So, following on from my previous post (Follow up on which NAS question) I now have a HP ProLiant N40L MicroServer, but I haven't actually done anything with it yet!!  I now have a ton of questions re the ProLiant.  I have scoured the interwebs and there have been some great forum posts in relation to this, but I still ask here as well.

Intended use

I had initially intended to use the ProLiant as a server, while still using my Dell as the main HTPC, however due to the random restarts I think I will use the ProLiant as my HTPC, connected to my TV.  The intention is to give the Dell to my parents, who will just hook it up to their existing monitor and use as a normal PC.

The ProLiant will also run a Logitech server and probably a server for all files and documents across the house (with appropriate backup in place) and also maybe stream to the TV in our bedroom.

Hardware setup

At present I have only taken the ProLiant out of the box (and put it back!)  I intend to go shopping over the weekend for various parts (in HK online shopping doesn't work so well and I will have to hit one of the big computer shopping malls, where ironically prices are actually often more expensive than in the UK, even though most of the parts are only made 20 odd miles away across the border in Mainland China!)

My planned set up, like many people is as follows:

- Move on HDD to ODD bay for OS
- Get more RAM
- Buy graphics card
- Buy hard drives

Moving HDD to ODD: From what I understand this is pretty straightforward.  I could either get an ICY box for 5.25 to 3.5 convertor or get some nexus brackets, a SATA data cable and molex to SATA power cable.

RAM: The onboard RAM is 2GB.  Now do I add 4GB (making it 6) or do I go for broke and add 2x4GB (making it 8GB)?  I think 6GB will be fine, but 8GB will give a bit more overhead esp if I intend to use it for several tasks at the same time.  From reading I understand I need 240pin DDR3 PC3-10600 (1333 MHz RAM).  Also it seems that it doesn't matter if I get ECC or non-ECC ram.  I think non-ECC is cheaper, so will probably opt for that.  Any other RAM I should consider?

Graphics card: From reading the forums, it seems the Radeon HD 6450 low profile card is a good choice (BTW what is the difference between things like Asus 6450, Sapphire 6450, etc?)  Or should I go for the HD 5450 card?  I'm just going to be using this graphics card to connect the ProLiant to my TV with HDMI.

Speaking of graphics card, I presume these come with sound as well, or will I need to get a sound card as well?

Another option I was thinking of was just using my AMD 4330 from my Dell.  I know its not great, but it does kind of do the job.  This does mean no graphics on the Dell, will this even work?

Hard drives:

This is two pronged - HDD for OS and HDD for storage.

- The ProLiant comes with a Seagate 250GB 7200rpm HDD and it seems quite a few people are using this for their OS in the ODD bay.  I am thinking of doing this as well.  I also have the 1TB HDD in the Dell.  I was thinking about using this as either storage or as OS.  I also have a spare 60GB SSD which I was thinking about for OS (but I guess that depends on size of OS, again to be discussed later).  If I were to use the 1TB HDD, could I partition in a way that some of it would be usable for OS only and the remainder for storage (mainly for documents and files, NOT media).

- For storage - i.e. in the four bays, which HDDs are better? WD Green or Seagate Barracuda?  They would be used for media only.  At this stage I am not sure how many HDDs I intend to buy (if any at all, for example if I use my existing 1TB HDD).

- Also RPM?  From what I have read 7,200rpm for OS and either 5,400 or 5,900 rpm for storage.  The 1TB HDD I have, I was thinking about maybe using for media storage, or would that not be such a good idea, because of power consumption reasons [I would replace the HDD in the Dell with a spare 2.5in HDD I have]?

Also, should I be hacking the BIOS?  From what I have read in the forums I should only really need to do this if I intend to use an SSD as my HDD?  Is this correct?

Operating System

I guess this is the biggest issue.  Which OS to use?

Originally the intention was that the ProLiant would just be a server, then I would have just used something like Openmediavault or WHS11.

As I now going to use the ProLiant as an HTPC, ideally I would want to use Windows 7 (sorry, mainly a Windows guy), however the cost is quite prohibitive.

From reading WHS11 has got quite a few fans as being quite a good set up and not too badly priced.  Now, would I be able to WHS11 as both an HTPC (as I would need to install front end like Plex or XBMC) and a server [all the other computers in my house are Windows based]? 

Or what about Windows 8 Consumer Preview, or that a bit too risky as its still in trial mode?

Through Dreamspark I do have access to Windows Server 8 Beta and Windows Server 2008 r2, as these considerations as well?

