HP ProLiant ML10 Gen9

[SweetAndLow]

i5 is a bad move in FreeNAS because it does not support ECC memory. Not all the i3 Intel CPUs do either. The upgrade path would be to a Xeon CUP

100% a bad decision to get the i5. It does not support ecc.

 

[Chris Moore]

It just occured to me that I don't even know what type of search term to look for to figure out how to convert my boot drive over to the new machine when I get it. I would love to have all my settings and everything port over when I switch boxes. Is that a thing? Can I just put my drives in and install via USB for the new drivers when I switch?

It is easy to move over to a new system. The IP address usually needs to be reset from the console because the system sees that change and does not apply the same IP address to the new network adapter. Everything else usually just works.

 

[5star]

It is easy to move over to a new system. The IP address usually needs to be reset from the console because the system sees that change and does not apply the same IP address to the new network adapter. Everything else usually just works.

Interesting! I would have thought there were a bunch of drivers to install or something. Cool!

 

[Chris Moore]

Interesting! I would have thought there were a bunch of drivers to install or something. Cool!

As long as you are using supported hardware, the drivers are already there and are activated during the boot process. The system will also go out and find the drives as long as they are connected. I have moved drives from a SATA controller to a SAS HBA and the system finds them and mounts the storage without a glitch. It works a charm as long as the hardware is good.

 

[danb35]

It just occured to me that I don't even know what type of search term to look for to figure out how to convert my boot drive over to the new machine when I get it.

Unplug it from the old machine, plug it into the new one.

 

[Inxsible]

Ok, so I will just pull the optical drive and put my ssd in there with a hole in the case. That should mean I don't need another HDD mounting kit or cords right? Also, do you think I'd need to work about cooling in that situation?

I didn't see anybody mention this, so I will.

Leaving a hole in the server case means a lot of dust will enter it. If you are not diligent about cleaning that dust from time to time, it could mean reduced performance, overheating of the entire system, increased workload from an already smallish (300W) PSU and eventually catastrophic system failure.

Your board has 6 SATA ports and you plan to put 4 storage drives in it. Why do you want to remove the DVD drive. Let it sit there and just use the other extra port for your boot SSD.

And if you still want to get rid of the DVD drive, just spend the money and buy a case cover for that hole. OR if you don't want to spend money and if you are not too worried about how it looks, duct tape it shut.

 

[Chris Moore]

What's the point of the optical drive? Is there a nice way to take it out and use it for HDD with a case cover plate? Is that in the box or need to be purchased separately? It seems like I could just pull it and put my SSD in there, but it might get a bit warm...

This system does not have IPMI to remotely mount an ISO, so you might actually need to burn a CD of the FreeNAS installer to get the OS into the system to begin with, but once installed, I don't think the CD will be very useful. There really is no use taking it out though, you don't need that spot for anything unless you are going to add more drives than what you already told us about. As for the SSD boot drive, just stick it anywhere it will fit. Solid State drives don't even need to be mounted. I ran a system for two years with the SSD just dangling from the end of the power cable. It doesn't look pretty but if you want to make it look pretty, you can get an adapter bracket to put it in the CD bay instead of just pulling the CD drive and leaving a hole.

 

[5star]

I didn't see anybody mention this, so I will.

Leaving a hole in the server case means a lot of dust will enter it. If you are not diligent about cleaning that dust from time to time, it could mean reduced performance, overheating of the entire system, increased workload from an already smallish (300W) PSU and eventually catastrophic system failure.

Your board has 6 SATA ports and you plan to put 4 storage drives in it. Why do you want to remove the DVD drive. Let it sit there and just use the other extra port for your boot SSD.

And if you still want to get rid of the DVD drive, just spend the money and buy a case cover for that hole. OR if you don't want to spend money and if you are not too worried about how it looks, duct tape it shut.

Thanks for the comment, and yeah in that link to the other thread answered that question for me to know that I wouldn't need that bay for anything. I was confused because I had misunderstood about previous information about the bays/power demands of the system.

This system does not have IPMI to remotely mount an ISO, so you might actually need to burn a CD of the FreeNAS installer to get the OS into the system to begin with, but once installed, I don't think the CD will be very useful. There really is no use taking it out though, you don't need that spot for anything unless you are going to add more drives than what you already told us about. As for the SSD boot drive, just stick it anywhere it will fit. Solid State drives don't even need to be mounted. I ran a system for two years with the SSD just dangling from the end of the power cable. It doesn't look pretty but if you want to make it look pretty, you can get an adapter bracket to put it in the CD bay instead of just pulling the CD drive and leaving a hole.

Yeah I think I will leave the drive in there. I ended up cancelling the order with "Computer Upgrade Kings" because it looks like they didn't have the ECC that they told me they did, nor was the "package deal" going to accomplish the savings I was going for. They were willing to switch the package back to i3, but they didn't even have the original unbuffered ECC RAM so it makes more sense to go with my original plan.

 

[5star]

Just so I don't make the mistake of making wrong assumptions again...

