Post Your Servers v3: Holy Motherload of Knowledge - Hardware & Software

[QUOTE=MexicanR;51748304]I'm looking into getting a "beginner" server, meaning relatively low cost, easy to find parts, etc. Any of the more experienced people have suggestions? I'll most likely be running a couple of websites and maybe a game server or two.[/QUOTE] I'm about to get an R710, the 3.5" drive bay model since drives are wayyyy cheaper in that form factor, and probably gonna run it with L5640s since they're decent little low power 6-core processors. Careful about RAM slot utilization as configuration makes some difference in speed and the storage controller might be an important aspect to note depending on your needs. The manual is a good place to read up on it: [url]https://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/pedge/en/server-poweredge-r710-tech-guidebook.pdf[/url] ( the manual notes there are two SATA 2 port on the main board, it says they can only be used with CD or tape drives, they can actually be used with storage drives as well )

I've just got to post this, it's a big deal for the local IT scene in my city. I'll try to take pictures of the building as it is now, they've got a few cooling units and generators installed outside already. [video=vimeo;204462817]https://vimeo.com/204462817[/video]

part of it looks like a movie of someone about to break into a secure location to steal a CD. the building looks like it'd be some evil lair.

[QUOTE=FrankPetrov;52023511]part of it looks like a movie of someone about to break into a secure location to steal a CD. the building looks like it'd be some evil lair.[/QUOTE] That's Switch for you. When you take a tour, they won't let you go to the bathroom without an armed guard escorting you. They have an "over the top" mentality for sure but it works. Here's what the building looks like at the moment: [t]http://i.imgur.com/1N6i8fA.jpg[/t]

Finally got ESXi installed on my Precision. Still getting all the individual servers up and running, but here's my current scheme [t]http://i.imgur.com/XrOY6ER.png[/t]

[QUOTE=Levelog;52025437]Finally got ESXi installed on my Precision. Still getting all the individual servers up and running, but here's my current scheme [t]http://i.imgur.com/XrOY6ER.png[/t][/QUOTE] 4gb RAM / 2 cores should be ample for a DC / DNS / DHCP box. Especially if you're running it on server core. My two DC's sit around 1300mb demand during normal use, 2gb+ during Windows Updates.

[QUOTE=birkett;52033317]4gb RAM / 2 cores should be ample for a DC / DNS / DHCP box. Especially if you're running it on server core. My two DC's sit around 1300mb demand during normal use, 2gb+ during Windows Updates.[/QUOTE] Yeah I could definitely lower it but I'm not even oversubbed on RAM as is so why not

[URL="http://imgur.com/a/tirV9"]In case anyone was curious what AWS looks like from a topology standpoint.[/URL] This is the path to one of our SaaS environments.

Getting my lab finally set up. Equipments old as hell but was free so whatever. [t]http://i.imgur.com/hBcCx6e.jpg[/t]

Whats the 2821 running IOS wise? I should get a mug shot of my CCNA rack going but in the mean time enjoy [url=https://i.imgur.com/7nqWZPQ.jpg]a picture of how I got a "non-functional" Cisco 891[/url] with the 15.1(4)M advipservices for $5 :v: Edit: I was never able to get my 2651XM with NM-16A/S to work as a terminal server so I got a whole bunch of serial-usb cables and a raspberry pi to replace it.

[QUOTE=Levelog;52076460]Getting my lab finally set up. Equipments old as hell but was free so whatever. [t]http://i.imgur.com/hBcCx6e.jpg[/t][/QUOTE] PM me if you want some recent-ish firmware for that ASA5505, i have asa916-4-k8.bin, as well as asdm-742.bin.

[QUOTE=TrinityX;52079250]PM me if you want some recent-ish firmware for that ASA5505, i have asa916-4-k8.bin, as well as asdm-742.bin.[/QUOTE] My old job (datacenter/business ISP) that one of my best friend's got after I left has active contracts for everything so there's pretty much no cisco firmware I can't get, but thanks! [editline]9th April 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=Cakebatyr;52079093]Whats the 2821 running IOS wise? I should get a mug shot of my CCNA rack going but in the mean time enjoy [url=https://i.imgur.com/7nqWZPQ.jpg]a picture of how I got a "non-functional" Cisco 891[/url] with the 15.1(4)M advipservices for $5 :v: Edit: I was never able to get my 2651XM with NM-16A/S to work as a terminal server so I got a whole bunch of serial-usb cables and a raspberry pi to replace it.[/QUOTE] I'll have to get back to you on that, literally took the picture half an hour after I got the stuff out of my trunk so I haven't booted it up yet.

