with ILO also. So I assume this is okay.

I have the server IP set to .20 and the ILO IP to .21 static IP addresses. I can see the .20 address entry from my router administration page, but no mention of the .21 address. I can not ping the .21 address but can ping the .20 address.

When I try to access the .20 address in my web browser I get a 'Access forbidden' error. The .21 address just times out.

What am I doing wrong

ED E · 06-06-2015 9:00pm

A quick google shows iLO is basically IPMI. If a port is flip flop IPMI/LANx it usually cant be both, and probably doesnt support subinterfaces the way you're trying to do it.

Try using LAN2 for network traffic and LAN1 for IPMI(iLO) only.

Documentation is here:
http://www8.hp.com/us/en/products/servers/ilo/index.html

HP ProLiant MicroServer

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