If I were to go down the WHS11 route, it is actually not available in Hong Kong.  I don't mind buying it through Ebuyer, etc, but it seems they actually send you the physical discs.  Could I just download it from somewhere (where?), buy WHS11 and get it sent to my parents house in the UK and get them to email me the serial code?  Would that work? How big is the WHS11 install?  Would it install on my 60GB SSD, or is that too small?  What is the smallest required hard drive space?

Or any other OS that would work?

RAID set up?

Now I know this will really depend on which OS I go with, but from reading it seems RAID 5 is a good balance between redundancy and speed.  Initially, I am actually thinking about going with RAID 0 as I may only buy two HDDs (or I may just use my existing 1TB HDD).

If I go Windows based it seems I will have to use a software based RAID setup, something like FlexiRAID?  For RAID do I have to buy the same sort of HDDs (size, brand, etc), or can I mix and match?  Also, will JBOD work?  I have not read anything about using JBOD with the ProLiant in this forum, but would just want to check.

Conclusion

Firstly, many thanks for actually reading this very long post.  I do apologise for this, but just wanted to provide as much information as possible about my questions in one post.

I think initially I will only run with my existing 1TB HDD (just a cost issue) and then will expand later on.  I still need to decide whether I use the existing 250GB HDD as my OS hard drive though, or use my spare 60GB SSD.

I do appreciate any comments / help / suggestions you may offer.

So, went to Broadway in Hong Kong.  Broadway is one of Hong Kong's biggest electrical retailers.  There I asked for a razor, I was shown a Motorola RAZR phone.  I then asked for a beard trimmer and in return I was show a camera.  I kind of can understand the the whole razor / Motorola confusion, but in which language does trimmer mean camera (even in any form of slang)?

So I had written the following post re what NAS box to get: Netgear ReadNAS Ultra 2 Plus or Synology DS212+? Which NAS?

I had got a bunch of useful information, including one of my buddies, Marco, posting the following on his blog:Response

I'm writing partly in response to Marco's posting, partly to elaborate on why I'm looking to change things around and partly as an update as to my next course of action.

At present I have a Dell Zino HD 400, which is about 2.5 years old.  It works and does the job apart from one massive issue, it keeps on restarting while the machine sits idle if I am running any sort of media player software like Boxee, XBMC or Plex.  I have been searching for a good part of a year for a solution, but it seems to be a design fault with this computer.  There are multiple threads on various forums dealing with the issue.  I have tried several solutions including changing the fan speed (worked, but it was way too noisy), underclocking (didn't work) and changing the hard drive to an SSD and connecting the existing hard drive via esata (didn't work).  What I have generally been doing is that when I don't need the computer, I just put it on standby using my MCE remote control.  This does mean I cannot leave the computer on all the time. 

This works fine, but it does mean I cannot access the data on the computer remotely or run downloads while the computer is on standby.  I can turn the computer on using a WOL app on my phone, but then I can't put it on standby, meaning a random reboot!

Therefore I have been looking at a solution to move my media to a separate server.  That way it would be accessible all the time and I could run my downloads off the server, while at the same time allowing my Dell to remain on standby unless I need it.  The reason I looked at NAS boxes was because of their ease of use.  I could build my own NAS box or server, but it was more of a timing and learning curve issue.  I know I would be paying more for a NAS, but my thoughts were while I would be paying more, I would save a lot of time.  This does seem to be the case, especially with Synology, its just a case of putting your drives in, a bit of configuration and off you go.

In response to Marco and eSATA.  Yes, I did consider that, especially as it would be the cheapest option, however it would still not get round the random restart issues my Dell is suffering.  However I did try replacing my internal hard drive (1TB 3.5 inch Seagate) with an SSD (60GB) and putting the 1TB drive into an eSATA docking bay.  I reinstalled Windows 7 onto the SSD, along with Plex.  I am still getting the random restarts, and on top of that video playback in Plex is choppy for HD files (playback on VLC is fine though, so I think its a Plex issue rather than an issue with the eSATA connection).

While looking into all of this I did do some research on the HP ProLiant N40L MicroServer, mainly because in the UK people were able to purchase it for c.US$200 - 240 because of a very generous US$160 cashback offer from HP.  In HK the same server was selling for for closer to US$350 (compare the fact that you could get the Synology DS212+ for about US$430 in Hong Kong).  As the price between the HP server and the NAS were quote close, I thought because of the time to set up the server (and buying additional parts like RAM and OS if I didn't use Linux) it was still more cost effective for me (i.e. someone who did not want to spend a lot of time learning about and setting up the system) to still for the NAS box.

