server for home-use

rsty · 2011-10-23 23:15:12

I was able to get my hands on a older hp model rackmount (dl380 G3 Series) for free. It has 6x Ultra3 SCSI 15k drives, so it's a bit loud but the noise doesn't bother me. I plan to use it for a rsync host mainly, so I can sync from PC to laptop very easily (and my wife wants to be able to sync all of our family pictures/videos to her netbook from her PC). And also to pull all my movies from my roku & old neuros. I will find plenty more uses in the future. I was just wondering if this might be a little bit overkill for home-use. I figured since I got it for free, I want to put it to use. Like I said, I dont mind the noise and I can keep it cool enough, I am just worried about the power usage. How much power does a server use... when it's not being "used" And what about power configurations, for people who have the same deal as me. Because I wont be using it 24/7.

graysky · 2011-10-24 00:05:37

Buy a kill-a-watt and measure it for yourself... what do you think the odds are that someone in here actually owns this machine AND a kill-a-watt??

/dev/zero · 2011-10-24 00:30:21

Do you have a reason to doubt the power usage available from stfw?

rsty · 2011-10-24 00:38:25

graysky wrote:

Buy a kill-a-watt and measure it for yourself... what do you think the odds are that someone in here actually owns this machine AND a kill-a-watt??

Funny thing is.. I wanted to post to see what anyone had to say before I went out and bought a kill-a-watt. I just wanted a roundabout for a 2U with 6 15k SCSI's... not exact. As yes/no/maybe answer to say the least, lol. I thought it was a pretty straight forward question. Is this stupid what I am doing or not?

/dev/zero wrote:

Do you have a reason to doubt the power usage available from stfw?

I do not. But I cannot seem to get the answer that I want. All the power usage calculators ask for a PSU wattage, guessing that a 400W PSU is running always 24/7 @ 400W

/dev/zero · 2011-10-24 00:47:20

What about powertop?

.:B:. · 2011-10-24 01:09:47

Everything besides an Atom, a Zacate or maybe some other entry-level AMD or Intel is pure overkill. You don't need a watt meter to know that.

If power consumption doesn't bother you, of course, then stick with it. I don't know how much power goes for in the US these days. It's nice to recycle old stuff, but it's still pure overkill for what you'll use it for.

Last edited by .:B:. (2011-10-24 01:14:18)

fukawi2 · 2011-10-24 01:12:28

rsty wrote:

How much power does a server use... when it's not being "used" And what about power configurations, for people who have the same deal as me. Because I wont be using it 24/7.

I have a couple of these exact units for home... They are loud and expensive. I don't have exact figures, but I can't afford to run them. I bought a rack-case and built a custom "server" instead. The DL380's are now at work instead (where I don't pay the electricity bill )

rsty · 2011-10-24 01:52:54

fukawi2 wrote:

rsty wrote:
How much power does a server use... when it's not being "used" And what about power configurations, for people who have the same deal as me. Because I wont be using it 24/7.
I have a couple of these exact units for home... They are loud and expensive. I don't have exact figures, but I can't afford to run them. I bought a rack-case and built a custom "server" instead. The DL380's are now at work instead (where I don't pay the electricity bill )

Thanks. I wonder how it would be with green SATA drives and some power config tweaks. For now, I'll stick with my backup drive in my desk drawer and rsync for my laptop. Thanks all.

zenlord · 2011-10-24 07:01:07

Take a look at the HP Micro server - small, noiseless, almost no power consumption and should be enough to handle your usecases. (Did I say it was cheap?)

synthead · 2011-10-25 12:21:18

Having a server running 24/7 will cost you anywhere between $20-60 a month in electricity alone. Like the guys above said, you're really better off starting with a low-power solution like an Atom board. I have one of those guys in a micro-ATX form factor and it has a peak draw of 45W. That's a small lightbulb.

libertas · 2011-10-25 21:47:38

For a very low power consumption you may try something as the eSata Sheeva UBIFS arm based linux solutions or other similar products.
Myself, I'm considering to buy one of those for file and mail server and a few other things.

Arch Linux

#1 2011-10-23 23:15:12

server for home-use

#2 2011-10-24 00:05:37

Re: server for home-use

#3 2011-10-24 00:30:21

Re: server for home-use

#4 2011-10-24 00:38:25

Re: server for home-use

#5 2011-10-24 00:47:20

Re: server for home-use

#6 2011-10-24 01:09:47

Re: server for home-use

#7 2011-10-24 01:12:28

Re: server for home-use

#8 2011-10-24 01:52:54

Re: server for home-use

#9 2011-10-24 07:01:07

Re: server for home-use

#10 2011-10-25 12:21:18

Re: server for home-use

#11 2011-10-25 21:47:38

Re: server for home-use

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