147
votes
Accepted
Physically locating the server
Use IPMI to trigger LEDs, increase fan RPMs or sound the beep/alarm. Take a look at the man page for ipmitool https://linux.die.net/man/1/ipmitool depending on the server you may be able to set the ...
- 2,751
101
votes
Physically locating the server
If your server has a CD/DVD or similar drive, a simple solution is to run eject and look for the open tray. (Remember, just because the tray is open doesn't mean that you opened it; confirm a second ...
- 1,113
54
votes
Physically locating the server
An electrical method:
When the power consumption in your building is not going to change a lot (like at night):
Run the computer at full cpu (like prime 95)
Measure the current going through each ...
- 765
51
votes
Accepted
How do servers with redundant power supplies balance consumption?
I'm going to give an HP Proliant-specific answer here, since the OP is asking about the HP product line.
Let's use the example of an HP DL360p Gen8 (also applies to G6, G7 and Gen9 servers):
You ...
- 196k
40
votes
Physically locating the server
If you have a managed switch:
ping ghostserver
arp -a
Note the MAC address, and after check your switch ARP table per port.
Depending on the switch model you will have output like this:
** Notice ...
- 16.6k
24
votes
Physically locating the server
Use beep.
Assuming you have an internal speaker installed (often a small piezoelectric device), this will emit a beep on said speaker. If you are unsure whether there is a speaker inside the box in ...
- 1,793
17
votes
Physically locating the server
With managed network devices, you have a number of options: you can look for CDP/LLDP packets from the switch towards the hosts (which will tell the switch name and port number), or you can install ...
- 4,181
13
votes
Purpose of vent holes on the top of rackmount servers?
(Some people are hard to please...)
These are likely system exhaust vents and fit into the total design of the product. Please understand that the system is designed and optimized for rack mounting ...
- 196k
12
votes
How do servers with redundant power supplies balance consumption?
it depends
If you go into setup (F10) you can choose the power management mode and usually there's a few options including the active/passive options you suggest as well as a balanced mode. I buy ...
- 101k
10
votes
9
votes
Is it possible to find a computer's physical location in a room?
The tool for finding a computer's physical location based nothing more than its network cable is politely referred to as an "intern".
Your intern tool may well request, and be greatly assisted by ...
- 53.6k
7
votes
What photograph technology is appropriate for site/datacenter documentation?
Google Business View seems like the pro option ;)
Good luck.
- 196k
6
votes
Physically locating the server
If the machine has a wireless card but is using a cable (unlikely, but maybe the motherboard has it built in?) You can configure it as an access point then use a phone app like wi-eye to play "hot or ...
- 184
6
votes
How should I store my HDDs?
For the case, I see it would be beneficial to consider 3-2-1 rule with RTO and RPO in order to get planned Backup and DR sites.
For a backup and DR boxes, I am using 2x Synology, so I can suggest ...
- 3,878
5
votes
How do servers with redundant power supplies balance consumption?
Every server is different. Some automatically balance between the two and some use the primary PSU exclusively until it fails and then switches to the secondary PSU. In most cases there is a bios ...
- 448
5
votes
How should I store my HDDs?
Hard disk isn't designed to store data for some reasonably long period of time. For vaulting you need disk -> tape and use something like Iron Mountain and similar services. Companies who need to mess ...
- 12.8k
4
votes
What is the correct temperature for a server room?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_center_environmental_control contains an interesting overview of vendor datacenter temperature recommendations:
4
votes
Ideal humidity for a server room?
The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) released a whitepaper in 2011. It says:
Recommended: 5.5ºC DP to 60% RH and 15ºC DP
Allowable: 20% to 80% RH
- 160
4
votes
Physically locating the server
Hard drive LEDs can be made to show a lot of activity, turning them into viable identifier lights, by reading with dd if=/dev/sdX of=/dev/null. No IPMI support needed.
Also see https://unix....
- 2,537
4
votes
How should I store my HDDs?
Don't store your backups in off-site hard drives. That sounds like a dangerous and inefficient way to store off-site backups.
I'd store your on-site backup on a professional NAS or SAN with disks in ...
- 255
4
votes
Accepted
How should I store my HDDs?
I agree that a NAS is always the best answer for external storage. If you truly want "Off site", I would recommend a safe deposit box. If you are looking to store this long term and only touch it in ...
- 72
3
votes
Accepted
Dell Poweredge 2950 with E5430 Temperature
I've been confused by different temperature terms myself, and to be honest I'm still not always sure how to interpret such information. What I do know is that TCASE is not the same as core temperature....
- 86
3
votes
Physically locating the server
There are two easy ways to do this.. one has already been mentioned ( eject the cdrom tray )
The other is to login with a wireless connection and watch the USB messages. Then go around and plug in a ...
- 323
3
votes
Accepted
VM image vs Phyical server image?
Well, you can use P2V utility (physical to virtual) to make a vm image and import it into your vm cluster.
Why do you think image of a physical server is hard to create? There is native utility does ...
- 902
2
votes
Is it safe to ignore the lm-sensors voltage alarms?
Voltages are rarely reported by drivers correctly, because a scaling factor needs to be applied to the limited range of the internal sensors.
See this page for a description and tutorial of how to ...
- 493
2
votes
Reset temperature sensor on Supermicro X7DWA-N
i have a different board (X8DTN+) but i suspect that your "jumper" for resetting cmos may be similar. it is a "jumper" without pins so it is flat on the board. you would need to remove the battery and ...
- 21
2
votes
Purpose of vent holes on the top of rackmount servers?
Those holes are IMHO there to allow the air to keep venting in the event a person fills the expansion slots. Cards in expansion slots don't have vent holes so each care is removing venting real ...
- 102
2
votes
Accepted
Send network signal over a very long distance of copper
You're looking for a device called an Ethernet extender/repeater.
The linked page is not an endorsement, so much as a matter of convenience, since this is the company I'm working with to do something ...
- 53.6k
2
votes
Physically locating the server
If you're going to move it, how about turning it off and looking for a switched off machine?
- 41
2
votes
What are the considerations which decide the server Dimensions in Rack Servers?
You're getting your terms wrong sorry.
A blade server is a physically small server that fits inside a larger chassis that provides the blade servers inside it with common services such as power ...
- 101k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible