Used HP DL180 G6

[suppaduppax]

I’ve come across a used HP DL180 G6 for $250 CAD.

Rackmount server with rails
Dual Xeon E5620 QuadCore 2.4GHz CPUs
72GB RAM (6x8GB,6x4GB)
750Watt Power Supply
HP Smart Array P212 SAS/SATA RAID Controller w/256MB Battery-Backed Cache
3 x HP 2TB 7200rpm SATA 3.5" Hard Drives Full set of 8 internal fans
Dual Gigabit Ethernet NICs
Last BIOS & Firmware installed
Power Cord

I believe I read that the smart array wouldn’t work. But I’ve got a spare Dell H310 I can put in. It’s a full height bracket. I’m thinking maybe I can use the smart array’s bracket?? I was hoping for a Dell R510 but this seems like an equivalent system.

The seller is also willing to deliver it to me so $250 CAD seems like a decent price.

 

[suppaduppax]

Welp, I went ahead and bought this. Hopefully it works out! I'm in the process of flashing my Dell H310 to work with it as it comes with a HP P212. The server is super clean and and is in excellent condition!

 

[PhiloEpisteme]

HP Smart Array P212 SAS/SATA RAID Controller w/256MB Battery-Backed Cache

RAID controllers are discouraged because they can obscure direct access to disks and possibly obscure disk errors. Many folks purchase RAID cards and then flash them to IT mode where they function as a SAS/SATA controller or HBA rather than a RAID card. I did a (very) quick search on the forums and did not find specific suggestions for flashing or using the P212. You may have luck searching on your own. I imagine you could pick up a used HBA for $60 off ebay that would work for this machine if you can't get that P212 working. Here is one post I found talking about a RAID card with cache.

Do note that several experienced folks have cautioned that using a raid controller may "work" in that you can get your system to boot, build pools, vdevs, and even get some smartctl information. The worry is that you may not discover how your RAID card disagrees with FreeNAS until you're experiencing failing drives etc when you really need your card to play nicely with the OS. This is just to say to you should do some research on your card for its suitability in this environment.

Dual Gigabit Ethernet NICs

Generally for 1G NICs folks recommend intel. I imagine you'll find out soon whether yours works.

72GB RAM (6x8GB,6x4GB)

ECC ram I imagine?

3 x HP 2TB 7200rpm SATA 3.5" Hard Drives

You're going to want to test these drives prior to putting them into production. By this I mean follow the hard drive burn-in recommendations found in the Resources section. What do you plan to use for boot drives?

 

[suppaduppax]

RAID controllers are discouraged because they can obscure direct access to disks and possibly obscure disk errors.

Already flashed the Dell H310 I mentioned in my post to put into it!

Generally for 1G NICs folks recommend intel. I imagine you'll find out soon whether yours works.

The NIC seems to be working fine.

ECC ram I imagine?

Yep ECC!

You're going to want to test these drives prior to putting them into production. By this I mean follow the hard drive burn-in recommendations found in the Resources section. What do you plan to use for boot drives?

I'll check it out. I don't think I've ever done that before.

Thanks for the input!

 

[PhiloEpisteme]

Ah yes, I see the whole post now. Gotta love a tiny phone screen. I assume you worked out the bracket issue?

Testing the drives can take time, but is a good idea so you know the drives are not already having issues.

 

[suppaduppax]

I just swapped the bracket from the P212 and it fits great!

Yeah sounds like it's worth it. The server didn't come with all the caddies. I thought it did but I found out quickly that they're just blanks! :(

 

[otpi]

I have one of these DL180G6 with a 12 disk backplane. It's not in use, but I have been thinking of buying a new mb/cpu/ram and using the case + backplane (Or, as is, as a cold backup server). Can you report back on the sata compatibility of the backplane?

Btw; If you want to silence this server it is possible to trick it by shorting the correct two pins on the fan header (to reduce the number of fans spinning).

 

[suppaduppax]

Can you report back on the sata compatibility of the backplane?

i only have hp drives in it right now which are being burned in. Sucky thing is I only have 3 drive trays so I’m waiting on the rest of them to arrive over the weekend. I hope I got the right ones! I’ll let you know as soon as I get a chance to put in my Seagate drives.

it is possible to trick it by shorting the correct two pins on the fan header

Is there a guide anywhere? I’ve never shorted pins before.

 

[otpi]

It's a 5 pin fan header (If i remember correctly). If you have any spare fan headers on the MB (for optional fans) it probably has a dummy fan header which bridge the correct two. I removed all but the cpu and exhaust fan, then used spare jumpers to bridge the same two pins (my basement is cold anyway). Use the dummy as a guide. If you just unplug a fan it will not boot, since it detects a missing fan, and assumes it will overheat. You could just unplug a few fans first to see if it accepts, then worry about bridging pins later if it doesn't.