HP DL380 G5

[Mike McCall]

I've been using a repurposed Dell Optiplex for my DNS/DHCP server and learning lab. I have recently acquired an HP DL380 G5 to replace that with. I want to move the Dell to the workbench and use the DL380 to replace it in the network. Since this is my first "real" server I'm trying to get a handle on how much I can expect my power bill to increase when I do. It has a single PS and only 4 SAS drives installed at this time. From what I've read elsewhere, it may increase by $50 a month, which may not work well for me. Does anyone have something more accurate from your own experience?

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I forget..was she dual socket?
With 4 drives (you need more? Got another one in....e-mail me the part numbers of what you have if I have the same I'll shoot these over to ya)..it won't use a lot.

While the server has the capability of using a lot of power (wattage)...much of a servers electrical thirst has to do with what it's doing. The CPUs, if idle, don't drink a lot. If they're doing something heavy, like Folding 24x7...yeah it'll suck the juice.

50 a month? Nah. In the high teens...yeah probably. Doubt past 20 but I don't know what your electric company rates are.

 

[Mike McCall]

I forget..was she dual socket?
With 4 drives (you need more? Got another one in....e-mail me the part numbers of what you have if I have the same I'll shoot these over to ya)..it won't use a lot.

While the server has the capability of using a lot of power (wattage)...much of a servers electrical thirst has to do with what it's doing. The CPUs, if idle, don't drink a lot. If they're doing something heavy, like Folding 24x7...yeah it'll suck the juice.

50 a month? Nah. In the high teens...yeah probably. Doubt past 20 but I don't know what your electric company rates are.

Yes, dual Xenon quad cores. Drives, yeah I could use some. You gave me 6 with it, but 2 needed replacing and I haven't gotten around to that yet. Emailed the part numbers to you.

I expect an increase in power consumption, but can't afford a $50 hit. I can justify a $20 hit for the benefit of having such a device to learn stuff on. That, and I need to use the Dell for bench work.

I'm getting ready to rebuild my network again and this is part of the process. I currently have cables running through every room on the main floor (except the kitchen & bathroom), and also into my old office downstairs where the servers currently sit. Our home was built in 1910 and while most of the old knob & tube wiring has been replaced, the walls are still lath & plaster. I have no desire to start tearing into that to properly wire the home for such a network. The goal is to get the main network devices downstairs and only run cable upstairs where I need to. That's going to require a rack of some sort, but have yet to find anything anywhere near my budget. It is on my shopping list though. Anyway, that's the general plan.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Yeah best to find a rack or cabinet locally....I got those too...but the shipping would be 10x worse than that server and more than their value.
Haven't seen your e-mail yet re: the drive part numbers.

 

[Mike McCall]

They're 72GB 15k SAS, HP part # 430169-002.
If you have some that would be great!

 

[smashedbotatos]

I have an HP DL360 G5. It is a 1U, with dual Xeon x5650 processors 32GB of RAM, 3 146GB 10 SAS drives and 3 1TB WD Red drives in it. Which are all 2.5in drives.

I use it for Samba file server, teamspeak server, and web server. CPU rarely goes above 10-20% and it costs me between $30 and $40 a month to run @ $0.12 a KWh.

If you are just using it to learn the software. I suggest VirtualBox and setting up an internal virtual LAN with it and installing firewalls, clients, and servers. Then you are able to mess it up with out worrying about your actual LAN. I am actually in the process of creating a YouTube tutorial on setting up a Virtual Network Lab.

 

[Mike McCall]

I have an HP DL360 G5. It is a 1U, with dual Xeon x5650 processors 32GB of RAM, 3 146GB 10 SAS drives and 3 1TB WD Red drives in it. Which are all 2.5in drives.

I use it for Samba file server, teamspeak server, and web server. CPU rarely goes above 10-20% and it costs me between $30 and $40 a month to run @ $0.12 a KWh.

If you are just using it to learn the software. I suggest VirtualBox and setting up an internal virtual LAN with it and installing firewalls, clients, and servers. Then you are able to mess it up with out worrying about your actual LAN. I am actually in the process of creating a YouTube tutorial on setting up a Virtual Network Lab.

