HP finally release the replacement to the ProLiant ML115

[ServersPlus]

HP ProLiant MicroServer series overview - HP Small & Medium Business products

 

Looks more like a NAS box than a server, but may prove popular as a VM test box if the price is right. What do you guys think?

[powdarrmonkey]

Are you supplying them yet?

[ServersPlus]

We will be, but they're so new we haven't had an ETA yet! We managed to get hold of the last ever stock of the old ML115's before they were discontinued to last us until these microservers appear though.

[TopBanana]

they look nice and shelf sized

[MatthewL]

Very interested in these if they are as small and tidy as they look.

[Arthur]

may prove popular as a VM test box if the price is right

http://www.techhead.co.uk/new-hp-proliant-microserver-a-decent-vsphere-lab-server-candidate

 

The UK price is £219 + VAT.

Edited September 12, 2010 by Arthur

[Theblacksheep]

Only 2 ram slots limited to 4gb each is a bit of a needless restriction.

[localzuk]

Interesting choice of processor to put in it too. Basically a slightly scaled up netbook processor.

 

Not sure why you think 8GB RAM limit is bad though. If you have a system which needs more than that, then you need a more powerful machine generally. Otherwise its like putting a Supercharger on a Fiat Uno...

[Arthur]

Only 2 ram slots limited to 4gb each is a bit of a needless restriction.

I agree, if using it for virtualization. Other than the size, the ML110 G6 for £245 looks like a better choice for an entry-level server since this supports 16GB RAM (4 x DIMM slots) and has a much faster processor.

Edited September 12, 2010 by Ric_

[localzuk]

I agree, if using it for virtualization. Other than the size, the ML110 G6 for £245 looks like a better choice for an entry-level server since this supports 16GB RAM (4 x DIMM slots) and has a much faster processor.

 

Virtualising on that processor is going to be a bit limited...

[Theblacksheep]

Interesting choice of processor to put in it too. Basically a slightly scaled up netbook processor.

 

Not sure why you think 8GB RAM limit is bad though. If you have a system which needs more than that, then you need a more powerful machine generally. Otherwise its like putting a Supercharger on a Fiat Uno...

 

Its not that its bad. Thats the ml115 limit, if i was getting something to replace my current ml115 vm rig, i'd want the ability to put more than 8gb in it.

 

As a former Renault 5 turbo owner, the suggestion of a supercharged uno just seems like a good idea (there was a production uno turbo).

[Duke]

Anyone know the processor speed of the 'base' model? The ML115 gives me 4 cores of 2.2GHz which is nice, if this is only 2 cores I'd like a speed boost at least. Also a bit worried about the half-height, half-length expansion slots - I believe the ML115 was full length or am I wrong? Are there any cheap 1Gb NICs on the VMware HCL that would fit?

 

I've got two ML115s as VMware platforms, hopefully I won't have to buy another as I'll finally get the budget to do things properly (Dell R710's w/48GB RAM) but the ML115 worked nicely as a go-between.

[jamesfed]

I've never had any problems with Athlon Neo for VMs (more than can be said with Intel Atom); all the same I don't think HP had VM in mind when they put this together.

[localzuk]

Anyone know the processor speed of the 'base' model? The ML115 gives me 4 cores of 2.2GHz which is nice, if this is only 2 cores I'd like a speed boost at least.

 

Dual Core 1.3Ghz Athlon NEO II.

[3s-gtech]

Got a couple of Athlon Neo laptops, they're pretty quick for what they are (a low end low power processor). Don't see this as a replacement for the ML115, but it's certainly got a place in the market.

[Chillibear]

Anyone know if it comes with empty caddies for the drives? I know it ships with one drive, but it's not totally clear if there are empty caddies in the other slots or if they are just, well, empty...

[localzuk]

Anyone know if it comes with empty caddies for the drives? I know it ships with one drive, but it's not totally clear if there are empty caddies in the other slots or if they are just, well, empty...

 

Unlikely - the usual HP model for drives is to have empty slots with blanking modules in them, and then you buy from their range of standard drives, which come in caddies.

