Used Rackmount Servers

K

King of Heroes

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Mar 26, 2008
Messages
2,006
Since I posted my previous thread asking for build advice (I want to thank again all the people who answered, the advice is very appreciated), I've been trolling the threads looking for any other nuggets of wisdom to extract. One thing I see often is the suggestion to grab a cheap, used server off of ebay, especially for people who are just starting/learning the whole virtualization thing. I have looked on ebay and there appear to be no shortage of such servers up for grabs, like:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251338184169

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-C6100-...790824?pt=COMP_EN_Servers&hash=item2a36ba13a8

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261201420459

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Google-Dell...005&prg=9141&rk=4&rkt=6&sd=261201420459&rt=nc

They have a bunch of cores, alot of RAM, and sell for less than $600 (well, except for the C1100). I'm sure people here have already jumped on one or more of those, so I wanted to ask a few questions about their value for home use:

How is the power consumption and noise? I've worked in a data center and rackmounts tend to sound like jet engines in use. Now, that could be because they're constantly maxed out which wouldn't be an issue for my use, but I just want to be sure. For power consumption, I know these tend to use fairly low power (about 60W) server chips, but they also use registered memory sticks with all the slots filled up. I believe registered memory tends to run hotter than unregistered (though I could be mistaking that for fully buffered)? And having all the slots full also cranks up the power use as well if I'm not mistaken? Basically, if anyone can give me there experience those issues, I'd appreciate it.

Is ESXi support good for these? Like the HP Proliant DL160 G6 one seems like a great deal, but its using Westmere chips which is fairly old by computing standards. Its also using HP NICs instead of Intel, and it doesn't look like there would be space to add a discrete NIC. Usually support for older hardware is pretty good enterprise applications but, again, I just want to be sure.

Does these absolutely need to be rack mounted? In my personal case, any box I get would go into the master bedroom closet where the ethernet and coaxial interface is. I suspect I wouldn't be able to fit any actual rack in there without it getting in the way of getting to clothes, so I'd probably just leave it on the floor. Would that interfere with its cooling process? Or is that not a real concern?

Finally, are the motherboards in rackmounts transferrable to a 'normal' case? Or are they built specifically for a rackmount enclosure?
 
Last edited:
As an eBay Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
King of Heroes said:
Since I posted my previous thread asking for build advice (I want to thank again all the people who answered, the advice is very appreciated), I've been trolling the threads looking for any other nuggets of wisdom to extract. One thing I see often is the suggestion to grab a cheap, used server off of ebay, especially for people who are just starting/learning the whole virtualization thing. I have looked on ebay and there appear to be no shortage of such servers up for grabs, like:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251338184169

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-C6100-...790824?pt=COMP_EN_Servers&hash=item2a36ba13a8

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261201420459

They have a bunch of cores, alot of RAM, and sell for less than $600 (well, except for the C1100). I'm sure people here have already jumped on one or more of those, so I wanted to ask a few questions about their value for home use:

How is the power consumption and noise? I've worked in a data center and rackmounts tend to sound like jet engines in use. Now, that could be because they're constantly maxed out which wouldn't be an issue for my use, but I just want to be sure. For power consumption, I know these tend to use fairly low power (about 60W) server chips, but they also use registered memory sticks with all the slots filled up. I believe registered memory tends to run hotter than unregistered (though I could be mistaking that for fully buffered)? And having all the slots full also cranks up the power use as well if I'm not mistaken? Basically, if anyone can give me there experience those issues, I'd appreciate it.

Is ESXi support good for these? Like the HP Proliant DL160 G6 one seems like a great deal, but its using Westmere chips which is fairly old by computing standards. Its also using HP NICs instead of Intel, and it doesn't look like there would be space to add a discrete NIC. Usually support for older hardware is pretty good enterprise applications but, again, I just want to be sure.

Does these absolutely need to be rack mounted? In my personal case, any box I get would go into the master bedroom closet where the ethernet and coaxial interface is. I suspect I wouldn't be able to fit any actual rack in there without it getting in the way of getting to clothes, so I'd probably just leave it on the floor. Would that interfere with its cooling process? Or is that not a real concern?

Finally, are the motherboards in rackmounts transferrable to a 'normal' case? Or are they built specifically for a rackmount enclosure?
Click to expand...

I own two C1100s. Both are used exclusively for Esxi. The way I have them configured they draw about 1 amp each at full load, which is perfect due to many co-location facilities charging for anything over 1 or 2 amps. They can be really noisy if the units get hot, my rack is in my garage which is currently 74 degrees and both server's fans are at lowest speed. Esxi support is good with the C1100s, everything is recognized and working. They do not need to be rack mounted, just keep the front and back unblocked so proper airflow can be obtained. If your room stays below 80 you will probably be ok.
 
As an eBay Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top