I was initially intending on using it for both my learning lab as well as the more mundane DNS, DHCP, and such. However, having recently received a substantially higher power bill (not directly due to the server), I'm rethinking that approach. I do need to get some hands-on with virtualization and downloaded a copy of ESXI, installed it on bare metal, and realized I needed to start with something a bit simpler. I like the idea of completely visualizing the lab separate from the rest of the network. Then I could fire-up the server only when I wanted to work with it and not burn money needlessly. I'll have to add more RAM as I've only got 4GB, but that shouldn't hurt too much. I'm saving up for a MS Action Pack which would cover most things I might need. I'll have to look again at VB as I don't recall why I didn't choose it over ESXI.

 

[Markverhyden]

I was initially intending on using it for both my learning lab as well as the more mundane DNS, DHCP, and such. However, having recently received a substantially higher power bill (not directly due to the server), I'm rethinking that approach. I do need to get some hands-on with virtualization and downloaded a copy of ESXI, installed it on bare metal, and realized I needed to start with something a bit simpler. I like the idea of completely visualizing the lab separate from the rest of the network. Then I could fire-up the server only when I wanted to work with it and not burn money needlessly. I'll have to add more RAM as I've only got 4GB, but that shouldn't hurt too much. I'm saving up for a MS Action Pack which would cover most things I might need. I'll have to look again at VB as I don't recall why I didn't choose it over ESXI.

If power is a real issue then just use an appliance for DNS and DHCP. Go ahead and use ESXi on bare metal for learning. Just shut it down when not in use. I think my power bill bumped up 10-15 dollars when I put in my first R710 which is now running my email and will have other services soon. The second is pure lab and I fire it up as needed.

 

[SpaceSquad]

If power is a real issue then just use an appliance for DNS and DHCP. Go ahead and use ESXi on bare metal for learning. Just shut it down when not in use. I think my power bill bumped up 10-15 dollars when I put in my first R710 which is now running my email and will have other services soon. The second is pure lab and I fire it up as needed.

Same idea for my own setup. I have "lab" stuff that is older+high power(cisco routers/switches, older servers, etc). I only turn this stuff on when needed. Will run for like max a week at a time.

My stuff that stays on is power-sipping. FreeNAS box is on a low-power APU system, pfSense runs on something similar, and my switch is a procurve 1810-24G which is fanless.

 

[Mike McCall]

If power is a real issue then just use an appliance for DNS and DHCP. Go ahead and use ESXi on bare metal for learning. Just shut it down when not in use. I think my power bill bumped up 10-15 dollars when I put in my first R710 which is now running my email and will have other services soon. The second is pure lab and I fire it up as needed.

Yeah, I think that's the direction I'm leaning at this point. My physical network seems to have hit critical mass, forcing me to either commit to bearing the weight of running too many devices on 2-levels of a home built in 1910 (cabling running across rooms, under throw rugs, and through floors), or trimming down the physical (as much as possible) and virtualizing the lab.

I had initially hoped to move the Dell Optiplex currently serving lab duties and DNS/DHCP on 2012R2 Eval. to the workbench running Linux, and insert the G5 in its place. The more I learn about this beast the more I realize I might want to rethink that. Everything currently sits behind a Motorola Cable Modem, into a Netgear WNDR3400v2 router doing NAT, and then a Meraki MS220-8P breaking things up from there. I've thought about replacing the router with a Ubiquity Edgerouter ERLITE-3, but that hasn't been in the cards yet and wouldn't solve my problem. I could make the Dell the appliance running ClearOS or something, but that doesn't free it up for bench duty. Virtualization of the lab seems the best option, though it will require obtaining more RAM for the G5. Unfortunately that still leaves the Dell doing DNS/DHCP as it is currently. If I want to free that up I seems to have two options - I could replace it with an appliance, or move those duties back to the router.

 

[jzukerman]

http://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU/
That'll tell you relatively accurately how much power the server draws and give you an estimate of how much it will cost to run.