[john]

Does it need caddys though? If its like the previous 115 it won't be a caddy based product it will just be a screw it in job like a normal Desktop PC (and they will have included all the screws built into the chassis under the hood)

[localzuk]

Does it need caddys though? If its like the previous 115 it won't be a caddy based product it will just be a screw it in job like a normal Desktop PC (and they will have included all the screws built into the chassis under the hood)

 

Q2 in the Q&A section seems to indicate that it uses a pluggable drive bay - HP ProLiant MicroServer series - Q&A

[john]

Q2 in the Q&A section seems to indicate that it uses a pluggable drive bay - HP ProLiant MicroServer series - Q&A

 

ah didn't see that, everything else I read on it and looked at including the spec sheet implied normal style Thus this may start off cheap but add a few HP HDDs it will be too costly basically! I liked the old ML115s as you could just buy the server and then cheap HDDs after

[ServersPlus]

Just to clarify, the HP MicroServer does come with the caddy's (basically trays like you'd find in a NAS box) - As seen in the datasheet - http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/13716_div/13716_div.HTML - The official HP drives for these are the non-hotplug internal SATAs that also fit in the ML110/ML115.

 

This means you can use pretty much any 3rd party HDDs in there.

[dhicks]

Just to clarify, the HP MicroServer does come with the caddy's

 

Sorry, I could have sworn there was a post where you'd put up some photos of the inside of one of these machines but I can't find it now. So one of these mini-servers will take four 2TB SATA drives and a DVD rewriter? Is there any way to fit a memory card reader on to the front panel too - maybe a slim laptop-style DVD drive and integrated card reader in a 5.25" slot? Can you fit a half-height, CUDA / Fermi-capable graphics card in that 16x PCI Express slot? With a 200W power supply, will the machine manage four drives and a graphics card? What is the on-board RAID like - does it work with Linux?

 

Edit: Sorry, forgot - would it also take a Firewire input card in that 1x PCI Express slot? Is there any way to get a Firewire input on to the front panle too?

 

 

--

David Hicks

Edited September 30, 2010 by dhicks

[Simcfc73]

I am undecided with which route to go with UAG, I am buying a T710 anyway but may scrimp on the spec more and get one of these.. .decisions... decisions...

 

PS. Love the review on the site.. I don't own one, have ever seen one in the flesh but its a 5 star product.

[Arthur]

Sorry, I could have sworn there was a post where you'd put up some photos of the inside of one of these machines but I can't find it now.

The video below gives a good overview of the MicroServer (both inside and out). It is supplied with four HDD carriers as standard.

 

Click here to see another video which compares the size of the MicroServer with a Proliant ML115 and Shuttle PC.

 

So one of these mini-servers will take four 2TB SATA drives and a DVD rewriter?

Yes, although it looks like 2TB HDDs are the maximum since it doesn't support UEFI. A bit short-sighted in my opinion.

 

Is there any way to fit a memory card reader on to the front panel too - maybe a slim laptop-style DVD drive and integrated card reader in a 5.25" slot?

You could if you modify this drive-bay adapter. It's probably easier and cheaper to use a separate optical drive and memory card reader though.

 

Can you fit a half-height, CUDA / Fermi-capable graphics card in that 16x PCI Express slot? With a 200W power supply, will the machine manage four drives and a graphics card?

The maximum power draw for the PCIe x16 slot is 25w according to the specs page on the HP website, so unless you can find a very short single-slot graphics card which uses less than 25 watts you're out of luck. Another thing I noticed in the Maintenance and Service Guide (page 56) is that the PSU doesn't have any additional power connectors - there are only five Molex LP4 connectors (four for the HDDs and one for the SATA optical drive) and a single 24-pin ATX power cable to connect to the motherboard. There is an internal USB port, but this would only be suitable for a memory card reader or a USB flash drive for running ESXi from.

 

What is the on-board RAID like - does it work with Linux?

The onboard RAID uses the RAID feature of the AMD RS785E/SB820M chipset. The are no Linux drivers for it on either the HP or AMD websites (only graphics & NIC drivers) so I am not sure.

 

Would it also take a Firewire input card in that 1x PCI Express slot? Is there any way to get a Firewire input on to the front panel too?

Yes, although you won't be able to add a port to the front panel unless you use a drive bay adapter. A good PCIe x1 FireWire card to use would be the StarTech PEX1394B3LP because it doesn't use a bridge chip (i.e. native PCIe) and works perfectly with Unibrain's ubCore drivers. I have one of these in my home computer.

[pete]

hmm, anyone seen power draw figures when loaded with drives?