ML310E G8 V1 , some questions on RAID and Upgrades

[90Ninety]

I just got my first server ( cheap ) for my home lab  , to learn the ropes on  , its a M310E G8 , it comes with G540 CPU and HPE Smart Array P222 , and have some questions 

1  . I was first thinking of upgrading the CPU to a Xeon E3 1220 , I think this is possible not sure 

2  I wanted to build two RAID arrays , one RAID 1 with two HDD's ( either SATA or SAS) for Hyper V Host ( with GUI)   , and one RAID 10 ( 1+0)  with four  SAS HDD  for Virtual Machines . I have purchased an additional 5.25 HDD caddy to house the extra HDD's. Will the Controller achive two raids as mentioned ? 

- Edit , I noticed the P222/512MB Raid card does support  two arrays , RAID One & RAID One Plus Zero  . However the card has only one internal port , and one external , so it looks like I may have to update the card- perhaps to a P410/P420  , or , bodge it,  looping  the external;y connected cable back into the case 

3  If the above is sucessfull , I will want to eventually upgrade the disks for something bigger , will I just swap them out , one at a time , rebuilding the raid each time , or is there a better way ?

4. How is the Windows Server 2016/ 2019 support with these server's , do existing old drivers for the chipset/ Raid cards work with the newer Operating systems ? I will  planning on installing Win Server 2016 (Std ) , or Wind Server 2019 (std) purely for Hyper V with GUI 

Thanks in advance

[BPSingh · Accepted solution]

Greetings!

Please find the answers below:

1 . I was first thinking of upgrading the CPU to a Xeon E3 1220 , I think this is possible not sure

-> E3-1220 v2 is supported, please ensure system ROM is updated and supported DIMM modules are installed.

https://h20195.www2.hpe.com/v2/getdocument.aspx?docname=c04128120

2 I wanted to build two RAID arrays , one RAID 1 with two HDD's ( either SATA or SAS) for Hyper V Host ( with GUI) , and one RAID 10 ( 1+0) with four SAS HDD for Virtual Machines . I have purchased an additional 5.25 HDD caddy to house the extra HDD's. Will the Controller achive two raids as mentioned ?

- Edit , I noticed the P222/512MB Raid card does support two arrays , RAID One & RAID One Plus Zero. However the card has only one internal port, and one external, so it looks like I may have to update the card- perhaps to a P410/P420 , or , bodge it, looping the external;y connected cable back into the case

-> Yes, the HPE Smart Array P222 controller would support both SAS and SATA drives. Yes, 2 logical drives would be supported however please ensure SAS and SATA drives are not mixed.

As you already mentioned above, P222 has Eight (8) SAS physical links distributed across 1 internal x4/1 external x4 wide port connectors.

https://h20195.www2.hpe.com/v2/getdocument.aspx?docname=c04111474 

You may go for HP Smart Array P420 Controller with proper cabling, pg 25

https://h20195.www2.hpe.com/v2/getdocument.aspx?docname=c04128120 

I would also advise you to use HPE drives to avoid any compatibility/thermal issues.

3 If the above is sucessfull, I will want to eventually upgrade the disks for something bigger , will I just swap them out , one at a time , rebuilding the raid each time , or is there a better way ?

-> You can also swap the drives one at a time and once all the drives are swapped, please extend the logical drive from Smart Storage Administrator and then add the unallocated space from OS (disk management). Another option is to delete and recreate the arrays with the new drives however the OS needs to be re-installed.

NOTE: Controller cache and battery are required on the controller for Array capacity expansion/logical drive extension.

4. How is the Windows Server 2016/ 2019 support with these server's , do existing old drivers for the chipset/ Raid cards work with the newer Operating systems ? I will planning on installing Win Server 2016 (Std ) , or Wind Server 2019 (std) purely for Hyper V with GUI

Windows Server 2019 doesn't seem to be supported, Windows Server 2016 is supported.

(HPE Servers Support & Certification Matrices) https://techlibrary.hpe.com/us/en/enterprise/servers/supportmatrix/windows.aspx 

[90Ninety]

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@BPSingh wrote:

Greetings!

Please find the answers below:

1 . I was first thinking of upgrading the CPU to a Xeon E3 1220 , I think this is possible not sure

-> E3-1220 v2 is supported, please ensure system ROM is updated and supported DIMM modules are installed.

https://h20195.www2.hpe.com/v2/getdocument.aspx?docname=c04128120

---

The CPU support is a little confusing , I currently have a G540 Celeron , which  has  'Sandy Bridge' architecture .  I have a e3 1220 V1 in my basket online , which is also 'Sandy Bridge architechure , but it is not on the List  . Instead on the list is Xeon Ivy Bridge  ;V2' Cpu architechure . I would rather buy the Verison 1 , as its cheaper , would it be worth a try ?