Premise Hardware for Premise server

Just wondering what type of hardware people are using for a Premise server.

I wanted something low power since it will be on 24/7, but since its Windows based it cant just be any old machine from the closet.

What has everyone had success with? I was thinking something Atom-based but wasnt sure it would have enough horsepower. Most likely this would be a Premise-dedicated box to avoid other functions taking down the Premise side of things.

Thanks in advance.

-Chris

What do you plan on doing that an old machine wouldn't cover? I have mine running in a VM with a single core and 512MB RAM. Though I'm not doing much with it at this time. If you wanted to build something I'd look at an i3 with an efficient PS. My multi-purpose server/htpc with VMs is purring along on an older Athlon x2 and draws ~40W when idle.

I'm not a Premise user, but I'm kicking the tires on it. I managed to install it on a thin client HP T5700. 1GHz processor, 256M flash, 256M ram, fanless, running Windows XPe (emebedded). You don't get much more low power than that. I just wanted to see if it would install and fire up. It did.

If I was going into "production" with the T5700, I would up the RAM to 512 and probably the flash too. You can free up about 70 MB on the 256 flash drive, which is enough to install Premise. I don't know if it'll be enough when installing a bunch of modules though.

I run a 512 flash/512 ram config with my Housebot server. It's been running for about 5 years and is rock solid. I've had uptimes of 300 days+ before needing to reboot for some reason.

Tim

You have to remember that Premise was created a long time ago and so, by current hardware standards, has very low requirements.

My production machine cost me $80 and is a re-purposed PVR.
http://cocoontech.co...post__p__122404
Via Epia C7 with 256 MB Ram. It also drives the touchscreen in the kitchen. The speed of the touchscreen's UI is slow, otherwise the HW is adequate for running Premise. It uses Win XP but I imagine my next server will be running something newer, perhaps WHS 2011.

It has four USB ports and two native serial ports plus an 8-port Digi EdgePort USB to serial converter. I've discovered that I need at least one "real" serial port for an RS232 to RS422 converter that interfaces with Adicon Bobcat sensors. The converter refuses to work when connected to the EdgePort. I plan to upgrade my server and it will have to include at least one native serial port to accommodate the RS422 converter.

I've been looking at Atom D525 based all-inclusive motherboards. Combined with an SSD and a Pico power supply it will be silent and consume less than 25W full-on. My current server draws about 60W.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Knowing a thin client would power it, Im sure I could get away with any old PC now as well. Since I dont have anything "low power" lying around though, Ill probably try to get a t5700 or similar off Ebay.

123 - I found an article about the D525 Atom line, and it actually seems like it draws MORE power than the older Atom it replaced (D510): http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pinetrail-atom-d525-nc98-525-lf,2716-7.html

I believe their conclusion for the increased power consumption is because the D525 motherboard used a different graphics chipset compared to the D510 board. Ideally the comparison should have been using motherboards with "all else being equal". My conclusion is that it is difficult to compare in the real-world because things are rarely the same from one to another.

What bugs me most is the recent crop of all-in-one motherboards that feature the new D2700 chip. It is slightly faster and more power-efficient than the D525 and the latest mobos include USB 3.0 ports. What bugs me? Intel has not released, and may never release, a 64-bit VGA driver for these boards. Have a look on Newegg and you'll see a warning (from ASRock and Foxconn) that the new D2700-based mobos do not support 64-bit operating systems due to the lack of the 64-bit VGA driver. Windows Home Server 2011 is exclusively 64-bit. What sort of 32-bit Windows OS is left? XP? Win 7 Starter Edition?

123 said:

What bugs me? Intel has not released, and may never release, a 64-bit VGA driver for these boards. Have a look on Newegg and you'll see a warning (from ASRock and Foxconn) that the new D2700-based mobos do not support 64-bit operating systems due to the lack of the 64-bit VGA driver. Windows Home Server 2011 is exclusively 64-bit.

Click to expand...

That is pathetic on Intel's part, but if you're installing a server OS... does it really matter?

I am thinking about using an old laptop I have laying around for my production Premise Server. It is a Pentium M with 768mb of RAM. It runs Windows 7 better than it runs Windows XP .

I used to run Premise on a dual core Atom MB, it worked fine. Logic Supply sells some Atom motherboards with quite a few RS-232 ports on them. The board I am using for CQC now has 6 RS-232 ports.

w84no1 said:

I am thinking about using an old laptop I have laying around for my production Premise Server. It is a Pentium M with 768mb of RAM. It runs Windows 7 better than it runs Windows XP .

Click to expand...

Thats a thought as well...I have a couple old laptops sitting around. The thin client idea seems nice as well, I like that idea better because its embedded Windows on flash memory instead of a hard drive that would eventually die on me.

I'm running one of these from Logic Supply. Runs Win XP with no keyboard, mouse, or display. All access is through RDP. Quiet and low power. Extremely reliable.

http://www.logicsupply.com/products/ms_9a19

Mark