Exploring Diskless Management Configuration using 2nd Hand Supermicro Server

[oseph_17]

hi to all, im from the philippines and im starting to have interests in servers from the internet cafe's client-server configuration here in South East Asia.i bought second hand parts for the sake of learning server configurations and diskless management configuration. They are using servers to create a diskless management system form cafe clients. i've read some softwares for these and i reviewed them too.(i decided to use HP RCS VIM because it also supports bandwidth management like pfsense) and for the hardware part i manage to get a cpu+mobo+ram bundle for about 50USD(2,500 php) please rate for what can i extract from these components for what i have for am i going to build and what can i do for the problems i encountered.

AMD Opteron 4122 2.2Ghz(quad-core) processor

Super micro H8SCM(-F) micro-ATX server motherboard

8GB (2x4GB) 1333Ghz hynix server ram( i haven't check if it's Registered ECC or what)
 

I've added some parts like a surplus korean 500watts true rated PSU.

an AVR + desktop switch and 60Gbs SATA HDD for an extra 40USD (2,000 php)

 

for testing the parts, i used a 5400prm 60Gb laptop SATA HDD.(planning to buy a server/enterprise grade HDD when there is available) as of now. i'm not on the performance yet. because I'm having problems with my parts. here's what happened.when i turn on my system after it initializes, I noticed that it detects some form of RAM error that requires me to press F1 to continue..then after some restarts it suddenly disapprears.(is it a sign that my memory is a registered ECC RAM or just un buffered server RAM) when i'm still installing a windows server OS. it fails over and over again(i manage to install the windows server on my laptop using the 60gb drive) but when i attached the drive back to my server, it suddenly shut off like a form of a power cut. i haven't test it yet to run all day because it happen about 4 times for the entire 3 hours of testing the system. i see a led blinking on my motherboard on a fix rate aside for the mother board power led which light perfectly normal. Does it signals me that there is something wrong with my system? or my power supply is too low for my server board and other components?


thanks in advance for the ideas and suggestions.
i'll upload pictures as soon as i get home. i forgot to take pictures for what i did last night.

[Electronics Wizardy]

You seem to have bad ram. 

 

IDK what your doing with this system and prices in this area, but normally something like a dell 2950 or hp dl 380 g5 would be much faster.

 

PSU doesn't seem great, but i haven't seen it, and wont cause a ram problem, so check ram first.

[oseph_17]

actually budget wise, i cant afford those branded pre-built server units because they cost more than my idea of assembling a server using salvaged parts. hmm the ram was detected by the BIOS. But  i'll try to check and insert them on the other ports or test them one at a time. thanks for your suggestions/ideas

[Electronics Wizardy]

5 minutes ago, oseph_17 said:

i cant afford those branded pre-built server units

There about 60 USD and used, not that much really. 

[oseph_17]

In my country it costs around 120 USD.  based on the post i've seen on the web. that is physically near to my location.because shipping is another issue for cost. 

[leadeater]

14 minutes ago, oseph_17 said:

In my country it costs around 120 USD.  based on the post i've seen on the web. that is physically near to my location.because shipping is another issue for cost. 

Shipping is often the killer for us outside of the US.

[oseph_17]

yup. what retailers do here in Ph. they buy in bulk in a form of  a group buy. like mass drop on a group of interested users.