I was all set for the NAS box and then I stumbled upon a site in HK offering the HP server for about US$690 if you bought three units (i.e. roughly US$230 per unit).  This sounded very tempting indeed!  I asked around to see if anyone wanted to join in on this group buy and I thought even if no-one wanted to join, I could just buy three boxes and sell on two of them (probably at a tiny bit of a profit over what I bought them for.

In the end I found two other people willing to join in on this group buy, and one of these guys was able to find a supplier selling three units for about US$640 (i.e. roughly US$214 per unit).

We get delivery of the HP servers sometime this week!

So here begins my journey to create a media server with the HP ProLiant!

At present I have an HTPC which as a 1TB hard drive in it.  This is, however starting to fill up very quickly.  As a result I am looking at buying a NAS box to deal with more data. 

In coming to my decision to get a NAS device I did have have a look at other options including building a server or just buying an external eSATA drive and attaching it to my HTPC.  I discounted the server option because, frankly, I just don't have enough time to learn about running a server.  As for buying an external e-SATA, I think this would be more of a short term solution and I'm looking for something a bit more long term.  I am well aware that a NAS box will probably be more expensive than the other two options I've looked into, but from what I understand a NAS box will be easier to set up, which to me is a valuable time benefit.

I would use the NAS box for the following:

- Extra storage
- Running of applications, including: Sabnzbd, Sickbeard, Couch Potato, Logitech media server, Plex Media Server
- Streaming videos to my HTPC
- Possible streaming to other devices

The main usage of the NAS will be for running of applications and streaming to my HTPC.  My HTPC is connected to my router with a gigabit LAN.  I am not too worried about backup redundancy with the NAS box.

After extensive research on the interwebs I think the following two NAS boxes fit my needs (and budget): the Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra 2 Plus and the Synology DS212+.  Both are two bay NAS devices, and for my needs that is enough.  From the marketing blurb it seems that ReadyNAS is more focused on consumer media, while Synology is more focused on business users.  However, I have been reading lots of people use Synology for home media use as well.

On paper the specs for the ReadyNAS are a bit better, it uses a 1.8 GHz dual core Intel Atom processor and has 1GB RAM, while the Synology uses a 2.0 Ghz Marvell Kirkwood CPU (ARM) processor and has 512MB RAM. 

The theoretical maximum the ReadyNAS can handle is 6TB (i.e. 2x 3TB drives), while the Synology will be able to handle 8TB (i.e. 2x 4TB drives, when 4TB drives are eventually released).

In terms of the apps I would like to use on the NAS both devices have packages to install Sabnzbd, Sickbeard, Couch Potato and Logitech Media Server.  The ReadyNAS also supports Plex Media Server, while Synology does not yet, as at present Plex Media Server does not support ARM processors.

I am aware that with the ReadyNAS I would not be able to transcode media files, but I will mainly be running Plex off my HTPC, so it will be able to handle the files.  With Synology, the Plex Media Server would sit on my HTPC, with the media files being pointed to the NAS box.  There is presently a beta version of Plex Media Server for ARM processors, but from reading the Synology support forums it is still very buggy.

In terms of using the NAS box I have heard many many people praising Synology for both its interface, ease of use and support.  I have not heard so much about ReadyNAS (but at the same time I have not heard any major complaints about ReadyNAS either).

Both the ReadyNAS and the Synology are priced roughly the same price.  From what I've researched it seems to come down to the following:

- ReadyNAS has better specs and will work with Plex Media Server
- Synology is very easy to use and great support

Slightly off topic, I know someone who is trying to offload their Synology DS411+II (i.e. last year's Synology's 4 bay model) with 8TB of hard drives (4x 2TB) for about US$900 - US$960.  This is a bit out of my budget, but it does come with 8TB of storage and a NAS box that will work with all the applications I want it to, along with a  a 1.8 GHz dual core Intel Atom processor and 1GB RAM.

So, which one do I go for? 

Any thoughts / suggestions would be very helpful!!!

Here is how it works. Go to AmazonLocal. Its Amazon's new daily deal site. Pick a random city (I picked LA). Link it to your Amazon.com account. First deal of the day is $10 Amazon.com credit for $5.

Works with a HK credit card, just tried it.

Do read the T&C's though.

I have two Amazon accounts with different credit cards. Was able to apply two vouchers to one account though (but had to buy through the separate accounts).

I wonder if people have got any suggestions for my quest below.

I've got my music scattered over various different sources over the years. The majority of it I still have on CD and the rest is on my HTPC.

