نصب و راه اندازی سرور HPE ProLiant ML30 Gen9

نصب و راه اندازی سرور HPE ProLiant ML30 Gen9

Figure 1 – It Works! I now have my iLO4 IP Address and I see that I have 8GB RAM with a Xeon E3-1240v5 in a ML30 Gen9

 

Dave, Schoondoggy and I have been talking to HPE about their Server products and how we, as enthusiasts, use them in our home environments. Not long ago HPE offered to send us a HPE ProLiant ML30 Gen9 (“ML30”) to test and comment on. We, of course, jumped at the opportunityy!

As luck would have it the ML30 arrived at my house when I was out of town visiting family in another state. Fortunately, my neighbor signed for the package and stored the ML30 in her garage – thus protecting the ML30 from the freezing rain and snow over the next few days until I got back home.

I hurriedly got the ML30 as soon as I could – and what you see here are only my very initial reactions and comments – I should learn more and be able to share more as I try out various OS’s and configurations.

After working so long with MicroServers, DL320e Gen8, and the ML10v2 I have found the ML30 very familiar with a form factor that is nearly identical to the ML10v2. While the ML30 is gaining a reputation as an ideal first server for a growing business my perspective will be that of a tech/home enthusiast/user.

The HPE ProLiant ML30 Gen9 QuickSpecs and the Intel C236 Chipset information is very interesting and well worth reviewing.

Things I found Interesting (exciting) in the QuickSpecs and Chipset information

• Six (6) SATA III (6Gb/s) ports off of the System Board (a mini SAS connector to a 4 SATA fan-out plus 2 individual SATA connections)
• RAM can be expanded to 64GB (It’s a constant theme I see in the Forums – everyone want “more” RAM and where users want a Home Server that can do double duty as a File Server, game server, video server, VM Host, IT training platform, home lab, and home IoT hub — enthusiasts are constantly pushing the limits of their machines by combining as many different duties they could onto one machine.)
• Four (4) USB3 ports on the front (going from two (2) USB2 ports to four (4) USB3 ports on the front of the case is HUGE for many enthusiast)
• B140i embedded (looking forward to learning much more about this controller)
• iLO4 (after learning how to use iLO4 with my Gen8 MicroServer I have come to appreciate it on how quickly it allows me to get up to speed with a new Server with ILO4)
• SkyLake Xeon CPU in BASE Model (but as Page 4 of the Quickspecs shows [2/8/2016] there are 9 CPU’s supported by the ML30 G9: G4400, G4500, i3-6100, i3-6300, E3-1220v5, E3-1230v5, E3-1240v5, E3-1270v5, & E3-1240Lv5) The Base Model 824379-B21 comes with the Xeon E3-1220v5 and the Performance Model 830893-B21 comes with the Xeon E3-1240v5 – in between the Base and Performance Models is the “Smart Buy” Model 831065-S01 that comes with the Xeon E3-1230v5. I couldn’t find Passmark scores (Feb 8, 2016) for the Base and Smart Buy models but I expect the Xeon E3-1220v5 will perform above the E3-1220v3 which Passmark’s at 6,600 and there is a Passmark for the Performance Model Xeon E3-1240v5 at 10,477 while the Passmark for the Smart Buy Model Xeon E3-1230v5 is 10,234. I expect the Xeon E3-1230v5 would be in-between the E3-1220v5 and E3-1240v5 – giving all three Xeon’s very respectable performance for the enthusiast, in my opinion.
• Four PCIe slots (a HUGE luxury compared to the single PCIe slot I am used to with the G8 MicroServer – lots of possibilities here)
• The ML30 has a 3/1/1 Warranty (3 years parts, 1 year labor, and 1 year onsite support coverage) – I plan to learn more about how this impacts Firmware & Driver updates.

I have yet to load an OS on the ML30 but I have powered it up successfully for the first time giving me an IP address so I can remote in with iLO4 and enabled me to check with Intelligent Provisioning (“IP”) that my firmware was up to date.

 

Figure 2 – Very familiar to the ML10v2 – the larger PSU in the Performance Model for the Hot-Swap drive cage is different but pictures of the Base Model look nearly identical to the ML10v2. Those at the HomeServerShow.com Meetup in Indianapolis last September 2015 will easily recognize this layout from when Schoondoggy did the unboxing of his ML10v2.

 

Figure 3 – ML30 Gen9 has virtually identical form to the ML10v2 on right except for USB3 ports and differences in the drive cage

 

 

Figure 4 – Three SATA Power connectors and One Molex Power connector up on top

 

Figure 5 – view of Hot-Plug drive blank – will need to get Hot-Plug drive caddy

 

Figure 6 – Rear view of ML10v2 on Left and ML30 Gen9 on Right

 

 

Figure 7 – HPE setup information sheet that was packed with the HPE ProLiant ML30 Gen9 Server – before my first startup I highlighted what I thought were the important parts and checked out the links on my Surface 3 (and saved those links on my Surface 3 for future reference)

 

Links that were on the HPE ProLiant ML30 Gen9 Server setup information sheet in Figure 7 above.

• Initial Setup Overview http://h22208.www2.hpe.com/eginfolib/servers/docs/enterprise/ML30Gen9/ML30Gen9-setup/system_setup_overview/setup.htm
• All Product Documentation http://h17007.www1.hpe.com/us/en/enterprise/servers/solutions/info-library/index.aspx?cat=gen9&subcat=ML30_Gen9#.Vr6AC2b2YuU
• Intelligent Provisioning User Guide http://h17007.www1.hpe.com/us/en/enterprise/servers/solutions/info-library/index.aspx?cat=hp_intelligent_provisioning#.Vr6Ab2b2YuU
• Service Pack for ProLiant (SPP) http://h17007.www1.hpe.com/us/en/enterprise/servers/products/service_pack/spp/index.aspx

 

Figure 8 – While going through Post the power meter is showing in this instance about 41W.

 

 

VIDEO 1 – Unboxing my HPE ProLiant ML30 Gen9 Server

 

Figure 9 – While comparing the Passmark Performance scores for the Base, Smart Buy and Performance model Xeon’s of the ML30 G9 to previous Servers I’ve used I couldn’t find a score for the E3-1220v5 but would expect it to be above 6,600 of the E3-1220v3 in the ML10v2 which is very robust in my assessment.

 

Currently, the prices for the Base and Performance models of the ML30 Gen9 appear widely dispersed but at HomeServerShow.com we do try to alert each other of deals via the deal thread in the forums. Such as this thread.

In conclusion, I really like the build quality of the ML30 Gen9 and look forward to trying different configurations with the ML30 in the near future. Stay tuned!

Please join us in the HomeServerShow Forums with any Questions or Comments.

 

As Built (Computer Name: VANGUARD):

• HPE ProLiant ML30 Gen9 (Product No. 830893)
• Xeon E3-1240v5 (SkyLake LGA 1151)
• 8GB ECC RAM (Expandable to 64GB)
• B140i Dynamic Smart Array

 

Reference: