Ditching My Server... am I foolish

M

MrSmegzabush

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
434
I just want to bounce this idea off you guys first before I start doing anything. I have a Server now 3 2x320gigs 2x500gigs, and 4x250gigs on a raid 5 (Software). I am seriously considering ditching the sever by using eSATA/USB enclosures. Reason be is for the following reasons.

  • Power - Running a 3ghz p4 w/ a 550w ps and 9 drives is not exactly a green machine. nor does it help w/ the cooling bill during a Texas Summer. Since I also work about 60 hours a week, I really don't need this kind of uptime, and I often forget to shut off my server when i dont need it.
  • Reliability - Rather than running my drives hooked up all the time to a server, i would think id get better reliability by not having drives hooked up, and in a system 24/7. Or is this simply a misconception on my part?
  • Speed or rather lack of - I know USB is not near as fast as having a server. But since im the only person accessing it, 99% of the time its only one file at a time. I really have no need for the speed. Since all my drives are SATA, if i need to do mass transfers, both my main PC and my HTPC have eSATA ports for some bulk moving.
  • Transportability - Obviously these are easier to take to a friends house than a 80lb rackmount. Although the server gives me the ability to download data elsewhere, lets face it even a 10mbps cable connection doesn't cut it for upload speeds.
  • Multitasking - I used to use my server, a 3ghz p4 for other tasks that, like encoding movies sometimes, running a teamspeak server etc. Thanks Intel and their C2D, don't really need a second computer for that anymore.
  • Upgradability - very easy to scale up, since I no longer have to worry about space in the case, SATA ports, or running other hardware to support the drives.

What I would do is start out by buying a couple of external enclosures and a USB hub and hook these drives up via my UPS, and just turn that on and off when I needed the drives, also acting as a cleaner, surge protected power source. I would start off by using the drives I have now (and possibly 2 more 500gigs) to store the data I have.

So tell me is this a foolish path to go down, or a wise one given my circumstances. Also what are some other problems I might have if i decide to go this route?
 
10 drives, and say you get a 25 dollars encloser. that $250 right there plus shipping. If you buy them all at once you'd save but a couple at a time would push it up to 300bucks.. I'd say thats how much it cost for a year of running the server say 60% of the time. The loss in data transfer, then you also can't access your files from other pc's like a server. I'd keep it. to many benefits. to outweight the one downfall of cost.

my 2 cents
 
You could always buy a green PSU and use power saving modes like drive shutoff and even underclock your processor as you wont need nearly all of it.
 
f1y said:
10 drives, and say you get a 25 dollars encloser. that $250 right there plus shipping. If you buy them all at once you'd save but a couple at a time would push it up to 300bucks.. I'd say thats how much it cost for a year of running the server say 60% of the time. The loss in data transfer, then you also can't access your files from other pc's like a server. I'd keep it. to many benefits. to outweight the one downfall of cost.

my 2 cents
Click to expand...

it really costs that much in just power to run a computer???
 
Yea I have read it can cost you around 25 bucks a month to run a machine 24/7. (Dont ask me to provide ref, but I might be wrong). I know how to use drive shut off, S3 to power on, however im not sure how get server to shut off after a specific time its not being used. I suppose that is a question for a different forum tho.

Edit: On second thought I could always use hibernation, not sure how much power that will save. I am pretty sure i can do a wake on lan to get it to power up.
 
MrSmegzabush said:
Yea I have read it can cost you around 25 bucks a month to run a machine 24/7. (Dont ask me to provide ref, but I might be wrong). I know how to use drive shut off, S3 to power on, however im not sure how get server to shut off after a specific time its not being used. I suppose that is a question for a different forum tho.

Edit: On second thought I could always use hibernation, not sure how much power that will save. I am pretty sure i can do a wake on lan to get it to power up.
Click to expand...

Yes, thats about right, depends on the computer loadouts. I know I am paying a ton to keep my main rig and main server going. Not to mention just pure power consumption, the heat produced cause the A/C to run all the time too.... generating more inefficiency and more resource consumption.
 
So in the long run It sounds like a money saver for a slight inconvenience. I am goign to post in the PS forum and see if anybody knows how I can cut down on the kWh and BTU's put out by my server.
 
I like to have a remotely accessible server, however I understand that I pay a price for that convenience. It appears that you have though about this issue a bit. If your preferences are such that you care less about the remote accessibility and more about the power bill, I think that ditching the server would not be a bad idea.
 
MrSmegzabush said:
So in the long run It sounds like a money saver for a slight inconvenience. I am goign to post in the PS forum and see if anybody knows how I can cut down on the kWh and BTU's put out by my server.
Click to expand...

We already told you....
 
MrSmegzabush said:
Yea I have read it can cost you around 25 bucks a month to run a machine 24/7. (Dont ask me to provide ref, but I might be wrong). I know how to use drive shut off, S3 to power on, however im not sure how get server to shut off after a specific time its not being used. I suppose that is a question for a different forum tho.

Edit: On second thought I could always use hibernation, not sure how much power that will save. I am pretty sure i can do a wake on lan to get it to power up.
Click to expand...


-open notepad, and type the following:

shutdown -s -f

-save the file as shutdown.bat
- run it as a scheduled task
 
also, maybe get rid of all the small drives and goto something like 4 x 750GB or something
and swap out that P4 for the slowest chip that will work in your motherboard and then look into undervolting it

or do what I did - consolidate your main PC and server, would probably be easier if you went with bigger drives
 
You can get firewire, usb2, or esata external cases that do raid and will work with what you are doing but they can be kinda expensive. I'd stick with what you have.
 
i am in the middle of such a transition with all of my data. i sold my server (3500+,1.5TB in hdds, 750ps etc...) i have everything on dvd till i get something together. i have been looking in to a small setup for everything but havent found anything that adds up.

i have about 1+tb to go onto disk
 
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