The problem is when I transferred my music over to my HTPC it wasn't exactly categorised correctly.

At present I'm just copying and pasting my music over to my phone via SD.

However on the default music app I'm using its not really showing much information (it often just shows "unknown artist" / "unknown song"). Also, sometimes the music isn't in the right format to play.

Therefore I want to kind of start from scratch to sort out my music library. In that sense I want to figure out:

1. the best program to manage my library

2. the best program to rip my CD's and correctly name my library

3. the best program to sync music up with my phone

I never have really gotten into playlists, but it seems that is what all the cool kids are now doing these days, therefore I guess I want to find a good program to help me deal with this playlist stuff.

From research it seems I may want to go down the route of one of Winamp, DoubleTwist or Spotify. I guess there is also iTunes. Speaking of iTunes, my missus uses an ipone. The ultimate aim would be that we would have one big music library on my HTPC and we would be able to pick and choose our music from that. Now if my missus uses iphone, would I pretty much be limited to iTunes.

I have tried Spotify in the past and I do note it has the benefit of being a music library as well as being able to download songs. One thing that stopped me from using Spotify though is it would never hold track position when I stopped playing music and it would always want to try and get online and log on.

I greatly appreciate any words of wisdom anyone can suggest for my quest.

Seems Box are offering free 50GB data for Android users who sign up to their updated app:

http://www.androidcentral.com/box-an...-free-everyone

Market link:

https://market.android.com/details?i....android&hl=en

Seems this is a limited time offer ending on 23 March. I haven't used Box.net before and I note that for free users this doesn't include desktop sync, but I guess 50GB worth of free cloud storage isn't that bad a deal.

Could Hong Kong really be an independent nation?

I know practically the PRC government would probably never let this happen, but just say it turned round and said to Hong Kong, you are now on your own, could Hong Kong really stand on its own two feet or does it always need some sort of father looking after it?

I know we love knocking HK and moaning etc about it (I am very guilty of doing this). However at least the operations side of things are very efficient.

So the IRD's etax service only works up to Firefox 7 (and the latest version is 9.0.1), however how many people actually raise any issue with the IRD about it cause they think they will just get a stock run around answer which doesn't actually deal with the problem?

Well, anyway, I decided to email the IRD yesterday with my compliant that Firefox 9.0.1 didn't work with their etax service. To my surprise, I got an email today saying that they've looked into the matter and fixed the problem.

Now that's what I call efficiency!

My 3HK contract is finally coming to an end shortly and I'm going to shift network.

I am after a SIM only all you can eat data plan (or one which offers a generous cap).

At present the options I am considering are SmarTone, One2Free and 1010, and maybe China Mobile ("CMHK").  I know One2Free and 1010 are on the same network (CSL), but I've been told 1010 does have network priority over One2Free (kind of makes sense as 1010 is more expensive).  The one network that is missing is PCCW Mobile, this is a network I am not willing to consider due to its reputation for very poor customer services ("CS").

3HK for all you can eat data is probably the cheapest (I am paying HK$210 a month, but the network is very weak where I need it (which is around IFC, Jardine House and on the MTR) for both data and voice calls. At and around my home (Sheung Wan), the network is fine, but is redundant, as I have wifi in my home. The CS has actually been fine, and they have quite a few innovative products, its just that the network has been very poor.

I had previously been with SmarTone and it was generally OK, but it did have quite a few blackspots around where I used to live (Tung Chung) and on the Tung Chung line. It seemed to be fine in and around central though and CS was never an issue.

The plan prices are as follows per month (and inclusive of any tunnel fees):

- SmarTone: HK$250 18 month commitment
- One2Free: HK$279 12 month commitment or HK$249 24 month commitment
- 1010: HK$351 12 month commitment or HK$321 24 month commitment
- China Mobile: HK$230 12 month commitment

With SmarTone and the CSL providers the early contract end penalty is HK$500. I cannot find information for CMHK in relation to early contract end penalties.

Smartone and CSL uses HSDPA+, while CMHK claims to use HSPA. I wasn't aware that CMHK had its own 3G network, so it may be piggybacking off another network.

At present I'm leaning towards the One2Free 24 month plan.  CSL is regarded to have the best network in Hong Kong, but 1010's prices are a bit too high for me.

CMHK does sound tempting, but it seems like quite a bit of a gamble as their network infrastructure is a bit of an unknown. I have been with CMHK in the past and it was fine both network and CS wise, although this was on 2G.

Any thoughts / comments / suggestions?