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help !!! have a dell 2900 for home server

Tags:
  • Dell
  • Servers
  • NAS / RAID
  • OS X
  • Xeon Quad Core Xeon Quad
  • Systems
  • FreeBSD
  • Storage Management
  • Storage Solutions
Last response: in Systems
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October 27, 2013 9:34:19 AM

help ,,, I am a not familiar with these machines ,, when my work up graded their network I got their server for free and would like to use it at home ,,, OS has been removed ,,, otherwise it will boot and have XP on it just to see if it would take a OS install ,,,, it is running a raid 1 /PERC setup on 2-80G stata,2-250gsatau and 2-500gsatau Drives also has DVD and 2-160Gsata boot drives ,,,, now what OS will this operate? ,,,can I run free NAS? ,,, or should I sell this brick and start anew ,,, what I need for my home is simple ,,, storage for ISO , Music , Movies , and Picts ,,,, with all PCs and Gaming online I have @8 users and WIFI could add 6 more ,,,,

More about : dell 2900 home server

October 27, 2013 9:11:29 PM

Lizard of AZ said:
help ,,, I am a not familiar with these machines ,, when my work up graded their network I got their server for free and would like to use it at home ,,, OS has been removed ,,, otherwise it will boot and have XP on it just to see if it would take a OS install ,,,, it is running a raid 1 /PERC setup on 2-80G stata,2-250gsatau and 2-500gsatau Drives also has DVD and 2-160Gsata boot drives ,,,, now what OS will this operate? ,,,can I run free NAS? ,,, or should I sell this brick and start anew ,,, what I need for my home is simple ,,, storage for ISO , Music , Movies , and Picts ,,,, with all PCs and Gaming online I have @8 users and WIFI could add 6 more ,,,,


That Dell is a real server, and you are very lucky to get one, as they usually cost upwards of $2,000 USD, so you should keep it.
The OS can be windows server 2008 / Windows Server 2008 R2, FreeNAS or Linux.
That system can handle upwards of 50 computers, plus some with the correct networking setup.
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October 27, 2013 10:18:17 PM

I would totally keep it.

If you just want to use it for NAS, I don't think its the best idea though. Real servers are power hungry and loud beasts. If you just want some NAS, you could build a low-power small form factor PC for very little money, and give it 2TB+ of space.

That server will noticeably raise your power bill if you leave it on 24/7.
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October 27, 2013 10:42:32 PM


That Dell is a real server, and you are very lucky to get one, as they usually cost upwards of $2,000 USD, so you should keep it.
The OS can be windows server 2008 / Windows Server 2008 R2, FreeNAS or Linux.
That system can handle upwards of 50 computers, plus some with the correct networking setup.
[/quotemsg]

thanks DC
been chasing threads and it looks like a I got a good deal ,,, needs a graphics card ,,,, XEON 1.6 g quad core ...667 fsb ,,, I have tried too chat wit our net guru tthat gave it to me ,,, he is no help so far ,,,im way below his geek level he said ,,,
pardon me here be cause im a dunce wit servers and network setups ,, work gave me a 16 port switch with it and said to plug it in to the nic in the back ,,, so I guess I do the dsl on the 2nd nic ,,,by the way it wont load FreeNAS ,,, I think I lost the DVD drivers when I loaded XP ,, gonna stop here before I brick it ,,, uploading drivers from dell site and reload before I do anything else,,,, least I can boot from USB
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October 28, 2013 6:31:14 AM

Lizard of AZ said:

thanks DC
been chasing threads and it looks like a I got a good deal ,,, needs a graphics card ,,,, XEON 1.6 g quad core ...667 fsb ,,, I have tried too chat wit our net guru tthat gave it to me ,,, he is no help so far ,,,im way below his geek level he said ,,,
pardon me here be cause im a dunce wit servers and network setups ,, work gave me a 16 port switch with it and said to plug it in to the nic in the back ,,, so I guess I do the dsl on the 2nd nic ,,,by the way it wont load FreeNAS ,,, I think I lost the DVD drivers when I loaded XP ,, gonna stop here before I brick it ,,, uploading drivers from dell site and reload before I do anything else,,,, least I can boot from USB


No problem, and you sure did. That net guru is just being an ass. Its alright, I was once a "n00b" in the server / networking world, before I taught myself all of the lingo and stuff. Its the 1st nic for the DSL, then the 2nd nic for the switch. As for FreeNAS, the drivers for XP will not work with it, as its completely different. I am thinking FreeNAS might have a problem with the RAID setup, so I would disconnect all of the other drives, and plug just the one that FreeNAS will be on to install it. Then plug them all back in.

