JDLucas Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I am finally upgrading from my HP MediaSmart Server V1 after 5 years of trusty service. I picked up a HP Proliant N40L Micro Server on sale for $260 and Windows Home Server 2011 for $50. My game plan is as follows: Install 8GB of memory in the N40L Install an ICY DOCK MB982SPR-2S Full Metal Dual 2.5" to 3.5" SATA HDD set to Raid 1 with 2 ea. Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD1600BPVT 160GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s HDD's all mounted in the DVD slot on the N40L, along with Windows Home Server 2011 OS. Not sure if SSD's are a good price point here? Populate the N40L with 4 ea. Western Digital Red WD20EFRX 2TB IntelliPower 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" HDD's and be good to go for another 5 years, while keeping the working MediaSmart Server V1 as alternate storage. Not sure if anybody has done this exact build, would be interested in anyone's thoughts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmwills Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Looks like a good plan. You will also need a molex to SATA power adapter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcollison Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Good luck. Keep us posted and send pictures as you do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe_Miner Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Looks like a good plan. You've obviously put some thought into this. Good luck and keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikon Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 I concur with everyone else. I also do not think you need to go SSD for the OS drive. It will only speed up your server a tiny bit. The only item I might reconsider is the 2TB drives; I might go for 3TB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDLucas Posted November 29, 2012 Author Share Posted November 29, 2012 I am finally upgrading from my HP MediaSmart Server V1 after 5 years of trusty service. I picked up a HP Proliant N40L Micro Server on sale for $260 and Windows Home Server 2011 for $50. My game plan is as follows: Install 8GB of memory in the N40L Install an ICY DOCK MB982SPR-2S Full Metal Dual 2.5" to 3.5" SATA HDD set to Raid 1 with 2 ea. Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD1600BPVT 160GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s HDD's all mounted in the DVD slot on the N40L, along with Windows Home Server 2011 OS. Not sure if SSD's are a good price point here? Populate the N40L with 4 ea. Western Digital Red WD20EFRX 2TB IntelliPower 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" HDD's and be good to go for another 5 years, while keeping the working MediaSmart Server V1 as alternate storage. Not sure if anybody has done this exact build, would be interested in anyone's thoughts. Received the N40L from Newegg along with the memory upgrade. Installed the Corsair 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 Memory Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1333C9), was a super simple installation compared to WHS V1. Next on the list was to install the WHS 2011 OS via a preloaded USB stick, as before super simple. Did not expect the hours of updates from MS though. Desided to use the N40L furnished 250GB drive for the OS, just for a trial until I order the Icy Dock MB982SPR--2S and laptop drives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmwills Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Three years of updates takes a long time!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikon Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Once you get those updates all installed, and the system appears to be functioning properly, be sure to create a bare-metal-restorable backup using the built in Windows Server Backup. What I've done to streamline installation on new boxes is to have slipstreamed Windows install ISOs ready to go. Basically, it involves getting the basic ISO, then incorporating the most recent Service Pack into the ISO. From there, I bring the system right up to date using Windows Update. There are lots of resources on the internet on how to SlipStream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImTheTypeOfGuy Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 I concur with everyone else. I also do not think you need to go SSD for the OS drive. It will only speed up your server a tiny bit. The only item I might reconsider is the 2TB drives; I might go for 3TB. I disagree on the SSD. A SSD will be significantly faster than the 5400 rpm drives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikon Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 I disagree on the SSD. A SSD will be significantly faster than the 5400 rpm drives. Well, it is a server, so my thinking is that there won't be much interaction with the System Drive once it's booted up and, presumably, it will not be rebooted very often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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