convert a Lenovo PX12400R?

[skypuppy]

Hope I'm posting in the correct place. :)
I've had this PX12 for several months now. It's a rack-mount 12 bay system with dual power supplies and dual NIC cards in it, with an i3 processor.
What I don't like about it:
1. the fans are sometimes LOUD.
2. the OS is clunky.
3. it doesn't support DNS for my little home network and with DHCP I can never know what any particular computer, tablet, or phone's IP address is, making it very aggravating to do machine to machine anything.
4. the applications for it seem to be very, very limited. It won't run BOINC, for example, while it's sitting around doing nothing but burning electricity.
5. you can't do a full system image backup which is needed if anything happened to the box.
6. worst of all, documentation is HORRIBLE regarding it's functions. Since there are many things in the network world I don't know, it's doubly difficult for me to get full advantage of this purchase.

So, the big question is: can I convert this monster into FreeNAS? I'm only using 7 of the 12 bays at the moment and even my largest PC only has drive bays for 5 or 6 so they're not much help unless FreeNAS can be split across multiple PC's.
I have gigabit ethernet in the house but not to the world. (some day, when I get rich and famous maybe...)

Thanks for any advice and help!
Skypuppy

 

[Spearfoot]

Hope I'm posting in the correct place. :)
I've had this PX12 for several months now. It's a rack-mount 12 bay system with dual power supplies and dual NIC cards in it, with an i3 processor.
What I don't like about it:
1. the fans are sometimes LOUD.
2. the OS is clunky.
3. it doesn't support DNS for my little home network and with DHCP I can never know what any particular computer, tablet, or phone's IP address is, making it very aggravating to do machine to machine anything.
4. the applications for it seem to be very, very limited. It won't run BOINC, for example, while it's sitting around doing nothing but burning electricity.
5. you can't do a full system image backup which is needed if anything happened to the box.
6. worst of all, documentation is HORRIBLE regarding it's functions. Since there are many things in the network world I don't know, it's doubly difficult for me to get full advantage of this purchase.

So, the big question is: can I convert this monster into FreeNAS? I'm only using 7 of the 12 bays at the moment and even my largest PC only has drive bays for 5 or 6 so they're not much help unless FreeNAS can be split across multiple PC's.
I have gigabit ethernet in the house but not to the world. (some day, when I get rich and famous maybe...)

Thanks for any advice and help!
Skypuppy

Welcome to the forums! Are you an Auburn or Crimson Tide Alabamian?

I'd say this device is not a good choice for FreeNAS, based on a cursory inspection of its specifications: it only has 4GB of non-ECC memory, which is half the recommended minimum amount. Can you add memory? Lenovo's website was cagey about that. With 8+ GB of memory it might be workable, but the lack of ECC capability would remain a concern.

Your DHCP problems may be solvable by assigning static IP addresses to the devices you want to 'stay put'. For devices which don't support assigning an IP address, you can oftentimes 'reserve' the IP address your router/gateway's DHCP server assigns to them, which is effectively the same as giving them a static IP address.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[skypuppy]

Thanks for responding, Spearfoot.

I'm slightly for Alabama when they play Auburn, and for both when they play other teams but I don't really care about football unless I'm actually playing in that game. :)

It doesn't appear I can add memory but I have not taken the beast apart to see with my own eyes. Non-ECC is ok with me. Lenovo's website is cagey about EVERYTHING. <sigh>

I'd rather not remember any IP addresses if I didn't have to. Computers are better at that than humans. Humans remember names way better than numbers. And computers are here to make our lives easier, not us make their jobs easier. That has been my philosophy since I started programming way back when the dinosaurs lived, in 1977. There is open software to make my internal gateway/router do DNS but I am hesitant to risk that. Besides, that is what a server is supposed to do. That's why it's called a "server." :)
I've put the px12 outside the DHCP range and given it a static address already, but it and the printer are the only things in the house with a static address. If I had a DNS server, nothing would have a static IP address.

Btw, am I using the right name for this function, DNS?

 

[Spearfoot]

Thanks for responding, Spearfoot.

I'm slightly for Alabama when they play Auburn, and for both when they play other teams but I don't really care about football unless I'm actually playing in that game. :)

It doesn't appear I can add memory but I have not taken the beast apart to see with my own eyes. Non-ECC is ok with me. Lenovo's website is cagey about EVERYTHING. <sigh>

I'd rather not remember any IP addresses if I didn't have to. Computers are better at that than humans. Humans remember names way better than numbers. And computers are here to make our lives easier, not us make their jobs easier. That has been my philosophy since I started programming way back when the dinosaurs lived, in 1977. There is open software to make my internal gateway/router do DNS but I am hesitant to risk that. Besides, that is what a server is supposed to do. That's why it's called a "server." :)
I've put the px12 outside the DHCP range and given it a static address already, but it and the printer are the only things in the house with a static address. If I had a DNS server, nothing would have a static IP address.

Btw, am I using the right name for this function, DNS?

Ah, we're 'of an age', have the same scant interest in sports, and share a similar attitude towards computers. You must be an engineer? Perhaps you work for NASA? :)

Yes, DNS is the correct term, and if you don't have a gateway/router or server providing the service then you're out-of-luck. Unless, of course, you're willing to go to the trouble of setting up DNS on a host on your local network.

Good luck!

 

[skypuppy]

I am so often been accused of being an engineer. <sigh> Yesterday, I couldn't even spell it. Now, I are one.
Yes, I'm a software weenie sans pocket protector. I *wish* I worked for NASA as space is my dream. But, back on earth, I worked for the Army as a civilian with Marshall Space Flight Center on the same base. <heavy sigh> There is a story behind that...

Yes, I could add the DNS service to one of the Linux boxes, but I'd rather have the real server do it. If, at the same time, I made the server lots more usable (FreeNAS) then all the better. Actually DNS is a smaller issue compared to the utility afforded by FreeNAS as compared to what Lenovo supplies, but that is just a guess and I don't really know for sure.