Those of you who are running VMware vSphere ESX/ESXi on an Intel Xeon X3430 CPU based HP Proliant ML110 G6 may have attempted to try and enable the Hyperthreading within ESX or ESXi after seeing that it was currently ‘Disabled’ within the ‘Configuration’ tab of the vCenter client and that all supposedly needs doing is it enabling in the BIOS of the server.

Without wishing to be the bearer of bad news unfortunately your Intel Xeon X3430 CPU in your particular model of ML110 G6 doesn’t actually have Hyperthreading installed on the CPU’s die.  VMware ESX/ESXi seems to identify that your ML110 G6 does have an Intel Xeon X3400 series CPU installed though doesn’t distinguish between the various sub-models of this CPU some of which do have Hyperthreading.  The X3430 is the only CPU in the X3400 series without Hyperthreading, for a complete list of which Intel CPUs come with Hyperthreading and which don’t check out this list here. 

So the result is that despite the vCenter client telling you to enable Hyperthreading in the BIOS of your X3430 based ML110 G6 you’ll be looking a long time as you won’t be able to.

One very important point to note however is that there are models of HP ML110 G6 that do come with Xeon CPUs such as the X3440 which do in fact have Hyperthreading capabilities which can be utilised within ESX/ESXi

Hope this helps avoid any confusion. 

I’ve been running VMware ESXi 4.1 on an HP MicroServer for a few weeks now and the following post is to summarise my findings and to answer a question many people have been asking -  Does the HP MicroServer make for a decent VMware vSphere lab server and is it a true replacement to the HP ML115 G5?  

If you want to read my conclusion on running vSphere on the MicroServer then skip to the end of the post, though if you want more detail around what is presented through to ESX/ESXi then read on.  Also if you want more hands on information on the MicroServer check out my previous posts here and here.

Installation:  Installing VMware vSphere 4.1 onto the HP MicroServer didn’t raise any issues.  The entire installation process went through without a hitch, none of the CD/DVD not recognised issues that were originally seen with the ML110 G6’s.  But then I did have to provide my own CD/DVD as the MicroServer doesn’t come with one as standard.

Let’s take a look at what ESX/ESXi  see’s of the underlying hardware once it has been installed.  The following images shows some of the key areas from the vSphere Client.

From within the ‘Summary’ tab it is clear that the AMD Athlon II Neo N36L (dual core) laptop grade CPU is detected without issue along with the other core components of the HP MicroServer such as the memory, local storage and of course the network card,

Processor Information: The AMD Athlon N36L CPU has the AMD64 extensions which are necessary for VMware vSphere and 64bit only OS’s such as Windows Server 2008 R2.  It also has AMD-V virtualization enhancement extensions. 

Memory Information:  The full 8GB (2 x 4GB DIMMs) of memory was detected by ESX/ESXi 4.1

Datastores – Local & NAS/SAN Storage: The local 160GB SATA disk was detected and presented through as a vmfs3 partition.

Network Adapter: The integrated Broadcom NC107i Gigabit network card was detected without issue.

Storage Adapters:  The disk controller (SB700) is based on the on-board AMD chipset of the MicroServer.  As this isn’t strictly a hardware based array controller and requires drivers to run an array on the server you will find that trying to RAID run under VMware ESX/ESXi won’t work.  So if you require RAID functionality then you’d need to look at adding a PCIe based array controller or using shared SAN/NAS storage.  However if you are not worried about disk resilience in your vSphere lab you could install ESX/ESXi off of a single local disk along with the VMs on the same or another added disk attached to the on-board controller.

VMDirectPath:  Unsurprisingly the MicroServer’s chipset does not support VMDirect Path pass-through.

Power Management:  The AMD N36L CPU of the MicroServer has the AMD PowerNow! instructions on-board meaning that ESX/ESXi host will be able to throttle the frequency of the CPU at times of varying utilization which can lead to power savings.

vMotion and Enhanced vMotion Compatibility (EVC):  One area that I was interested to test was around vMotion.  As the MicroServer is running a low powered non-AMD Opteron processor how would it work along side an AMD Opteron processor as found in the ML115 G5?

