Low power Linux server

[JohnyBeGood]

Hi all,


I would like to build low power Linux server and install Ubuntu on it.
Primary purpose on it to learn about Linux and second one is to store my home Hikvison IP-Camera surveillance footage there and also use for personal picture/video backup.
Now I have small Acer Aspire Revo AR1600 that has 250GB hard drive and runs Elastix on it. Using samba I have allocated only 50GB and as it fills up it deletes older footage automatically.


My goal is to buy NAS rated HD and have bigger storage capabilities.
I did lots of research online and closest and most recent article that I came across is this one
https://anteru.net/2015/01/19/2678/
I like everything about setup but on last page https://anteru.net/2015/01/25/2724/ it lists that power consumption is 28-29W? I think that's a lot for setup build in 2015, am I wrong?


Any suggestions or recommendations will be greatly appreciated!

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Hi all,


I would like to build low power Linux server and install Ubuntu on it.
Primary purpose on it to learn about Linux and second one is to store my home Hikvison IP-Camera surveillance footage there and also use for personal picture/video backup.
Now I have small Acer Aspire Revo AR1600 that has 250GB hard drive and runs Elastix on it. Using samba I have allocated only 50GB and as it fills up it deletes older footage automatically.


My goal is to buy NAS rated HD and have bigger storage capabilities.
I did lots of research online and closest and most recent article that I came across is this one
https://anteru.net/2015/01/19/2678/
I like everything about setup but on last page https://anteru.net/2015/01/25/2724/ it lists that power consumption is 28-29W? I think that's a lot for setup build in 2015, am I wrong?


Any suggestions or recommendations will be greatly appreciated!

1) Why not just add a bigger HDD to the Acer? Seems like that'd be easiest.

2) Power use wise, ~30w is about right for a system with two HDDs spinning. Skipping to the "power use" section of a couple C2550 reviews shows similar numbers for other boards/config.

Using an OS like unRAID instead of Ubuntu/ZFS would allow the drives to be individually spun down for significant additional power savings - and it'd work better the more drives you have.

Motherboards with IPMI use an extra couple watts, and the C2550 isn't really a "low power" platform. The CPU itself has a low TDP, but the rest of the motherboard is standard server stuff. For the system in that blog post, additional efficiency would be gained by using a "right-sized" power supply (no more than 2x your system load). Disabling IPMI might save a couple watts. (Circuitry-wise, it's basically a low-end smartphone running an app that lets you spy on the server.)

I'd also expect a slightly lower reading from a higher-end power meter (the Voltcraft one he's got there is like a $25 model - cheap ones are know to over-estimate a bit at the low end.)

For a small 2-drive general purpose home server, I'd probably go ITX, get a PicoPSU, and use a ~75w power brick. Some ITX motherboards actually have direct DC input, don't need the PicoPSU.

 

[JohnyBeGood]

Thanks for the reply!

1) has only one HD slot http://images.highspeedbackbone.net/SKUimages/enhanced/A180-4505-call01-jfwd.jpg

2) I would like to stay w/ Ubuntu and if possible install desktop version. unRAID does look interesting but I think having Ubuntu has additional opportunists for installing other types of software.

If in that blog post MB is not really suitable for C2550 what other MB would you recommend? Is there any other CPU/combo that are "better" as far as power consumption without sacrificing performance?

I have kill-a-watt but it would be kinda late to measure power consumption once I bought and put together.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Thanks for the reply!

1) has only one HD slot http://images.highspeedbackbone.net/SKUimages/enhanced/A180-4505-call01-jfwd.jpg

Well, you could still replace it with a bigger one, no?

2) I would like to stay w/ Ubuntu and if possible install desktop version. unRAID does look interesting but I think having Ubuntu has additional opportunists for installing other types of software.

Fair enough. Although unRAID, like most NAS OSes now, supports a number of plugins as well as operating as a virtual machine host. So you're not _really_ giving up much.

If in that blog post MB is not really suitable for C2550 what other MB would you recommend? Is there any other CPU/combo that are "better" as far as power consumption without sacrificing performance?

Not really. Intel Atoms (and their server-oriented derivatives like the C2550) are about as good as it gets for power consumption - although I would object to the use of the term "performance" when describing them, unless it's prefaced by the words "annoyingly bad single-threaded".

The thing about those Atoms is, the other chips on the motherboard often use as much as or more power than the CPUs. So unless you get something that's built with a notebook chipset (a NUC, basically - don't do that) you aren't going to really beat it.