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November 3, 2013 9:51:04 AM

DComander1x said:
Lizard of AZ said:

thanks DC
been chasing threads and it looks like a I got a good deal ,,, /snip/ ,,,, least I can boot from USB


No problem, and you sure did. ,,,/snip/,,, FreeNAS might have a problem with the RAID setup, so I would disconnect all of the other drives, and plug just the one that FreeNAS will be on to install it. Then plug them all back in.



Hello DC ,,,, sorry I have not been out quick to respond ,,, been busy with this PE2900 ...

getting screen shock from trying to make sense from all the posts everywhere ,,, I think I am going to turn this thing into just a workstation ,,,

one of the boot disks going NUCLEAR during the load of FreeBSD ,,,
cleared the smoke outa my home then opened up this box ,,,
now I just had to make sense of what our NTGOD has CRAMMED in it ,,,

extra sata cards (2) in the pci-e slots running the internal boot drives ( one 160g WD and one Mini 160g laptop and a Sony DVD (not the dell one) and a hidden 100G WD that was attached with sticktape to the underside of the plastic fan shroud,,

USB card in the pci-e for external storage ,,,
a flopy drive relocated into the expantion bay with a disk in it acting like our IDkeys (I think ),,,
cables plugged into he Mobo doing nothing

its been fun ,,, yea right ,,, dropped a lot a coin on Win7 ult /x64,, a Vid card ,, dell DVDrw , and two 2TB drives that are awaiting arrival ,,
what I wish to do is just load win 7 ult /x64 and use this for my desktop / NAS for media in the house ,,,, can not get any OS to Load completely ,,,FreeBdsd does load but on reboot it sees a " invalid attempt to initiate something" ,,don't remember

XP load went up in smoke ,,, think it took out the pci-e sata cards also ,, Never heard drives spinup like that ,,, and the smoke ,,,LOL ,, so I don't trust any thing attached to those cards..

found the Mobo sata drives in bios and turned them on ,, just waiting for delivery of my other parts to try again ,,, should I get a boot drive or can I load the OS on the Raid drives? ,,, thanks again DC
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November 3, 2013 9:56:08 AM

Lizard of AZ said:
DComander1x said:
Lizard of AZ said:

thanks DC
been chasing threads and it looks like a I got a good deal ,,, /snip/ ,,,, least I can boot from USB


No problem, and you sure did. ,,,/snip/,,, FreeNAS might have a problem with the RAID setup, so I would disconnect all of the other drives, and plug just the one that FreeNAS will be on to install it. Then plug them all back in.



Hello DC ,,,, sorry I have not been out quick to respond ,,, been busy with this PE2900 ...

getting screen shock from trying to make sense from all the posts everywhere ,,, I think I am going to turn this thing into just a workstation ,,,

one of the boot disks going NUCLEAR during the load of FreeBSD ,,,
cleared the smoke outa my home then opened up this box ,,,
now I just had to make sense of what our NTGOD has CRAMMED in it ,,,

extra sata cards (2) in the pci-e slots running the internal boot drives ( one 160g WD and one Mini 160g laptop and a Sony DVD (not the dell one) and a hidden 100G WD that was attached with sticktape to the underside of the plastic fan shroud,,

USB card in the pci-e for external storage ,,,
a flopy drive relocated into the expantion bay with a disk in it acting like our IDkeys (I think ),,,
cables plugged into he Mobo doing nothing

its been fun ,,, yea right ,,, dropped a lot a coin on Win7 ult /x64,, a Vid card ,, dell DVDrw , and two 2TB drives that are awaiting arrival ,,
what I wish to do is just load win 7 ult /x64 and use this for my desktop / NAS for media in the house ,,,, can not get any OS to Load completely ,,,FreeBdsd does load but on reboot it sees a " invalid attempt to initiate something" ,,don't remember

XP load went up in smoke ,,, think it took out the pci-e sata cards also ,, Never heard drives spinup like that ,,, and the smoke ,,,LOL ,, so I don't trust any thing attached to those cards..

found the Mobo sata drives in bios and turned them on ,, just waiting for delivery of my other parts to try again ,,,


Damn, sounds like that guy gave you a lemon - I would of asked him to benchmark it for two days before you got it, to make sure stuff like that don't happen. Also, using it as a workstation is an awesome idea, just be advised, the server might have some LOUD fans in it, so that might be an issue.
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