I'm getting a 12U enclosed rolling rack for 150$, however it also comes with some awesome servers! [t]https://images.craigslist.org/00O0O_lQJkYChiHEZ_600x450.jpg[/t] [t]https://images.craigslist.org/01616_bZBAhLgruDO_600x450.jpg[/t] [t]https://images.craigslist.org/00z0z_3GihPSdygDA_1200x900.jpg[/t] 2 Dell 1850 rack servers 4gb ram 3.0 GHz processors 2 Dell 2650 rack servers with 4gb ram 1 Dell 2800 with COA windows 2003 server. Multiple SCSI drives. Just in time for Florida summer, central heating!

Came for a Rack - left with 7 severs and a tape drive [url]http://imgur.com/gallery/Xa4yD[/url] I saw this 12U enclosed rack on Craigslist for 200$. It included a few of the Dells. I offered 150$. He said sure. I got there. Talked for an hour. Left with the following: Apple xserve 2.0qx/4x512/750/750/750/sd/mezgfx Two Dell Poweredge 1850 "4gb ram 3.0 GHz processors" Two Dell Poweredge 2650 "4gb ram" Dell Poweredge SC1425 Dell Poweredge 2800 "COA windows 2003 server" Cisco 2900 XL 10/100 Switch LCD15SRP-001 Rackmount Console VXA-2 Tape Loader (Holds 10 tapes) Rail kits Crap ton of 10K SCSI drives of various sizes ( 36GB, 72GB, 300GB ) Oh, and a 12U rack. Need to determine actual hardware specs. The Dells have stuff like "3ghz" written on them. I know most are obsolete. Anything with no computational use will be taken apart and stripped down to parts. I can use heat sinks, fans, RAM, power supplies, and even the cases in other electronics projects. The apple has three 750GB drives and seems pretty decent, so it will probably see use in my future lab. Anything that might have use but can't be ran 24/7 due to power requirements will just be set up to turn on and off depending on whether or not there is work for them to do. [I]Edit: oh, I thought it would merge my two posts if they are back to back..[/I]

[QUOTE=gjsdeath;52096392]Came for a Rack - left with 7 severs and a tape drive [url]http://imgur.com/gallery/Xa4yD[/url] I saw this 12U enclosed rack on Craigslist for 200$. It included a few of the Dells. I offered 150$. He said sure. I got there. Talked for an hour. Left with the following: Apple xserve 2.0qx/4x512/750/750/750/sd/mezgfx Two Dell Poweredge 1850 "4gb ram 3.0 GHz processors" Two Dell Poweredge 2650 "4gb ram" Dell Poweredge SC1425 Dell Poweredge 2800 "COA windows 2003 server" Cisco 2900 XL 10/100 Switch LCD15SRP-001 Rackmount Console VXA-2 Tape Loader (Holds 10 tapes) Rail kits Crap ton of 10K SCSI drives of various sizes ( 36GB, 72GB, 300GB ) Oh, and a 12U rack. Need to determine actual hardware specs. The Dells have stuff like "3ghz" written on them. I know most are obsolete. Anything with no computational use will be taken apart and stripped down to parts. I can use heat sinks, fans, RAM, power supplies, and even the cases in other electronics projects. The apple has three 750GB drives and seems pretty decent, so it will probably see use in my future lab. Anything that might have use but can't be ran 24/7 due to power requirements will just be set up to turn on and off depending on whether or not there is work for them to do. [I]Edit: oh, I thought it would merge my two posts if they are back to back..[/I][/QUOTE] Oh that 2924 hurts me. We just recycled a huge pile of 3560's otherwise I'd offer to send you one if you paid shipping.

[QUOTE=MTMod;52115759]Oh that 2924 hurts me. We just recycled a huge pile of 3560's otherwise I'd offer to send you one if you paid shipping.[/QUOTE] Whyyyyy would you just recycle something like that?

Because 3560's are old as hell and don't really have a place in a real environment

[QUOTE=MTMod;52115759]Oh that 2924 hurts me. We just recycled a huge pile of 3560's otherwise I'd offer to send you one if you paid shipping.[/QUOTE] The 2900 was just thrown in like the rest of it, I happily take ( free ) stuff even if it's horribly outdated. I might use this switch for learning, it's probably too power hungry to use even as just a management switch. Thanks for the offer, but the next switch I buy I hope to get something gigabit and preferably with POE+.