Most of the "waste" in that blog guy's PC wasn't the motherboard, it was the spinning HDDs, over-specced PSU, and IPMI (well, okay, IPMI is built into the motherboard - but it's really awesome!)

Subtract those and his build was probably using <15w for the "platform" (CPU/motherboard) which honestly isn't all that bad. Unless you went with something specifically designed for the embedded market like a Raspberry Pi (uses ~5w) or one of those weird little embedded router/firewall boards that sometimes show up.

Even a purpose-built 2-bay NAS uses ~26w under load. Which means it's probably using ~15w for the platform. (Depending on the model, I've seen WD claiming anywhere from 4.5 to 6.5 watts for an active WD Red.)

I have kill-a-watt but it would be kinda late to measure power consumption once I bought and put together.

The best thing you can do is check reviews for individual components and add them up. It's a poor review site these days that doesn't at least have SOME power use statistics.

If you're considering a component that isn't being widely reviewed, remember that most reviewers get sent samples by the manufacturer - if a company doesn't want people seeing their stuff, there's probably a reason.

 

[JohnyBeGood]

Well, you could still replace it with a bigger one, no?

You' are right. I could replace it with bigger one but that has really old Core 2 Duo CPU and I'm hoping one day when I have this machine setup to move my phone system to Ubuntu and stop using it.

Not really. Intel Atoms (and their server-oriented derivatives like the C2550) are about as good as it gets for power consumption - although I would object to the use of the term "performance" when describing them, unless it's prefaced by the words "annoyingly bad single-threaded".

The thing about those Atoms is, the other chips on the motherboard often use as much as or more power than the CPUs. So unless you get something that's built with a notebook chipset (a NUC, basically - don't do that) you aren't going to really beat it.

Most of the "waste" in that blog guy's PC wasn't the motherboard, it was the spinning HDDs, over-specced PSU, and IPMI (well, okay, IPMI is built into the motherboard - but it's really awesome!)

Subtract those and his build was probably using <15w for the "platform" (CPU/motherboard) which honestly isn't all that bad. Unless you went with something specifically designed for the embedded market like a Raspberry Pi (uses ~5w) or one of those weird little embedded router/firewall boards that sometimes show up.

Even a purpose-built 2-bay NAS uses ~26w under load. Which means it's probably using ~15w for the platform. (Depending on the model, I've seen WD claiming anywhere from 4.5 to 6.5 watts for an active WD Red.)

About power "waste" a while back I came across a web site that once you would plugin your CPU, MB and GPU it would tell you needed PSU. His setup uses 300W PSU, would going with something lower save on power consumption? I was under impression that PSU could be 1000W but computer will only draw as much it needs.
I came across this fanless one 400W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151097

I've looked what IPMI was and came across this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb-srXSwoxg and damn that is cool! You only need power and Ethernet cable!
Just for that I want to get that MB :biggrin:

 

[dave_the_nerd]

About power "waste" a while back I came across a web site that once you would plugin your CPU, MB and GPU it would tell you needed PSU. His setup uses 300W PSU, would going with something lower save on power consumption? I was under impression that PSU could be 1000W but computer will only draw as much it needs.
I came across this fanless one 400W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151097

All power supplies have an efficiency level - if they are 90% efficient, then to power 90w worth of computer, they pull 100w of power from the wall.

However, efficiency is variable across the range of loads. At PSU that is 90% efficient at 60% load might only be 80% efficient at 30% load.

You might be able to find an efficiency curve on the manufacturer's website, but most PSUs now are rated with this system for easy identification.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80_Plus

If his 300w PSU was, say, only 75% efficient at 10% load, then the 30w pulled at the wall only represents 23w of actual system power use, and using a much smaller PSU would have a measurable positive impact on power consumption. (But would it be enough to offset the cost of a new PSU? Probably not for a long time.)

Read more here too: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-psu-review,2916-3.html

I've looked what IPMI was and came across this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb-srXSwoxg and damn that is cool! You only need power and Ethernet cable!
Just for that I want to get that MB :biggrin:

It's handy. :biggrin:

 

[JohnyBeGood]

Thanks for explaining efficiency level, I did not know that!
Now I have to decide which route to go.

 

[XavierMace]

Before you spend money on this, I would recommend being a little more specific about what you want to do with this box. Yes, I get you want to learn Ubuntu, but do you care how it runs?