A vMotion between the HP MicroServer and a ML115 G5 as you’d expect fails due to the incompatibility between the CPU models of the AMD Athlon N36L and AMD Opteron.

But what if you apply Enhanced vMotion Compatiblity (EVC) to a cluster containing the HP MicroServer and ML115 G5?  The good news is that if you set the EVC mode of the cluster to AMD Opteron Generation 1 then vMotion and subsequently DRS will work between the Athlon and Opteron based CPUs.

Performance:  Over the duration of the two weeks I ran on average 5 VMs on the MicroServer. Although the AMD N36L Dual Core 1.297GHz processor in the MicroServer is of quite a low specification I rarely saw it hit 80-90% of  total CPU utilisation.  In fact most of the time my VMs only used 300-400MHz, which isn’t really surprising since they weren’t doing too much.  This of course could likely change when heavier CPU workloads are applied to the VMs.  If you think you’re going to be running moderately CPU intensive applications or utilities on your VMs running on the MicroServer then you should take the speed and architecture of the N36L into consideration.  With regard to memory there is nothing unusual here, ESX/ESXi and the guest OS’s will consume most of the memory you will give them. 

Conclusion – Running VMware vSphere on an HP MicroServer

What attracted me to the HP MicroServer initially was the form factor.  For those of us running home labs this small form factor is highly beneficial especially when combined with the low power consumption and noise generated by the server.  When I first opened the box of the server I was a little surprised with the height of it as I was expecting a smaller form factor, something the size of a Shuttle PC.  Check out my video in my earlier post here for a comparison in size of the MicroServer, ML115 and Shuttle.  The build quality of the MicroServer is good with the plastic components not feeling cheap and brittle as is the case in some entry level servers.

Here’s a breakdown of my thoughts on the varying core components that make up the MicroServer in the context of running VMware vSphere on it:

CPU:  Sufficient if you want to run relatively low CPU workloads on your VMs.  What it does lack however is more GHz and a larger L2 cache to accommodate a larger number of VMs or CPU intensive workloads.  In my opinion the CPU is the main area which is lacking in this ‘server’ offering from HP. The low power of the CPU does mean that it only needs to be passively cooled via a heat sink with the large extraction fan at the rear drawing air over it.

Memory:  The 8GB memory maximum is fine for a small vSphere lab.  The downside to the memory on the MicroServer however is all around cost.  The two DIMM sockets in the MicroServer is rather limiting in my opinion even for a non-virtualised environment.  It means that if you want to take the server up to the maximum 8GB, which is quite common these days, then you’ll need to look at purchasing 2 x 4GB DIMMs which unfortunately aren’t the cheapest and will add considerable cost to the overall purchase price of the server.  In a vSphere lab server you ideally need to be running 8GB especially if running Windows Server 2008 VMs which tend to consume more memory than other OS’s.

Network: No complaints with the single embedded Broadcom NC107i Gigabit network card, this is detected ok by ESX/ESXi and is sufficient for most small lab environments.  Of course additional network ports can be added via a PCIe network card(s) if required – which is often preferable when you start running storage and vMotion based network traffic.

Storage: The on-board SB700 storage is pretty basic stuff.  Don’t expect to run RAID under ESX/ESXi on the server and the performance of running VMs off a single disk won’t be blazingly fast – though may likely prove to be fine for many small vSphere lab environments.  There are 4 drives bays within the MicroServer so you could easily distribute your VMs onto separate spindles.

