Lab/Demo/Training Server, Refurb
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The goal
A server which can be used for proof of concepts, training, demonstrations and a panic disaster server if needed but no one will cry if the server is damaged on site.
XenServer is the hyper visor of choice, trying out Xen Orchestra for the first time with it but with XenCenter as a backup.
I found this Dell T310 from a UK refurb company.
Arrived in very good condition.
- All settings properly reset to factory.
- Working iDrac
- Disks were wiped and clean.
Spec
CPU 1 x INTEL XEON X3430 8MB Cache 2.4GHz QUAD CORE PROCESSOR
RAM 32GB (4x 8GB)
HDD 2x DELL 500GB 7.2K 3.5" SATA
RAID CONTROLLER Perc 6i SAS/SATA
BACKPLANE 4x LFF
OPTICAL MEDIA DVD
PSU 1x PSUPrice
Was about $315.Let's see how it does.
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What's your first project for it?
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@MattSpeller said in Lab/Demo/Training Server, Refurb:
What's your first project for it?
Drop a 2016 VM onto it. Run some bench marks. It's already got a raid-1 of the 2 disks and XenServer is installed along with Orchestra.
Orchestra as a UI does not feel intuitive. XenCenter is almost exactly the same as Hyper-v Or VMWare, Orchestra feels very different. Too many things spread out on the screen for me.
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@Breffni-Potter said in Lab/Demo/Training Server, Refurb:
Orchestra as a UI does not feel intuitive.
@olivier is working on it
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@aaronstuder
Yeah the new version looks sweet.
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@Breffni-Potter awesome glad you're trying out XenServer.
How do you have XS installed?
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@Breffni-Potter said in Lab/Demo/Training Server, Refurb:
The goal
A server which can be used for proof of concepts, training, demonstrations and a panic disaster server if needed but no one will cry if the server is damaged on site.
XenServer is the hyper visor of choice, trying out Xen Orchestra for the first time with it but with XenCenter as a backup.
I found this Dell T310 from a UK refurb company.
Arrived in very good condition.
- All settings properly reset to factory.
- Working iDrac
- Disks were wiped and clean.
Spec
CPU 1 x INTEL XEON X3430 8MB Cache 2.4GHz QUAD CORE PROCESSOR
RAM 32GB (4x 8GB)
HDD 2x DELL 500GB 7.2K 3.5" SATA
RAID CONTROLLER Perc 6i SAS/SATA
BACKPLANE 4x LFF
OPTICAL MEDIA DVD
PSU 1x PSUPrice
Was about $315.Let's see how it does.
What refurb company did you get it from?
Might be in the market for 2 servers for a Citrix Farm soon. -
@DustinB3403 said
How do you have XS installed?
Installed on a 16GB USB inside the machine so it never gets unplugged during transport.
XenServer seems to do almost everything out of the box VMWare can and it was stupidly easy to install & setup. I fat fingered during the install though. XenServer allows you to install the OS to the same media as you are installing from, so I managed to trash my install USB the first time because they were both identical 16 GB USBs.
The only thing I'm not happy about, is getting the iDrac 6 virtual console working. Trying a few things out.
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There were 5 of them yesterday, they went really quick
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262381932250?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Though to be honest, I could get double the processor performance if I went for rackmount for the same money. It's only because I wanted a tower format that I went with this one.
I've got a friend whose a genius at finding servers on Ebay, so if you are shopping, let me know
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@Breffni-Potter said
The only thing I'm not happy about, is getting the iDrac 6 virtual console working. Trying a few things out.
Is the iDrac6 like the 7 and later models? Where it is installed with very basic functionality in every server, and things like the virtual console have to be licensed?
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@BRRABill said in Lab/Demo/Training Server, Refurb:
@Breffni-Potter said
The only thing I'm not happy about, is getting the iDrac 6 virtual console working. Trying a few things out.
Is the iDrac6 like the 7 and later models? Where it is installed with very basic functionality in every server, and things like the virtual console have to be licensed?
I thought that only happened with 7 and up but in looking at it it seems they did it by the card.
So you can get an express card or an enterprise card, but not a license.
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Pair of drives in raid-1. Don't do too badly on this box.
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So Xen has been running for weeks now.
I've thrown everything under the sun at it. I've seen VMWare and Hyper-v on boxes of a similar spec but Xen is out-performing them, not by a huge amount but enough to make me consider it as a choice for deployments.
If only more vendors supported it....
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@Breffni-Potter Most vendors don't support it because it includes everything you need already, not much value add with that. Unless you really do mean Xen instead of XenServer.
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Bit of a bump.
Added a pair of drives, everything is running on a single raid-10 array, 1.3TB usable storage.
XenServer has been replaced with an eval install of 2016 Server for now. I've really liked XenServer but parking it to one side for now.
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@Breffni-Potter said in Lab/Demo/Training Server, Refurb:
XenServer has been replaced with an eval install of 2016 Server for now. I've really liked XenServer but parking it to one side for now.
Why didn't you install the 2016 server as a VM under XS?
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@Danp said in Lab/Demo/Training Server, Refurb:
@Breffni-Potter said in Lab/Demo/Training Server, Refurb:
XenServer has been replaced with an eval install of 2016 Server for now. I've really liked XenServer but parking it to one side for now.
Why didn't you install the 2016 server as a VM under XS?
I did that when I first got the system.
I'm messing about with 2016 as a host with Hyper-v.
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@Breffni-Potter said in Lab/Demo/Training Server, Refurb:
@Danp said in Lab/Demo/Training Server, Refurb:
@Breffni-Potter said in Lab/Demo/Training Server, Refurb:
XenServer has been replaced with an eval install of 2016 Server for now. I've really liked XenServer but parking it to one side for now.
Why didn't you install the 2016 server as a VM under XS?
I did that when I first got the system.
I'm messing about with 2016 as a host with Hyper-v.
How does it run?
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Were you new to XS? What is your impression of XS vs. Hyper-V?
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@dafyre said in Lab/Demo/Training Server, Refurb:
@Breffni-Potter said in Lab/Demo/Training Server, Refurb:
@Danp said in Lab/Demo/Training Server, Refurb:
@Breffni-Potter said in Lab/Demo/Training Server, Refurb:
XenServer has been replaced with an eval install of 2016 Server for now. I've really liked XenServer but parking it to one side for now.
Why didn't you install the 2016 server as a VM under XS?
I did that when I first got the system.
I'm messing about with 2016 as a host with Hyper-v.
How does it run?
It's running as a server cluster with nested virtualisation (It's a lab, don't panic because it's a single physical box)
Really really liking 2016 so far, some nice new features they have snuck into it.
Apart from the CPU which is obvious, the system runs fairly quickly, everything nice and snappy. It's been up since Sunday.
