Following on from the previous thread, I'm preparing for December when
my fixed electricity tariff runs out, and either this heavy "server
iron" has to go, or I add solar cells for it.

Some things will go to the OCI cloud free tier, but I still run several
24/7 VMs and Raspberry Pi doesn't quite cut it.

Running old Intel desktop CPU's does not seem that efficient.

So currently looking at an Apple M1 mac mini, but that's paying over the
top for desktop software I would not really use.

It doesn't have to be a PC architecture but should be able to run a
hypervisor that can run Linux and Microsoft guests. Docker as well.

A quick google shows ARM servers currently cost an arm.... (erm) sorry.

I suppose there could be some consumer NAS units out there with meaty
sleeper ARM CPU's.

Hmmm...

--
Adrian C

On Wednesday, June 8, 2022 at 5:52:35 PM UTC+1, Adrian Caspersz wrote:
> Following on from the previous thread, I'm preparing for December when
> my fixed electricity tariff runs out, and either this heavy "server
> iron" has to go, or I add solar cells for it.
>
> Some things will go to the OCI cloud free tier, but I still run several
> 24/7 VMs and Raspberry Pi doesn't quite cut it.
>
> Running old Intel desktop CPU's does not seem that efficient.
>
> So currently looking at an Apple M1 mac mini, but that's paying over the
> top for desktop software I would not really use.
>
> It doesn't have to be a PC architecture but should be able to run a
> hypervisor that can run Linux and Microsoft guests. Docker as well.
>
> A quick google shows ARM servers currently cost an arm.... (erm) sorry.
>
> I suppose there could be some consumer NAS units out there with meaty
> sleeper ARM CPU's.

Hi Adrian
not sure if it's quite right for you, but as mentioned in the other thread I also
have some Lenovo USFF units running indoors. They are pretty cute,
and can run docker and VMs.

I have an M93 and an M910q IIRC. They come in various flavours,
including AMD processors, and run Linux fine. Not ARM sadly.

itzoo.co.uk had a good deal on these a little while ago, although I
got mine on eBay. Might be worth a look - this sort of thing...

https://itzoo.co.uk/collections/cheap-lenovo-pc?gf_421215=USFF

Cheers, J^n

Adrian Caspersz wrote:

> either this heavy "server iron" has to go, or I add solar cells for it.

If it chews 100 W continuous, then you'd need 2 kWp of panels, and in the
dingiest season at least 1.5 kWh of battery capacity in order to roughly balance
production and consumption with a bit of borrowing from the grid ... that's
£2-3K worth of panels, batteries and inverter!

jkn <jkn_gg@nicorp.f9.co.uk> wrote:
> Hi Adrian
> not sure if it's quite right for you, but as mentioned in the other thread I also
> have some Lenovo USFF units running indoors. They are pretty cute,
> and can run docker and VMs.
>
> I have an M93 and an M910q IIRC. They come in various flavours,
> including AMD processors, and run Linux fine. Not ARM sadly.

https://www.servethehome.com/introducing-project-tinyminimicro-home-lab-revolution/
and followup articles have lots of info on the various models.
Not quite as low power as a Pi (<10W idle) but better than a regular
desktop.

There are also some Celeron mini PCs that are more in the Pi class, but I'm
not sure there's a lot to be gained over a secondhand USFF desktop.

If you need a bit more CPU grunt, the Ryzen APUs are fairly good at idle and
can be pushed a lot further (especially as they have lots more cores).
(beware that some reviews cite package power not system power, but more like
10-20W idle in a barebones system)

Theo

On 08/06/2022 18:14, jkn wrote:
> On Wednesday, June 8, 2022 at 5:52:35 PM UTC+1, Adrian Caspersz wrote:
>>
>> I suppose there could be some consumer NAS units out there with meaty
>> sleeper ARM CPU's.
>
> Hi Adrian
> not sure if it's quite right for you, but as mentioned in the other thread I also
> have some Lenovo USFF units running indoors. They are pretty cute,
> and can run docker and VMs.

Yup, the tiny mini micro thing featured on ServeTheHome

I have a couple of the Lenovo M73 units.

They are fine, i3-4130T 3.2GHz. Barebones, less than £45 on eBay. Being
an old intel CPU, newer offerings are more power efficient and really
should be looking at total cost of ownership calculations. But that gets
complicated, and I could be fooled into paying large sums up front that
don't get the end benefit.

Just really used the M73's for Hyper-V and domain controller stuff but
it's about time I stuck Proxmox on one and see how well that works.

They are not that low on power compared to ARM. If I collect more than a
few, then I go backwards into desiring server iron again.

I need to work on some money raising wheeze so that these things can pay
their way. Sell off some junk. Launch a YouTube channel.

Yeah, solar not really an answer. I need to do the Doc Brown step from
Back to the Future and quietly pinch some Plutonium from somewhere.

Oh oops, I said that out loud.

Damn.... :)

--
Not Me