HP ProLiant ML10 Gen9

[Linkman]

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.

Exactly this, there is some remote management via Intel AMT, but nothing like IPMI on the ML10 Gen9 unless you spring for the Xeon model (No idea if upgrading an existing i3 model to a Xeon would unlock that or not).
The Skylake i3 here has plenty of grunt for the use cases mentioned here, and I just used a Velcro tie to hold the SSD in one of the empty HDD bays so it wouldn't bounce around when moving the box.

At $169 it's almost a no brainer. :)

 

[Inxsible]

unless you spring for the Xeon model (No idea if upgrading an existing i3 model to a Xeon would unlock that or not).

Nothing like "unlocking IPMI" that I have heard of. It is an extra chip on the board which controls IPMI. The choice of a processor is irrelevant. IPMI is used for sideband management even when the machine is switched off. If it were dependent on the CPU, then it would defeat the purpose of IPMI.

 

[5star]

Yes I feel that for my use case this deal is not only amazing but it meets my needs by simply adding a 16gb stick. It feels like it will give me plenty of room to grow should I decide to do something more ram or cpu intensive by either having plenty of power out of the gate or allowing me to add ram or a new Xeon chip at a later time. If I decide to do something with more hdds then I could even consider a different case plus a pci card and probably get away with that. It’s such a good deal it almost feels like a mistake. But apparently they can still make money and I’ll have a pretty banging NAS.

 

[Inxsible]

It sure is a great turnkey (almost) system. Just add bit more RAM and HDDs and you are done !!

At a price that is probably cheaper than any other server motherboard. I sure love the price on the ML10. My Tyan S5533 board alone cost $160-- which is equivalent to your entire system.

 

[5star]

It is an extra chip on the board which controls IPMI. The choice of a processor is irrelevant. IPMI is used for sideband management even when the machine is switched off. If it were dependent on the CPU, then it would defeat the purpose of IPMI.

Has anyone ever achieved IPMI controls via an add-in card? It seems like I heard that’s a thing.

 

[Inxsible]

It seems like I heard that’s a thing.

Yes, yes it's a thing.

 

[5star]

Does anyone recommend a specific card for this machine if I decide to upgrade later?

 

[Inxsible]

Does anyone recommend a specific card for this machine if I decide to upgrade later?

There is a Supermicro IPMI add-on card SuperMicro AOC-SIMLP-B+
From what I have read about it, it is only applicable to certain Supermicro boards. If you have Intel AMT, you can utilize that to a certain degree or you can go SoL (in both senses)

 

[Ericloewe]

Leaving a hole in the server case means a lot of dust will enter it.

Well, holes tend to be required to provide airflow to servers... That airflow generally carries quite a bit of dust, which gets deposited inside the server in weird and wonderful places. It's unavoidable in any reasonable cooling setup, unless you can cool everything with a cold water source and outsource the cooling of that water to someone else...

 

[5star]

Yeah I think I’ll use the stock cooling and see what my temps are. I’m not really sure I understand yet what the airflow and CPU cooling of this system looks like. As long as the drives stay below 40 I’m good though, right?

 

[Linkman]

Nothing like "unlocking IPMI" that I have heard of. It is an extra chip on the board which controls IPMI. The choice of a processor is irrelevant. IPMI is used for sideband management even when the machine is switched off. If it were dependent on the CPU, then it would defeat the purpose of IPMI.

Correct, and it's the same motherboard for both models. The AMT on the i3 model is available even when the machine is off. I was under the impression that the Xeon models had a more complete implementation of Intel's AMT, more in line with HPE's iLO, but that may or may not be true.

 

[Chris Moore]

It’s such a good deal it almost feels like a mistake. But apparently they can still make money and I’ll have a pretty banging NAS.

Yes, these systems are a very good deal when you can get them on sale. You couldn't buy the parts to build it yourself at that price. The only way HP can do it is because of the volume discount they must be getting on components.
I have been tempted to buy a few of these myself to replace old systems I am still using. For example, I have a computer I use to run Linux on that is an old Intel Core i7 950. It has 24GB of RAM and is very capable, but it uses a lot of power compared to a more modern system.

 

[Chris Moore]

I was under the impression that the Xeon models had a more complete implementation of Intel's AMT, more in line with HPE's iLO, but that may or may not be true.

I read a post from someone else, I think it was on this model system, that some form of iLO could be unlocked by purchasing a license from HP. I think the hardware is there, it just needs activation. Something to look into.