If the upgrade path for the CPU is Xeon... what does that path look like in terms of model for this socket? And much more importantly... is there real gains to be had in a 4 x 4tb ZFS2 machine serving up our mac photo library and other media at home?

 

[Chris Moore]

Just so I don't make the mistake of making wrong assumptions again...

If the upgrade path for the CPU is Xeon... what does that path look like in terms of model for this socket? And much more importantly... is there real gains to be had in a 4 x 4tb ZFS2 machine serving up our mac photo library and other media at home?

It all depends on what you need the server to do. I use mine to run Plex and be a file server. Nothing else. I could probably run with a lower spec processor in my backup server because it doesn't do any Plex trans-coding, but I got a deal on the board with the CPU, so I have kept it.
If all you want is a file server and nothing more, that $169 system and another 4GB memory stick is probably all you need. The 4 x 4 RAID-z2 protects you against drive failure. What you do with your drives is about how much storage you need and how much risk you are willing to take.
We can offer advice or answer questions, but we can't know what you need, unless you tell us more about what you plan to do. Even then, it will still just be a suggestion.

 

[5star]

Sorry I wasn’t descriptive enough. I have a 250GB iPhoto library being shared in my home as well as a similarly sized iTunes library that we will be sharing amongst devices. We do have Plex on there too but I’m just not really clear if using and accessing large files really requires much cpu. And even though I setup plex I don’t think it will represent much in terms of the box’s normal use.

 

[Chris Moore]

Sorry I wasn’t descriptive enough. I have a 250GB iPhoto library being shared in my home as well as a similarly sized iTunes library that we will be sharing amongst devices. We do have Plex on there too but I’m just not really clear if using and accessing large files really requires much cpu. And even though I setup plex I don’t think it will represent much in terms of the box’s normal use.

Plex has some guidance on how much CPU is needed. How many videos are playing at the same time?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk

 

[5star]

Plex has some guidance on how much CPU is needed. How many videos are playing at the same time?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk

One at a time would be the most. Opening up the programs who use the photo and music files seems to load the system way more than anything.

 

[Chris Moore]

One at a time would be the most. Opening up the programs who use the photo and music files seems to load the system way more than anything.

I am guessing you are talking about the performance of the old system. The new one you were looking at on Tiger Direct should have plenty of CPU power to run the NAS and process a video for Plex. It has a PassMark score over 5000. As long as you don't start loading the system up with all kinds of jails, and if you decide you want to do more in the future, you can revisit the selection then. With this HP system, you should be able to take the existing processor out and put a Xeon in without having to make any other changes and by the time you want more, the prices will have come down. If you are ready to move on it, that system is still on special until the 9th.

 

[5star]

I am guessing you are talking about the performance of the old system. The new one you were looking at on Tiger Direct should have plenty of CPU power to run the NAS and process a video for Plex. It has a PassMark score over 5000. As long as you don't start loading the system up with all kinds of jails, and if you decide you want to do more in the future, you can revisit the selection then. With this HP system, you should be able to take the existing processor out and put a Xeon in without having to make any other changes and by the time you want more, the prices will have come down. If you are ready to move on it, that system is still on special until the 9th.

Cool. I ordered the system this morning with the ram from amazon.

It's good to know the CPU is plenty powerful. I was trying to determine what types of tasks require more CPU and it would be cool to compare the i3 that I'm ordering to the i7 (920 first gen) I've noticed in the reporting area that my CPU has never used more than 20%.

 

[Chris Moore]

Cool. I ordered the system this morning with the ram from amazon.

It's good to know the CPU is plenty powerful. I was trying to determine what types of tasks require more CPU and it would be cool to compare the i3 that I'm ordering to the i7 (920 first gen) I've noticed in the reporting area that my CPU has never used more than 20%.

The new system should use less electricity and put out less heat. You may see higher CPU usage because this one is dual core where the i7 was probably quad. What model is the old CPU?
Sorry, I see it now. The old CPU scores 4956 where the new one is at 5484 so you may not see very much difference, but there are other efficiencies in the system that may make more difference that the CPU alone.

 

[5star]

It's the i7 920 (1st gen) you can check it out here: https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Proces...ie=UTF8&qid=1506998783&sr=8-1&keywords=i7+920

 

[Chris Moore]

It's the i7 920 (1st gen) you can check it out here: https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Proces...ie=UTF8&qid=1506998783&sr=8-1&keywords=i7+920

Sorry, I see it now. The old CPU scores 4956 where the new one is at 5484 so you may not see very much difference, but there are other efficiencies in the system that may make more difference that the CPU alone.
the biggest difference is that the old one was rated for 130 watts and the new one is rated for about 55 watts. That translates to heat too.

 

[5star]

Cool! Where do you get those benchmarks from? That's good to know.

And yeah... that machine puts out A TON of heat. A TON.

 

[Chris Moore]

Cool! Where do you get those benchmarks from? That's good to know.

And yeah... that machine puts out A TON of heat. A TON.

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?id=834