The HP ProLiant micro server Gen8 is a small, quiet, and stylishly designed server that is ideal as a first server solution for small businesses. With a form factor that is easy to use and Service, it helps small businesses drive down their expenses while improving productivity, efficiency, and security.
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A great little server with a solid build quality. Actually I would rate the build quality was extraordinary, and the built in management features - including ILO4 - make it incredibly easy to set up. I installed ESXi on it, which could not have been more simple.
Unfortunately the entire drive array in my unit failed after just two days, so I can't justify more than three stars based on this experience. If the replacement fares better I will increase the rating. Certainly the features of this system are compelling, so give it a strong look. I just had a bad experience that could have been a fluke.
Update:
Amazon replaced the dead unit and the new one is performing like a champ. It really is a very, very solid machine. This box gives you high-end server features in a small and handsome package you can park on your desk. I installed VMWare ESXi on it using HPE's custom images, and the HPE intelligent provisioning system made it extraordinarily easy to do, taking just a few minutes. Right now I have about 8 virtual machines running at the same time, and performing well. Plug the dedicated ILO port into your network and you can access the machine across the network for maintenance and monitoring. Very, very highly recommend this system, even with my poor initial experience.
Note: The Xeon processor is a bit old but there is no way you will get this complete feature package in a more modern CPU architecture. The Xeon compares favorably to many more recent chips in terms of total benchmark.
Also Note: Amazon doesn't indicate the memory speed in the description, so remember this: it has 1 1600 MHz stick. If you install a slower chip in bank two, the machine will perform quite a bit more poorly. Wish I had known this information before buying RAM, as the first stick I purchased was a 1333 MHz stick that I now have to return after having opened it to find that it is slower than the on-board RAM. Amazon, if you are listening: you should list the correct RAM speed for servers, and your recommended RAM upgrades should match the installed RAM in terms of speed.
I've only had this in service for a few weeks, but so far so good. Running CentOS 6.5 in a RAID 1 with a hotspare
PROS Fast, energy efficient, quiet - Fast. Much faster than the 3Ghz Core2Duo desktop-chip-based server that this replaced, even with the lower clock speed and the limitations of a low power chip. We're only using this as a database server, but there's plenty of horsepower left over to run file/email/dns serving in a small office. - Energy efficient. Low power means less cooling and less fan noise. - Quiet. I've read the thread online complaining about the sound level. I think this must have been fixed awhile ago in a ROM update. The computer fan is loud for a few seconds when you first start it up, but it quickly quiets down during bootup. More than quiet enough for an office, and much quieter than our previous server. That said, I think you would hear the fan in a very quiet environment, so I'm not sure this server is living roomable. For quiet home use, where even a little noise is an issue, a Mac Mini or a Lenovo M73 tiny may be better. - RAID options. Go with RAID 0 for screaming performance, or a RAID 1 mirror for redundancy. We've opted to dedicate the third drive as a hotspare. If one of the RAID 1 drives goes down, the server will put the hotspare into service as a replacement. Of course, this is no substitute for a backup, and definitely no substitute for an offsite backup, but if your data is important, this is a good thing to have. While this is not a full-blown hardware raid, it seems well implemented and I believe it will work as advertised, should the need arise. The drives are NOT hot-swappable, but are mounted in sliding brackets identical to hot-swappable hardware, so easy to get in and out of the computer. - Optional CD-ROM is pricey but works well and is easy to install.
CONS - Rear USB port space a little tight, specifically the space between the ethernet ports and the usb ports. I had to snip a little extra material from the ethernet connector housing to be able to plug it in and use all the rear USB ports. A minor annoyance and easily fixed. - Limited warranty. One year parts only and, from what I've read, you only have access to HP updates during the warranty. Want to grab the latest ROM update after a year-and-a-day? Too bad. On the plus side, extended warranties are pretty cheap comparatively, and get you parts and onsite service replacement as well.
Edit: I added a Startech RS232 card to the PCIe slot with a modem hooked to it. Works fine.