Overall: I fully acknowledge that it was never HP’s intention for the MicroServer to be used as a vSphere virtualization server though with its attractive form factor and with the HP ML115 G5 going end of life many people including myself are looking for an entry level AMD alternative.  For those people wanting a small basic vSphere lab server then definitely take a look at the Microserver, though in my opinion if you haven’t already committed to using AMD based CPU servers in your vSphere lab then the Intel i3-530/540 based HP ML110 G6 offers much better bang for Buck/Pound/Euro/Yen. It is comparable in price, has greater memory expansion options (ie: 4 x DIMM sockets), comes standard with a CD/DVD drive and has a higher specification CPU.   Though if you want a small factor, super-uber quiet vSphere lab server to run 4-6 VMs with low/moderate CPU workloads then the HP MicroServer is definitely worth a look.

After getting my hands on one of HP’s new AMD based Proliant MicroServers I decided to give it a good once over to gain a better understanding of it’s components, build quality and how it pieced together.  As a result I have created a couple of videos, the first is a ‘hands on review’ and the second shorter clip takes a look at the size of the HP Proliant MicroServer and how it compares to other small factors machines such as as the XPC Shuttle, and the larger Proliant ML115 G5.

I hope these videos are of use to those of you out there curious about this new HP MicroServer offering or who are maybe considering buying one.  The next test will be to see if it will meet my requirements of  using it as a VMware ESX/ESXi host for my vSphere lab environment.  Check out my previous blog post here for more information about the MicroServer and for a more detailed look into it’s specification.

A question no doubt asked by many when the HP MicroServer was announced is, “how micro is this MicroServer?”.  In this clip I compare it in size to an XPC Shuttle and an HP Proliant ML115 G5.

So, as mentioned the next test for the HP Proliant MicroServer is see how practical it would be as a VMware ESX/ESXi host, especially in light of the relatively low specification CPU?  I will release a post soon with my findings.

I’d be interested to know your thoughts on the MicroServer…  Is this new small form factor addition to the HP’s Proliant range of servers an effective solution for the SMB space or just under powered even for those SMB environments with >10-12 users, for which it is intended?

As I mentioned in a blog post a while ago the popular HP Proliant ML115 range of servers was going end of life, with no G6 model to ever see the light of day.  This is a real shame as the HP Proliant ML115 G5 offered exceptional value for money indeed, with a quad core AMD Opteron processor and the ability to run a decent work or lab vSphere environment from it.

There were rumours that there would be successor to the ML115 G5 but it was to take a different guise with a lower specification CPU and would not be called an ML115.  Anything else definite was not known….

… Until recently that is when HP announced the new AMD CPU based Proliant MicroServer whose specification matches the limited information previously known about the successor to the ML115 G5. 

So what is this new HP MicroServer, what is it’s specification and would it be any good for a work or home lab vSphere server? Also is it really worthy of sharing the Proliant name with such classic Proliant models as the DL360/365 and DL380/385?

However before we continue I feel I should take the time to put in perspective HP’s apparent recommended use for this new ‘multi-purpose server’ offering.  HP’s intention is to directly target the lucrative 37 million (source: The Register) SMB business market space with ten users of less where IT know-how or permanent staff are often limited or missing with the HP MicroServer claiming easy set up and configuration functionality.

The Configuration

Probably the most noticeable thing about new HP MicroServer is its size..

It’s, well..micro sized. The clue is in the name.    HP call this form factor, Ultra Micro Tower.

To be exact it is 10.5 x 8.3 x 10.2 in (26.7x 21.0 x 26.0 cm) (HxWxD) which is a pretty small form factor for any self respecting PC let alone one claiming to be a ‘server’.  This form factor will definitely be attractive to those SMB companies or businesses (eg: branch offices) lacking the required space for running anything larger or perhaps intending to run their server in the actual open office space.  But for me and no doubt plenty of others out there this form factor and the quoted quiet operating noise levels of 23.8 dBA (which is pretty darn quiet in anyone’s book) is, on the surface, a tasty looking option for use in a home lab environment.  But it’s not all about the size (is it?) let’s take a look at some of main specifications of this new HP MicroServer.