[QUOTE=Levelog;52118087]Because 3560's are old as hell and don't really have a place in a real environment[/QUOTE] Correct. They were 10/100. PoE, though.

Speaking of 3560s heres my network lab: [t]https://i.imgur.com/TX0ICVL.jpg[/t] I've got quite a lot of shit. 2x Cisco 2851 1x Cisco 2811 (I hate how loud this is, that's why I got the 2851s) 1x Cisco 891 ($10 "bad ram" special, the ram was unseated) 1x Cisco 2651XM (running exclusively as a terminal server for everything else) 1x Cisco 3560-24PC-S (also horribly loud, I only keep it around because its IOS version is higher than the 3560-8) 1x Cisco 3560-8PC-S 2x Cisco 2960-8PD-L (powered by the 3560-8) 1x GateProtect GPA-400 (pfsense) 1x GateProtect GPO-125 (pfsense) 1x Ubiquiti ERLite 1x Cisco ASA 5505 (not pictured) ∞x Cable Mess (not pictured) And finally the Cisco SF300 (no fans!) which for all purposes is the backbone of my network. It links between my home router and my raspberry pis/server in the other room. With the exception of one of the 2851s I don't think I spent more than CA$40 on any one unit (not counting shipping). Not too bad for ~6 months of ebay trawling.

For fun or you training for a Cisco cert?

[QUOTE=gjsdeath;52145489]For fun or you training for a Cisco cert?[/QUOTE] Yeah its mostly for cisco certs. One of the 2851s and the 891 are both on 15.x and the 2960PDs are on 15.0(1) I believe, maybe (2), so I'm set for IOS thingimagings. Whats kind of a bummer is that I've got five cisco routers but only two of them have VPN modules in them. I picked up the gateprotects originally because I wanted to gut them and house a bunch of raspberry pi's but then I decided I would install pfsense for a lark. The edgerouter lite (again, mostly because it was very cheap) is so I can futz around without having to factory reset my primary router (edgerouter x) in the event I do something dumb. Like set all ports to PVID 1 without having a VLAN 1.

[QUOTE=Cakebatyr;52151735]Yeah its mostly for cisco certs. One of the 2851s and the 891 are both on 15.x and the 2960PDs are on 15.0(1) I believe, maybe (2), so I'm set for IOS thingimagings. Whats kind of a bummer is that I've got five cisco routers but only two of them have VPN modules in them. I picked up the gateprotects originally because I wanted to gut them and house a bunch of raspberry pi's but then I decided I would install pfsense for a lark. The edgerouter lite (again, mostly because it was very cheap) is so I can futz around without having to factory reset my primary router (edgerouter x) in the event I do something dumb. Like set all ports to PVID 1 without having a VLAN 1.[/QUOTE] Out of curiosity, how long time does one use on Cisco certs?

[t]https://www.helifreak.club/image/20170426114346614.png[/t] Some pretty major differences in memory usage for low end VPSes when comparing openVZ (left) and KVM (right), both are doing fuck all. [code]speedtest-cli Retrieving speedtest.net configuration... Testing from GMO Internet (150.95.152.205)... Retrieving speedtest.net server list... Selecting best server based on ping... Hosted by ASEINet (Tokyo) [0.96 km]: 4.542 ms Testing download speed.......................................................... Download: 123.08 Mbit/s Testing upload speed............................................................ Upload: 129.48 Mbit/s[/code] Sadly, the internet is not organic. 100/100 advertised and it saturates the whole ~32 mbps of my home connection and pulls about 95 mbps to my server in France so no complaints there. I probably could've got a VPN for less but fuck it this is way more fun.

[QUOTE=Cakebatyr;52151735]Yeah its mostly for cisco certs. One of the 2851s and the 891 are both on 15.x and the 2960PDs are on 15.0(1) I believe, maybe (2), so I'm set for IOS thingimagings. Whats kind of a bummer is that I've got five cisco routers but only two of them have VPN modules in them. I picked up the gateprotects originally because I wanted to gut them and house a bunch of raspberry pi's but then I decided I would install pfsense for a lark. The edgerouter lite (again, mostly because it was very cheap) is so I can futz around without having to factory reset my primary router (edgerouter x) in the event I do something dumb. Like set all ports to PVID 1 without having a VLAN 1.[/QUOTE] ERL fucks itself anyways without bad configs.