 

[Chris Moore]

As long as the drives stay below 40 I’m good though, right?

I like to keep mine below 35c, but the WD Red Pro drives are rated up to 60c, other drives are only rated to operate up to 50c (or some other number) you have to look at the documentation for the drive. Regardless of the manufacturer rating, the cooler it is kept, the better it lasts as long as you don't keep it too cold.

 

[5star]

I have been tempted to buy a few of these myself to replace old systems I am still using. For example, I have a computer I use to run Linux on that is an old Intel Core i7 950. It has 24GB of RAM and is very capable, but it uses a lot of power compared to a more modern system.

HA! That's actually almost the EXACT same spec I am using for freeNAS right now as I wait for my real equipment to arrive.
EX58-ud5, i7 950 (I thought it was 920 earlier, but apparently I upgraded so long ago I forgot), 24GB of RAM... I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with that machine after it's not a NAS anymore, but it was a great Hackintosh and I'm sure my son would be able to do something useful with it. I built it well over a decade ago and it's still a pretty great computer. I'll figure something out. I just don't think the money I could get from such an old computer would be worth as much as having it in the boneyard.

 

[Chris Moore]

HA! That's actually almost the EXACT same spec I am using for freeNAS right now as I wait for my real equipment to arrive.
EX58-ud5, i7 950 (I thought it was 920 earlier, but apparently I upgraded so long ago I forgot), 24GB of RAM... I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with that machine after it's not a NAS anymore, but it was a great Hackintosh and I'm sure my son would be able to do something useful with it. I built it well over a decade ago and it's still a pretty great computer. I'll figure something out. I just don't think the money I could get from such an old computer would be worth as much as having it in the boneyard.

I have a Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R in mine and it has been fantastic. I have not even looked inside that system in over a year and the last time I did it was to replace the video card. I just have to clean the dust filter every month or so and it keeps going. I have been running Linux on it for about 3 years and it is more than powerful enough to do everything I need from a Linux system so don't see much reason to change anything about it. I may just run it until it stops working. Several years ago, when I bought my current Windows computer, I looked at selling it and decided to put Linux on it instead. Out of curiosity, I looked and it is still selling for around $200 on eBay, and your model for a little more.

 

[5star]

I have a Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R in mine and it has been fantastic. I have not even looked inside that system in over a year and the last time I did it was to replace the video card. I just have to clean the dust filter every month or so and it keeps going. I have been running Linux on it for about 3 years and it is more than powerful enough to do everything I need from a Linux system so don't see much reason to change anything about it. I may just run it until it stops working. Several years ago, when I bought my current Windows computer, I looked at selling it and decided to put Linux on it instead. Out of curiosity, I looked and it is still selling for around $200 on eBay, and your model for a little more.

I had that same board (also hackintoshed) and it was really nice too.

I'm really curious to see how the cooling in the new HP ProLiant is, because I have a lot of cooling going on in my current machine, but it's just such a hot machine with that processor. I think that even with way less cooling this new machine will probably run cooler. Just a guess. Right now my HDD's are hovering around 35 degrees, but the SSD is about 40-45 degrees.

 

[Chris Moore]

I had that same board (also hackintoshed) and it was really nice too.

I'm really curious to see how the cooling in the new HP ProLiant is, because I have a lot of cooling going on in my current machine, but it's just such a hot machine with that processor. I think that even with way less cooling this new machine will probably run cooler. Just a guess. Right now my HDD's are hovering around 35 degrees, but the SSD is about 40-45 degrees.

What kind of hard drives do you have?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk

 

[5star]

I have a WD green and a couple old seagates and a brand new seagate barracuda. I also have a brand new seagate barracuda sitting aside to replace any drive that may go bad so I can take care of any issues quick. They are all 4tb and when I have to use the spare drive I’ll replace it with a wd red.

 

[Chris Moore]

I have a WD green and a couple old seagates and a brand new seagate barracuda. I also have a brand new seagate barracuda sitting aside to replace any drive that may go bad so I can take care of any issues quick. They are all 4tb and when I have to use the spare drive I’ll replace it with a wd red.

I manage several storage servers for the place I work and in them I have a variety of drives including HGST, WD Red, Red Pro, Seagate Constellation, and at home I have Seagate Barracuda drives. Of them all, I like the Seagate Barracuda 4TB drives best, the 5400 RPM model, because they don't get as hot as some of the others.