CPU:  The CPU powerhouse(?) driving this server is not really what you’d ever expect to see in a machine claiming to be a server with its dual core 1.3Ghz AMD Athlon II NEO N36L processor which would normally be seen in a laptop or netbook PC.  This isn’t a processor that you’ve probably seen around too much so let’s take a look at its capabilities apart from its obvious speed (1.3GHz) and dual cores:

Manufacturing process:    0.045 micron SOI
Data width:    64 bit
Number of cores:  2
Floating Point Unit:    Integrated
Level 1 cache size:     2 x 64 KB instruction caches
2 x 64 KB data caches
Level 2 cache size:    2 x 1 MB
Features:  

    * MMX technology
    * 3DNow!
    * SSE
    * SSE2
    * SSE3
    * SSE4A   
    * AMD64 technology   
    * Enhanced Virus Protection   
    * Virtualization technology (ie: AMD-V) 

Low power features:    PowerNow!
On-chip peripherals:  

    * Integrated DDR3 SDRAM memory controller
    * HyperTransport technology 3.0

I have highlighted those processor features which are either required by VMware vSphere or in the case of ‘PowerNow!’ is a nice to have.  So technically the AMD Athlon II NEO N36L processor found in the HP Proliant MicroServer should be able to run vSphere ok, though the most glaringly obvious question in all of this is the dual 1.3Ghz CPU Cores up to the job of supporting and running an average vSphere lab environment?

Well, of course the answer to this is… it depends.  As no doubt all of you who run a production or lab VMware vSphere environment will in most cases confirm the amount of CPU utilisation is generally quite low with memory being the first ESX/ESXi host physical resource being consumed, meaning that a lowly utilised vSphere lab environment with 4-5 VMs would probably be ok running on the MicroServer in most instances.  Though increase the workloads of the VMs running on the server and the CPU performance could quickly change for the worse.

Memory:  The first thing to know about the HP MicroServer is that it only has two memory slots thereby instantly limiting your options when it comes to adding affordable capacity memory DIMMs to maximise the available memory.  The maximum amount of memory that you can insert and run is 8GB which is achieved via 2 x 4GB PC3-10600E DDR UDIMMs.  You receive 1 x 1GB PC3-10600E DDR UDIMM with the MicroServer as standard but lets face it what can you really do with that whether the server is used as a virtual host or running an OS such as Windows Server 2008 straight on the bare metal?  In my opinion HP would have been better removing all the memory and dropping the price slightly allowing the purchaser to add their own desired memory capacity and configuration.

Below is an outline of the main allowed memory configurations:

Storage Controller & Hard Disks:  Detailed information currently available on the onboard storage controller is  somewhat light with the exact storage controller chipset being used unknown.  Chances are the disk controller could be the one seen in the ML110 G6 model of Proliant, this being the B110i,  all we do know from the HP Proliant MicroServer QuickSpecs is that it can support up to four SATA 7.2K based non-hot plug disks in either an embedded RAID 0 or 1 configuration.  What happened to RAID 5 HP?  This isn’t even available as an optional extra via an unlocking code or similar.

*** UPDATE: Thanks to Daniel from HP (Twitter: @DanielAtHP) for confirming that the HP Proliant Microserver doesn’t use the B110i disk controller but in fact a SATA disk/RAID controller built into the AMD chipset.

Although I don’t know for sure I think it will be safe to assume that the embedded RAID will not be compatible with ESX/ESXi as this is what we saw with the default embedded RAID found in the HP Proliant ML110 and ML115 models of server.  I’d like to be wrong on this one.

HP quote the use of their own SATA branded hard disks in the MicroServer though it is not entirely clear from the HP quickspec whether you could use cheaper commodity SATA 7.2K drives instead though I’d be very surprised if you couldn’t.  The standard MicroServer configuration comes with a single 160GB SATA drive.

HP claim that a maximum of 8TB (4 x 2TB, RAID 0) can be added into the MicroServer providing adequate storage even in a working RAID 1 configuration (4TB).

CD/DVD: Although shown in the picture above it should be pointed out that the DVD drive is an optional extra and does not come with the standard base model, at least not the one I was looking at.