[QUOTE=Cakebatyr;52151735]Yeah its mostly for cisco certs. One of the 2851s and the 891 are both on 15.x and the 2960PDs are on 15.0(1) I believe, maybe (2), so I'm set for IOS thingimagings. Whats kind of a bummer is that I've got five cisco routers but only two of them have VPN modules in them. I picked up the gateprotects originally because I wanted to gut them and house a bunch of raspberry pi's but then I decided I would install pfsense for a lark. The edgerouter lite (again, mostly because it was very cheap) is so I can futz around without having to factory reset my primary router (edgerouter x) in the event I do something dumb. Like set all ports to PVID 1 without having a VLAN 1.[/QUOTE] I am going to be buying a switch soon, a real managed one. Haven't decided on the brand or model. While I do want to learn on it, I really want it to be practical for home and lab use. Likely something with POE. Maybe an older Cisco or HP. But gigabit, noise, and power use are important factors. Idk if I'll be doing any Cisco certs yet. Oh, and I just bought an r710. It'll be here by Friday. 3.5" Bays, Dual L5640s(Hex Core), 48GB (12 x 4GB PC3-10600R), SAS6i/R, iDRAC6 Enterprise. Planned on running Proxmox with VMs containing my website, VPN, PLEX, and NAS. I'm also gonna probably throw linux on that xserve, it looks like the only usable server I got from that lot. The others probably aren't worth running. Need to determine if even the xserve is even worth running, but it seems more powerful than the others? [B]Edit[/B]: More info on the pile of servers: xServe 2x Intel Xeon 5130 - 2 Cores, 4 cores total - 2ghz - Single Core/Cores/Total Passmark: 772/1379/2500 - 64bit - Supports VM 3x 750GB 7200RPM HDD SAS 3.5" 2GB RAM ( Use RAM from the other servers? 667 MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM) PowerEdge 2650 ( probably same for both ) 2x Intel Xeon 80532K - 1 Core, 2 cores total - 3.066ghz - Passmark Core/Total: 400/800 - 32bit - NO VM 3GB RAM PowerEdge 1850 2x Intel Xeon 80546K - 1 core, 2 cores total -3.0ghz -32bit -NO VM -100W+ TDP 4GB RAM PowerEdge SC1425 -Low voltage version of the 1850 CPU, underclocked to 2.8 2GB RAM PowerEdge 2800 -Same as 1850 So, the Apple really is the only thing close to useful. It can support VMs, 32GB of RAM, and it could technically do PLEX. The CPUs TDP is 65W each, which isn't horrible. I am hopefully able to steal RAM from the other servers for the xServe. Maybe end up with one half decent server out of the pile. Although the real question is will I need it when I will have the r710. We will see.

[QUOTE=gjsdeath;52169863]I am going to be buying a switch soon, a real managed one. Haven't decided on the brand or model. While I do want to learn on it, I really want it to be practical for home and lab use. Likely something with POE. Maybe an older Cisco or HP. But noise and power use are important factors.[/QUOTE] I don't know if later model 3560s have blower fans but mine has a horrendous little 40mm fan that just screams. Theres a reason why I have the SF300. Get a 2960 because they have nice quiet blower fans, I use a [url=https://i.imgur.com/3H9r6k7.jpg]2960LT-L (8 port POE)[/url] in what passes for my "server lab". [url=http://www.ebay.ca/itm/201900205191]2960's are cheap to boot[/url]. If you want a managed gigabit switch check out the [url=http://www.ebay.ca/itm/201903594944]Mikrotik CSS326-24G-2S[/url]. A fanless, Passive-POE powerable, gigabit switch with 10GBE uplinks.

[QUOTE=gjsdeath;52096392]Apple xserve 2.0qx/4x512/750/750/750/sd/mezgfx Two Dell Poweredge 1850 "4gb ram 3.0 GHz processors" Two Dell Poweredge 2650 "4gb ram" Dell Poweredge SC1425 Dell Poweredge 2800 "COA windows 2003 server"[/QUOTE] The Apple Xserve 2.0 has 2 x Xeon 5130 (four cores at 2.0 GHz) - Probably usable for light loads, based on Core architecture Poweredge 1850 - Uses Netburst Xeons, junk Poweredge 2650 - Netburst Xeons, junk Poweredge SC1425 - Netburst Xeons, junk Poweredge 2800 - Netburst [B]potential dual core[/B] Xeons, the worst junk. If it has the dual core variants, expect the server to idle at like ~500W power usage. The last time I dealt with a dual core Netburst based Xeon, the TDP was something like 170W per chip. All of the Poweredge servers can be scrapped because they're computationally worthless and use massive amounts of power. The dual core Netburst parts are somewhat interesting because the CPUs are huge and really heavy, but are still computationally worthless. [QUOTE=gjsdeath;52096392]apple has three 750GB drives and seems pretty decent, so it will probably see use in my future lab. Anything that might have use but can't be ran 24/7 due to power requirements will just be set up to turn on and off depending on whether or not there is work for them to do. [I]Edit: oh, I thought it would merge my two posts if they are back to back..[/I][/QUOTE] Yep, the Apple Xserve is really the only good server out of the lot. You may be able to sell all of the old SCSI drives (if they work) and recover some money because a lot of businesses still run antiquated SCSI backplanes and need replacement drives, and vintage computer guys like them as well because the old MFM/RLL/ESDI and even CHS IDE drives are now starting to die off due to age.