As Dave mentioned those are painfully slow processors by just about any standard. Literally your Core 2 Duo will probably give it a run for it's money performance wise. Those processors are great for true NAS boxes that are running a barebones OS with no gui and just a web interface. But if you're wanting to run a full blown Ubuntu install with the bells and whistles and do things like web browsing on it, you might not be happy with it's performance. I can tell you a lot of DVR systems web pages don't run well on low powered systems.

Which is the higher priority, efficiency or performance?

 

[JohnyBeGood]

Before you spend money on this, I would recommend being a little more specific about what you want to do with this box. Yes, I get you want to learn Ubuntu, but do you care how it runs?

As Dave mentioned those are painfully slow processors by just about any standard. Literally your Core 2 Duo will probably give it a run for it's money performance wise. Those processors are great for true NAS boxes that are running a barebones OS with no gui and just a web interface. But if you're wanting to run a full blown Ubuntu install with the bells and whistles and do things like web browsing on it, you might not be happy with it's performance. I can tell you a lot of DVR systems web pages don't run well on low powered systems.

Which is the higher priority, efficiency or performance?

Thanks for the reply!
Yes, I do care how it runs. Every camera has its own web interface and I will only use Ubuntu to store video recordings. In other words no "DVR system" will be installed on the machine.
Having said that can someone recommend a step up from this Atom then?
MB and CPU. Maybe Xeon, but power consumption will not be close to an Atom?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

True. You can get pretty close to Atom-level idle power use with the last couple generations of full size desktop processor. (Haswell, and newer. Some Ivy Bridge CPUs too.)

Sure, they use 5x the power when running at full throttle, but a lot of stuff they'll get done in 1/5th the time, so it's sometimes a wash.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Thanks for the reply!
Yes, I do care how it runs. Every camera has its own web interface and I will only use Ubuntu to store video recordings. In other words no "DVR system" will be installed on the machine.
Having said that can someone recommend a step up from this Atom then?
MB and CPU. Maybe Xeon, but power consumption will not be close to an Atom?

Supermicro makes a lot of server motherboards, and they'd be my first choice.

Basically, decide whether you want/need ECC or not (you probably don't need it.) All the motherboards in their server lineup that use the same chipset are basically the same.

Then get a motherboard that supports the number of drives, etc., that you want, has the features you're after, etc.

Then get a "big core" (not Atom/mobile SoC derived) CPU that is compatible with it and is within your budget. Could be a dual core Pentium, could be an i7 or a Xeon, depending. Any of them will probably be fast enough, but more cores may give you more options down the line.

 

[XavierMace]

So, this brings us to the all important question. What's your budget?

 

[JohnyBeGood]

Thanks for the replies guys!

I started to look for Xeon MBs and seperate CPU and that increases price a lot quickly.
Above MB/Atom combo was about $250

My budget would be 500-600.

 

[XavierMace]

You don't have to go with Xeon to get far better performance than the Atom but it IS going to be more expensive, especially if you prioritize efficiency.

i3 6100T: $155
Supermicro X11SSZ-QF: $225
8Gb DDR4: $50

You'll have to do some hunting for the processor and board. The 6100T is $25 more than the normal 6100 but drops the TDP from 51W to 35W. Looks like it doesn't hit shelves until November though. The board gets you a pair of GigE ports plus the dedicated IPMI port. You can always upgrade to an i5/i7 in the future if you decide you need to.

 

[ultimatebob]

I can't help but think that this would be a fun project for a Raspberry Pi 2 with a self powered USB hard drive plugged into it.

You can't get much more power efficient than a Raspberry Pi 2, it runs Linux, and it would come in WAY under your budget.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Thanks for the replies guys!

I started to look for Xeon MBs and seperate CPU and that increases price a lot quickly.
Above MB/Atom combo was about $250

My budget would be 500-600.

Note the server in my sig. The motherboard was a "factory refurb" for $130 and the CPU was $55. Still runs rings around an Atom.

Shop smart, there are deals out there.

Alternatively, consider a prebuilt server. Lenovo Thinkserver TS120/TS130/TS140s start within your budget, and/or are available used.

 

[JohnyBeGood]

Thanks for the replies guys!


I already have Raspberry Pi but I don't it can handle Desktop version of Ubuntu and that's what I would like to have.


