HP DL380 G3 2U For Basic Web Server in 2012
I have an opportunity to pick up a used HP DL380 G3 2U for $100. I'm looking for a basic entry level web server that I can host a small - medium size website on and more or less learn the ins and outs of running my own web server before I bite the bullet and spend a couple grand on a server. The specs are:
- Dual (2) Intel Xeon 2.4GHz 400MHz 512KB Cache
- 4GB PC2100 ECC Registered Memory
- 6 x 72GB 10K U320 SCSI Hard Drives
- Smart Array 5i RAID Controller
- Redundant Power Supplies
- DVD/Floppy, Dual Intel GB NIC's, USB
Or would I be better off spending a couple hundred bucks on something like: this new HP Seems like the only major difference is SATA and a bit of storage, but I will likely be implementing a separate storage system of some sort anyways.
I guess it also wouldn't hurt to mention that I plan on running a linux server distro, so would the hardware be likely to support linux with a system that is 4 generations old? I don't mind spending a couple hundred extra dollars if its a better solution, but as mentioned previously I am simple looking for a server to learn on and probably use for a year or so while I put together a small - medium size website.
Solution 1:
Any Linux distro will support HP Proliant servers just fine; all the relevant hardware support has been in the mainline kernel for years.
If the disks are good, this is excellent value for money, and the only bottleneck you might encounter is if you want to run stuff besides web servers on it, such as busy PHP scripts and/or database servers.
As shown here, the box supports 6GB maximum, so there is not much you can upgrade there.
But for learning and trying stuff out - go for it, $100 is awesome value for money.
DO note that this machine will keep you awake 24/7 if you run it anywhere inside your house - these boxes are meant to run in datacenters and produce a LOT of noise.
Solution 2:
I would buy the new box. The G3, while a great machine (I have a couple and am HP certified to maintain them), is old. No support is available if something breaks, and the disks are small and expensive.
Besides, the new box is going to be much quieter and energy-efficient.
Also the Ubuntu HP Proliant Support Page is fairly out-of-date. This either means that support isn't really maintained from one end or the other. They don't support the recent standard or LTS releases.
Ubuntu will probably install fine, but drivers and the Proliant Support Tools (which can be awesome) may not work. (Meaning that the Fans are probably going to run at top speed all the time.)
On a personal note, I have installed 10.04 on DL380 G2's and DL360 G3's, but I don't remember which I was and wasn't able to get the PSP on...
Solution 3:
Either would work fine as a simple web server. The DL380 is HP's bread-n-butter server. Getting familiar with one, even if it's several generations old, is going to benefit you in the long run (assuming you're going to expand to "real" servers at some point.
The server you linked to is a Home and Special Use server. I wouldn't even use that as a Small Business server. It lacks almost all the features a SysAdmin would expect in server grade hardware. The only benefit is that it comes with some warranty out of the box.