[QUOTE=Cakebatyr;52170392] If you want a managed gigabit switch check out the [url=http://www.ebay.ca/itm/201903594944]Mikrotik CSS326-24G-2S[/url]. A fanless, Passive-POE powerable, gigabit switch with 10GBE uplinks.[/QUOTE] Hmmm, that looks interesting. I'll have to look into that. [QUOTE=GiGaBiTe;52170396] All of the Poweredge servers can be scrapped because they're computationally worthless and use massive amounts of power. The dual core Netburst parts are somewhat interesting because the CPUs are huge and really heavy, but are still computationally worthless. [/QUOTE] Kinda figured. I plan on using them for parts. These PSUs can be awesome bench power supplies cause of the massive amount of amps they can drop. The CPU heatsinks are super nice. The chassis's may even be re-purposed with different internals. Like, I am considering using the 1U Dell case with an Arduino and maybe a Pi to setup a power and environmental monitors since decent networked ones seem to be really expensive. [QUOTE=GiGaBiTe;52170396] Yep, the Apple Xserve is really the only good server out of the lot. You may be able to sell all of the old SCSI drives (if they work) and recover some money because a lot of businesses still run antiquated SCSI backplanes and need replacement drives, and vintage computer guys like them as well because the old MFM/RLL/ESDI and even CHS IDE drives are now starting to die off due to age.[/QUOTE] I didn't know the SCSIs were even worth selling, I do have quite a few. However, I should probably block check them before trying to sell, the guy I got it from said all but one worked.. but didn't mark the bad one.... I am gonna try to put Promox on the Apple too, so I can throw VMs between the two.

[QUOTE=gjsdeath;52170507]These PSUs can be awesome bench power supplies cause of the massive amount of amps they can drop.[/QUOTE] You'll probably want to open them and inspect the capacitors before you re-purpose them because they're from the time frame of the capacitor plague, and have an unknown amount of running hours on them in a furnace box. I would recap them on principle because 13 years is quite long in the tooth for electrolytics. [QUOTE=gjsdeath;52170507]The CPU heatsinks are super nice.[/QUOTE] Yeah because they had to deal with massive amounts of heat. If they're copper, probably worth a few dollars in scrap value. The only thing I can think of re-purposing them for is COB LED heatsinks. [QUOTE=gjsdeath;52170507]The chassis's may even be re-purposed with different internals. Like, I am considering using the 1U Dell case with an Arduino and maybe a Pi to setup a power and environmental monitors since decent networked ones seem to be really expensive.[/QUOTE] Ehh, seems like a lot of effort and wasted space. I guess you could make a fake server and route the front LEDs to the arduino and make them flash in patterns to make it look like its doing something. [QUOTE=gjsdeath;52170507]I didn't know the SCSIs were even worth selling, I do have quite a few. However, I should probably block check them before trying to sell, the guy I got it from said all but one worked.. but didn't mark the bad one....[/QUOTE] Depends on the size. The larger SCSI drives are still worth something, while the smaller drives are worth much less and have a different group of people that want them (vintage computers.) [QUOTE=gjsdeath;52170507]I am gonna try to put Promox on the Apple too, so I can throw VMs between the two.[/QUOTE] If you want to pimp out the Apple Xserve 2.0, it supposedly takes up to Xeon 5160 (3.0 GHz dual core) which are dirt cheap now: $9 for two of them [URL="http://www.ebay.com/itm/112185156011"]www.ebay.com/itm/112185156011[/URL] And according to some people on the Apple forums, it can take dual quads like the E5335 (quad 2.0): [URL="http://www.ebay.com/itm/172578685318"]www.ebay.com/itm/172578685318[/URL] Or the X5355 (quad 2.66): [URL]http://www.ebay.com/itm/162492502636[/URL] There's a 3 GHz quad (X5365) but it's still a $70+ part.