XavierMace's suggestion is tempting but I would need to wait until November. Not a big deal though.


What really caught my eye is dave_the_nerd's suggestion for Lenovo Thinkserver line, especially TS140 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0ZX2C38358
it comes with Xeon E3-1225 v3 3.2GHz and 4GB of memory.
I do not understand why without HD is $414.51 and choosing 500GB HD brings it down to $369.99 ?
Is 4GB of RAM enough or another 4GB of same would make it "better"?
It also has Intel Advanced Management Technology (AMT) 9.0 whichis same as SuperMicro IPMI.
I could not find its power consumption anywhere.


Not sure if it matters but its on certified for Ubuntu list
http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/hardware/201504-18149/

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I do not understand why without HD is $414.51 and choosing 500GB HD brings it down to $369.99 ?

Nonstandard configurations always cost more.

Is 4GB of RAM enough or another 4GB of same would make it "better"?

Better yes, but if you don't need it right away, then don't buy it now.

It also has Intel Advanced Management Technology (AMT) 9.0 whichis same as SuperMicro IPMI.

IPMI is the generic term, which Intel actually helped invent. AMT is Intel's own name for the implementation of their own product. :awe:

Try not to think about it too hard. :biggrin:

I could not find its power consumption anywhere.

Assume it's similar to any desktop computer without a GPU - ~40-50w idle, ~100w load.

Not sure if it matters but its on certified for Ubuntu list
http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/hardware/201504-18149/

It matters since Linux often lags behind Windows for graphics card support.

 

[JohnyBeGood]

Nonstandard configurations always cost more.

I thought no HD is standard and adding HD is nonstandard?

So far I have my eyes on TS140

 

[XavierMace]

It's an 84W TDP on the processor in that TS140. Odds are it's probably got a fair amount of fans as well. So, I'd suspect it's power consumption is going to be a fair bit higher than the previously discussed custom builds.

The TS140 also has two power supply options:

280W fixed PSU 85% 80 PLUS Bronze
450W fixed PSU 92% 80 PLUS Platinum

 

[ultimatebob]

Thanks for the replies guys!


I already have Raspberry Pi but I don't it can handle Desktop version of Ubuntu and that's what I would like to have.

There is a version of Ubuntu for the Raspberry Pi, but it's not as fully featured as the x86 desktop version.

 

[JohnyBeGood]

It's an 84W TDP on the processor in that TS140. Odds are it's probably got a fair amount of fans as well. So, I'd suspect it's power consumption is going to be a fair bit higher than the previously discussed custom builds.

The TS140 also has two power supply options:

280W fixed PSU 85% 80 PLUS Bronze
450W fixed PSU 92% 80 PLUS Platinum

About PSU based on user reviews it looks like 280W is for the US market and 450W for EU.


I like power consumption of your suggestion but after I add memory, PSU and case it will be well over price for TS140.


Decisions, decisions....... :Colbert:

 

[zir_blazer]

Intel AMT is not the same as IPMI, they do around the same thing but are competing technologies. AMT depends on vPro support on an Intel platform (Processor, Chipset, NIC) to do Remote Management. IPMI instead is an extra integrated circuit that has its own basic 2D GPU and usually is connected to a dedicated NIC for out-of-band management.

Is hard to do some input on this Thread since there is a broad budget and processing power difference between an Atom and a Xeon E3. I was going to suggest something like a Xeon D 1520, if you want to feel a special snowflake.

 

[XavierMace]

About PSU based on user reviews it looks like 280W is for the US market and 450W for EU.


I like power consumption of your suggestion but after I add memory, PSU and case it will be well over price for TS140.


Decisions, decisions....... :Colbert:

But likely quite a bit more efficient. That's why I asked what the priorities are.

My servers are more the other end of the spectrum. A pair of hexcore Xeons in each.

 

[JohnyBeGood]

You don't have to go with Xeon to get far better performance than the Atom but it IS going to be more expensive, especially if you prioritize efficiency.

i3 6100T: $155
Supermicro X11SSZ-QF: $225
8Gb DDR4: $50

You'll have to do some hunting for the processor and board. The 6100T is $25 more than the normal 6100 but drops the TDP from 51W to 35W. Looks like it doesn't hit shelves until November though. The board gets you a pair of GigE ports plus the dedicated IPMI port. You can always upgrade to an i5/i7 in the future if you decide you need to.

I can't find anything about release date of i3 6100T, link please?