Network:  There is a single embedded NC107i PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Server Adapter which is on the VMware vSphere Compatibility List.  This single gigabit NIC combined with a single or dual port gigabit NIC expansion card added into on of the expansion slots (see below) would meet the requirements of most ESX/ESXi host configurations especially when VLANs are used.

Expansion Slots:  Below is an outline of the two expansion slots which can be found in the MicroServer, which for an average vSphere lab server is sufficient as all you’d generally be looking at inserting into one of these PCI-e slots would be a network expansion card.  Note:  due to the small form factor of this server half height, half length cards should be used.

USB Ports: When it comes to USB ports HP definitely didn’t scrimp with four USB 2.0 slots on the front of the MicroServer, two on the back and one internally that HP indicates can be used with a USB based backup device.  I’m not sure why the majority of the USB ports are on the front of the server as any permanently attached USB devices such as external hard disks or dongles would usually be better off being connected around the back so there is less chance of the USB connection being knocked.  But the fact HP have provided this many USB ports is a good thing in my opinion.

Power:  The HP MicroServer is powered by a single 200 Watt non-hot pluggable  power supply.  As would be expected in an entry level server there is no option to add a redundant power supply.  The low power (15W) CPU definitely contributes to keeping the running cost of the MicroServer to a minimum, with HP quoting that a fully loaded configuration only consuming an impresssive 70W of power.

Operating Systems:  HP have Microsoft Windows Server and Red Hat Enterprise Linux highlighted as being the operating systems to run on the MicroServer, so in fairness they are not claiming that it is supposed to be considered for as a virtualization host.  But us home lab virtualization techies cannot help ourselves when we see a small, form factor entry level server hardware being released.

Warranty:  1 Year

But would it make a good VMware vSphere lab server?

Once again, it depends… From the specifications provided by HP, it would probably not make for a good vSphere lab server in most instances though it really comes down to what virtualized workloads you want to run on the MicroServer.  For 4-5 average VMs not doing anything too heavy then you’ll probably find that it will be ok (small print:  I haven’t tried one of these servers yet so this is just speculation on my part based on the hardware specification of the MicroServer) assuming you are running 4-8GB of memory and perhaps running the VMs off of  attached NFS or iSCSI storage.

For me the MicroServer has the potential for being a great little lab server though falls down in a couple of key areas – firstly the CPU is rather on the light side even if running Windows Server with up to 10 users accessing it for tasks such as SMB email, finance package, SharePoint, etc. Secondly another 2 memory DIMM sockets would have been good – what about losing one of the PCI-e expansion slots to allow for a couple of extra extra slots? Then the last point being the price.  The quoted HP price here in the UK is £219+VAT which is only slightly less than the £240+VAT approx price of an ML110 G6 which has 4 DIMMs slots, comes with a DVD drive and has a faster CPU.  What you are paying for with the MicroServer, which for Shuttle PC fans like myself appreciate, is its small size.

Something that did catch my eye is that HP has used the word ‘series’ (see image below) on it’s MicroServer web page indicating that there may end up being more than one model of MicroServer, which if true, means they will hopefully address some of the short comings mentioned above.  I must point out again that I fully appreciate that this server wasn’t designed as a vSphere lab server though even as a Windows Server 2008 box it will perhaps struggle a little with some workloads even in a >10 user branch or small office type environment.

After this is all said and done however I still find myself really wanting to get my hands on an HP Proliant MicroServer just to see what it is actually capable of.  I love the form factor and the concept of what HP is trying to do here, though I just think they are a little short of the mark in a couple of key areas (ie: CPU and memory capacity) when combined with the price.  If you don’t have to run workloads which require high levels of CPU horsepower the requirement to purchase a DVD drive and semi-expensive 2 or 4GB DIMMs due to a lack of available memory sockets still brings the cost of this little server more in line to to that of a server from HP’s ML range of Proliants such as the ML110 G6 which definitely, in my opinion, offers better bang for buck.