All posts by Smooth_J

Computers

Keep dust out of your computer

Leave a comment

Dust is an issue with PCs and Servers. Why you may ask? It causes issues with cooling and could clog up and may even stop a fan from moving. Which in turn can harm your system.

I was thinking to myself how can I prevent this? You really can’t prevent this (since dust can come in from anywhere), however some case manufacturers include a “filter” already in the case. Its not a hepa filter per say, but it will help keep the dust out the PC case (for the most part). However I needed one for my existing cases.

I looked online, and I couldn’t find any computer filters. So I was looking around in the hardware store and found just a AC filter works great. Just put in the in the front of the case (under the plastic) and it should help out quite a bit. Its cut to fit, and it looks like it can fit in a number of different cases (based on the size of the filter). A single layer should be fine or you could also do a double layer, but I still wanted air to come in the case freely. Thats why I picked a single layer.

Now if you have dust in your case already, blow it out with compressed air. This is the most efficient way to do it. You can try to vacuum, but it doesn’t pick up everything and its too bulky. If you have a floppy, don’t blow the dust (since it builds up on the outside) into it since it can cause issues with the drive internally. Just wipe it down and remove it.

Computers

PowerEdge T410 – Part 2

14 Comments

Well, its not a full week yet, but its close enough 🙂

Now what do I have to say about the server you might ask? Well, in short – its great. I load tested it with Prime95 and did quite a few other things as well and its holding up just fine. The avg temp of the case is around 26 C (~78 F) and for the processor max 54 C (~129 F), low 38 C (~100 F). Another thing to note about these temps though, this is in a uncooled room, not in a datacenter. So overall I think its doing a pretty decent job.

The sound isn’t bad except when it starts up (sound like a jet), or when you hit 100% CPU for any length of time (which is expected since everything is passively cooled). The sound doesn’t interfere with any normal computing per say, but you can tell its there (in a corner of the room). The avg RPM is around 2400 or so, the max I believe is around 4000. The max noise level I believe (don’t quote me) is 63 dba, but it can push around 190 CFM at that time. These fan specs can be different depending on that fan model you have. Overall, I am used to it and it doesn’t bother me 🙂

One thing I do miss is the ability to see all the system temps. In Everest and in CPUID HW monitor, all you see is the CPU temps. Normally this would be fine, but I would love to see the HD, system case, and etc. The only way I am able to see the system case temp is through Dells System Administrator which I believe is connected to the DRAC. So without some form of DRAC installed (express or enterprise) you will not see this data (I believe).

The reason I don’t see the HD temps is cause its connected to the PERC raid. If I take a HD and connect it to one of the internal SATA connectors – it reports it. Now this hard drive is in the second bay of the 5 1/4 in compartment. I just had some mounts and used them. Its not a “secure” connection for a HD since the case is the tool-less design and it can slide in and out easily, but it didn’t vibrate from what I can hear. The screws came with the case so you don’t have to worry about getting those. All that I needed was the SATA cable, but I had a few of those laying around. Another thing I noticed, which is cool by the way, is that it supports the locking cables. That I didn’t expect, but I was pleased with that. The existing cables that come with the computer (5 HDs and 1 DVD drive) didn’t have that connector.

So all the cables came with the case, and you really need nothing expect a SATA cable if you didn’t order a another media drive.

The administration is really easy to use with the System Administrator especially with the RAID. You can possibly do more if you have the enterprise version, but it wasn’t needed in my case.

Overall I am very pleased with this purchase and would get another one for a ESXi server. Thats way in future though when I have some money…lol 🙂

Computers

Server 2008 Admin Shares

Leave a comment

I was playing around with a trial version of server 2008 a couple days ago and I set it up like I did with any other server – created users and added them to the administrators group. I figured in 2003 it worked fine, so why wouldn’t it work in 2008? As you possibly guessed by now, it didn’t go as planned. I didn’t have access to any admin shares, nor did I have access to any shares I created if I just used the administrators group for the permissions. If I added each person to the share, it would be fine, however that group just didn’t work.

Then after reading around a bit I found out there is new security in Server 2008 and the only way to possibly get around this is by hacking the registry and adding a key. I didn’t feel that was right so I went on to plan B – create another group and add them with permissions instead…

Continue reading Server 2008 Admin Shares →

Computers

PowerEdge T410

48 Comments

Well, my Dell PowerEdge T410 finally arrived and it didn’t take long either. From order to my door (via 2nd day) was a bit more than a week.  The box was huge, just as big as my XPS box, but a bit bigger. The box size was 33 in x 24 in x 18 in and weighted in around 61 lbs. When I first saw it on my door step I nearly was in awe that it wasn’t a oversize freight box…

When I finally opened it, the usual dell box was inside along with all manuals and all the usual setup info. As you basically can tell, my setup was fairly limited, but it will do the job I want it to do plus more.

My config was as follows:

  • PowerEdge T410 Chassis with upto 6 Cabled Hard Drives and Quad-Pack LED Diagnostics
  • 8GB Memory (4x2GB), 1066MHz Dual Ranked RDIMMs for 2 Processor
  • E5502 Xeon Processor, 1.86GHz 4M Cache, 4.86 GT/s QPI, TurboHT
  • E5502 Xeon Processor, 1.86GHz 4M Cache, 4.86 GT/s QPI, TurboHT
  • 160GB 7.2k RPM Serial ATA 3Gbps 3.5-in Cabled Hard Drive
  • 160GB 7.2k RPM Serial ATA 3Gbps 3.5-in Cabled Hard Drive
  • No Operating System
  • iDRAC6 Express
  • DVD-ROM, SATA, Internal
  • Electronic System Documentation and OpenManage DVD Kit
  • Add-in PERC6/i (SATA/SAS Controller) supporting 2 Hard Drives – RAID 1
  • Power Supply, Non-Redundant 525W
  • Power Cord, NEMA 5-15P to C14,15 amp, wall plug, 10 feet / 3 meter
  • Business Hours (5X10) Next Business Day On Site Hardware Warranty Repair Plus 2Year Extended

I ordered 5 extra 1 TB HDs from newegg – Western Digital RE3 (WD1002FBYS). I used 4 in the system, then I kept the other one in a safe place just in case I one drive dies.  The install was really easy as well as the setup with the PERC 6/I card. The PERC card looks like a renamed LSI controller card, but I could be wrong. The full initialization took quite a number of hours, but when it was done I loaded the OS and started to move all my data from one server, to another via the network. I was getting around 25 MB per sec on avg during the move (1 Gbe connection).

During the transfer I dunno what happened, but my older server crashed hard. I tried to do a cold boot, but it kept on freezing. So then I unplugged the box and let it sit for around 5 minutes, checked all the cables (just to be sure) and then plugged it back in. The box has been up since 😛 …go figure

So in total I have 2.7 TB in a RAID 5 (for the data) array with 160 GB in a RAID 1 config (for the OS).

The sound of the server isn’t that bad, I would say its the volume of my current server with around 3 smaller fans. So I could say its around 35 db, but that could vary on the work load.

Overall, I am very satisfied with this config and I will update soon with around a week of ownership. Please feel free to take a look at the photos of the server.