Re-purposing an HP Proliant G6 for medium duty

[7FigureSwagger]

Hey all,
I have a G6 ML350, saved from the scrap pile. Got lucky actually not sure why it was even tossed, maybe the RAID controller? Seemed wonky, couldn't get it to post without disconnecting it and running a SATA direct to an SSD.
I will admit I am jumping into the shark infested waters nude here (metaphorically obviously), this is my first time really tearing into a server to re-purpose it. The RAID might have been fine, but I just reduced my concerns to get it to post. Everything seems fine now, I also snagged a set of Xeon X5650's I believe they are, although ill need the "dual cpu" accessories like the additional fan and baffle etc.

MY PROBLEM:
I cannot seem to for the life of me, figure out what configuration I need and which sticks I need, to max out my RAM for the single cpu config. I have no idea what limits me, but I KNOW I should be able to get more than 32GB to a single CPU lmfao. My issue is that if I fill all the DIMM slots for a single CPU config, the server does not post, and gives the RAM error where the LEDs all show orange. I referenced the documentation, but that left me even more confused, as it alludes to this motherboard having WILDLY different maximum capacities, depending on a few factors. Seemingly RAM speeds and placements? But I am not sure.

Here is the manual I am referencing:
https://content.etilize.com/User-Manual/1022988121.pdf

My guess is I am mixing UDIMM and RDIMM, page 44 is where the memory stuff is talked about.

STRETCH PROBLEM:
I am also a little confused as to how the network ports work on a server, more specifically, do they function like GPU's in the sense that, if software is not requesting to push traffic through the hardware, then the port/hw/chip is not used? For example if I have 2 gigabit ethernet ports, will traffic only travel over the second port if specifically asked to? Is this something the BiOS decides and automates? Is it specific to virtualisation or docker container configs, in the same way I can set cpu and ram limits? My goal is to make sure I have wide open pipes for bandwidth, the processes wont be maxing the network traffic out I don't think, but I DO BELIEVE traffic spikes high sometimes. 
Yes, feel free to roast and correct me anywhere I am using bad terminology lol...

[Crunchy Dragon]

Definitely don't mix UDIMMs and RDIMMs, and definitely don't mix ECC and non-ECC, systems usually don't like when that happens.

As far as capacity goes, the manual states the type of DIMM(UDIMM vs RDIMM) and the amount of CPUs can differentiate the max amount of RAM you can install.

 

Are you following the correct population order for the DIMM slots?(listed on page 45 of the manual)

 

My experience has been if a network port isn't explicitly in use, then it's not automatically disabled. It just isn't in use, but is still available to be used at a moment's notice if you need to connect something to it. Some of these server boards will sometimes have a network port specifically for networked management, and the other port(s) on the board are for actual network traffic.

[7FigureSwagger]

@Crunchy Dragon
Okay yeah, I also managed to recover many, many sticks of DDR3 RAM, so out of my 3 bags I should be able to find stuff. My geek brain went straight to the sticks with heat sinks lol... I literally learned how to figure out difference between UDIMM and RDIMM (again showing my rookie skill, as I didn't know about this difference with RAM), while writing my OP haha...
As for population order, I did not pay proper attention to that either, but got it on second try, so that part is fine for now.

Re. network ports, yeah I see there is a network port for management, then they have 1 and 2 Ethernet side by side. I guess I was just wondering if that sort of increases bandwidth that can be pushed in and out from the machine, ie. plugging in a second connection giving me 'twice the pipe' lol...
Or if its intended for:
 - process 1 running thru port 1
 - process 2 running thru port 2

Hope I made sense there!

[Crunchy Dragon]

10 minutes ago, 7FigureSwagger said:

Re. network ports, yeah I see there is a network port for management, then they have 1 and 2 Ethernet side by side. I guess I was just wondering if that sort of increases bandwidth that can be pushed in and out from the machine, ie. plugging in a second connection giving me 'twice the pipe' lol...
Or if its intended for:
 - process 1 running thru port 1
 - process 2 running thru port 2

Hope I made sense there!

I'm not sure about setting that up within a single OS(such as Windows or Linux), but definitely you should be able to do that, I'm unsure as to the specifics of setting that up outside a hypervisor/virtual machine environment.

 

From some cursory poking around the internet, it looks like you can map, or bridge(not sure what the right term here is) both ports to a single IP address, have both of them connected to your router, and double your bandwidth that way as the network will think there's only one port. That will certainly increase your throughput and network performance.

[Electronics Wizardy]

22 minutes ago, 7FigureSwagger said:

Re. network ports, yeah I see there is a network port for management, then they have 1 and 2 Ethernet side by side. I guess I was just wondering if that sort of increases bandwidth that can be pushed in and out from the machine, ie. plugging in a second connection giving me 'twice the pipe' lol...
Or if its intended for:
 - process 1 running thru port 1
 - process 2 running thru port 2

sure you can set it up so each process uses a different port. Normally you can do this by setting different IPs, and having different progrms listen on different IPs.

 

You can also do bonding, but that requires a supported switch.

[7FigureSwagger]

37 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

From some cursory poking around the internet, it looks like you can map, or bridge(not sure what the right term here is) both ports to a single IP address, have both of them connected to your router, and double your bandwidth that way as the network will think there's only one port. That will certainly increase your throughput and network performance.

 

33 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

sure you can set it up so each process uses a different port. Normally you can do this by setting different IPs, and having different progrms listen on different IPs.

 

You can also do bonding, but that requires a supported switch.

You guys are amazing, thank you for all your help and suggestions. Stoked to get home and deploy these changes.