Proliant Microserver Gen10 Plus: Thoughts and observations on first deployment

[dwasifar]

I bought one of these to replace an aging Dell tower server filling several different roles: web server, mail server, local file server, media streamer.  None of these functions are high load, so one machine suffices.  It runs Debian, with OS and mail on an SSD, and a two-HDD software RAID1 for file and media storage.

The small form factor and efficient power usage are really nice. Build quality is a step above what it replaces.  Having actual slide-in drive bays with a backplane is really slick on a tiny machine like this, and eliminates the possibility of flaky cables causing flaky problems.

However: I had a **bleep** of a time with SSD compatibility.  I used a random Kingston SSD from my parts box to build the dev version of the system, and cloned it over to a new Samsung 870 SSD for production use.  Turns out the SATA controller on this machine doesn't like the Samsung; it threw repeated errors on fstrim and eventually corrupted the filesystem.  I did some research, and found out this box is unreasonably fussy about SSDs.  Crucial claims theirs are compatible, so I tried one of those, but the system wouldn't even see it.  Finally I just bought a new Kingston.  Not my preference for an enterprise grade machine, but it works where the others did not.  I've never had to fight with a server over standard hardware compatibility like this.

I'm sure someone will tell me I should have upgraded the BIOS before giving up on the Crucial, but I've seen other OPs' stories about getting into trouble with that, so I decided not to go down that road.  In the process I found that the HP support pages leave a lot to be desired in organization and readability.  It's stupidly difficult to find the right firmware file and clear installation instructions; too many variants scattered across too many categories to be sure you're getting the right thing, which is another reason I decided not to do it.

One thing I'm hoping I can improve is the boot time.  A warm reboot takes nearly two minutes, and most of that is just watching the system go through extended POSTing.  Testing the memory, checking the devices, and so on.  I'm wondering if anyone has some tips on BIOS settings to speed up booting.  I try not to have to reboot my servers more than once or twice a year, but when you want a reboot you want it now.

On balance it's very nice and seems to be operating stably.  Besides being a server, this hardware also would make a great high-performance OpnSense firewall.  But I can't really get past my annoyance about the SSDs.  That's just unacceptable even if everything else is ok.

Edit: I see the forum is prudish even about mild curses.  The **bleep** was a classical term for unwed parenthood that rhymes with "password."

[TVVJ · Accepted solution]

Hello,

Please review the "Boot Time Optimizations" options that assist in either increasing or decreasing the server boot time, based on the configuration of various settings, which are documented in page 50 of the "UEFI System Utilities User Guide for HPE ProLiant Gen10, ProLiant Gen10 Plus Servers, and HPE Synergy".

Please refer to section Core Option > HPE Hard Drives and HPE Solid State Drives provided in the QuickSpecs of HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus server for supported drives. Any other drive may or may not be detected by the embedded HPE Smart Array S100i SR Gen10 Software RAID controller or any other HPE Smart Array controllers that may be installed as a choice as they have not been designed and tested to have compatiblity with the controllers.

Regards,

[dwasifar]

Hi TVVJ,

Thanks for the advice.  The boot time optimizations are just what I needed.  I appreciate that and will be applying them shortly.

But, regarding the SSD, it's one thing for HPE to recommend their own hardware, but it's another thing entirely to ship with a crippled controller that can't handle industry-standard devices.  Literally every other machine I have on hand will recognize the Crucial, in spite of it being a third-party device.  I have a Dell server that recognizes it; I have a Lenovo server that recognizes it.  Even an HP RP5 retail point of sale system recognizes it. I don't know if the Microserver's SATA compatibility is limited on purpose, or it's just a design problem with the controller, but either way it's not very customer-friendly.

The document you linked recommends only one SSD, the P09685-B21 240GB device.  And I'm sure it works fine, but it's hardly cost-effective to pay $250 (street) or $401 (HPE) for a 240 SSD, especially when it appears to be a rebadged Intel that can be had for half that.  I also wonder if HPE has an approved drive with larger capacity; the linked document only lists the 240.

This does hint to me that I could probably go to an Intel drive and have it work fine, though, so indirectly it does help me, so thank you for that.  Going to mark it solved, with thanks.