old server proliant ml530 G1

[joerod]

I was given an old 2 processor proliant ml 530 g1 (http://www.sillworks.com/quickspecs_proliant_ML530G1.php) with scsi drives (5 discs running raid5) 2.5 gigs of ecc ram (PC133MHz Registered ECC SDRAM DIMM Module) power supply array, etc.

The installation went great (network install of 1004).  I was able to configure hdpvr, and two media directors. Everything seems stable and something expected to be slower, but I did not expect logging into a MD via ssh would take 1-2mins to login, playing a video from an MD would take 30-60 seconds to begin playing and 45 - 90 seconds from the moment myth starts to the moment the live stream begins. 

Am I missing something? Do you guys think this kinda of core hardware would cause this kinda of problem?  During these slow load times core CPU is not at 100%.

Any ideas on why some components are working slow while others (screensaver, zwave lights, router reloads, among oothers) work fine?

[bherbie]

I have tested older hardware with LMCE and my first 'production' Hybrid was the same ml530 you are running now and it ran fine.. at first.  Mine began to slow down and I started seeing lagging\jerking video on MDs during playback and long log in times when trying to ssh, long boot times on MDs and some other weird behavior.  After a lot of hair pulling and late nights on the forum looking for answers, I stumbled across a thread here (sorry don't have the link) talking about the network is one of the most crucial parts of this setup.   

I changed out all of my cheap switches with higher priced Gigabit switches and the problem went away.  Now I only use Gigabit Nics and Gigabit network equipment and haven't seen this issue out of any subsequent build I have done and there have been quite a few of them.

As a side note, you will want more RAM then 2.5GB and some may say that is the issue too...

HTH,
-herb

[mkbrown69]

Joerod,

Speaking as a server guy, your "free" server may end up costing you in the long run.  It's a circa 2001 Dual-processor Pentium 3, with 133MHz (not GHz) RAM, Ultra SCSI 3 drives, 100M ethernet, and PCI/PCI-X slots all in a 7 RU chassis.  No offense intended, but these days we call that a 13 year old space heater.  The amount of compute capability vs the amount of power being used is quite disproportionate compared to even inexpensive modern hardware.  To be perfectly honest, most modern smartphones have more horsepower...

I don't want to dissuade you from using it, but you may want to set your expectations appropriately... Also, keep in mind that if you start to use it for "production" purposes at home, you are running a higher level of risk.  Your likelihood of getting spare parts is slim, and those disks are around 13 years old.  In the enterprise space, 3-5 years is considered old for disks, and 5-7 is considered old for server hardware.  New hardware uses less power and has on-average double the performance of two years previous.

Just wanted to set your expectations relative to your hardware's capabilities...

Hope that helps!

/Mike

[Marie.O]

Mike is right. As much as I like using older equipment to not send it to the junkyard, using the Proliant is *way* to expensive and error prone for a 24/7 operation. If you DO use it as a whole house heating source the expenses might be okay, if you are not, it is just not worth it, except for the fun of playing around with it until getting a used dual core 1st gen Atom which probably is much more powerful with way less energy usage.