Server CPU

techlists at phpcoderusa.com techlists at phpcoderusa.com
Fri Jul 21 08:02:03 MST 2023


On 2023-07-20 16:25, Todd Cole via PLUG-discuss wrote:
> I use a lot of proxmox servers and very happy with them most are for
> small office use running a router, win server and  samba file server
> and a win 10 for remote users to vpn into
> most of the hardware is used dell 4-6th gen I-7 (cheap 4 cores 8
> virtual) with zfs raid 1 2 SSD's for redundancy and a spinner HDD for
> back up 32-64 gb ram and meet my needs
> with ease. both at home and work.
> 
> I have used rack servers but they are hard to fit on a shelf, HOT and
> use a lot of power and sound like a jet taking off. (I have a few to
> donate free)
> my point is do not over think or spend money to build a home lab or
> hardware that you will need to replace due to your use case.
> I still have one on a duel core 8 gb ram 2 250GB spinning disks that I
> use as a router and zoneminder camera DVR in a un air conditioned
> vacant office it just chugs along in 118 heat
> I have a twin to it that is all set up ready to run that I would be
> willing donate also. Todd
> 

---
I'm starting to understand what a vCPU is and that I really do not need 
a bunch of cores and threads.  I have an old Dell i5 with 4 cores, 4 
threads, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD.

I'm a PHP developer and use the Proxmox box for testing and development. 
  Currently I have one LAMP VM configured.

This is what I come away with from this thread:

1) a vCPU is akin to a process.
2) One can configure lots of VMs that will share the CPUs.
3) Do not overload the server by adding too many VMs that all want 
resources. I assume top can be used to evaluate the amount of load on 
the server.
3) When I configure a VM the amount of RAM is static (not shared).  If I 
have 16GB of RAM then I realistically can only have around 12 - 14GB of 
RAM in use at any given time.  That would be running VMs.  I can have 
tons of VMs that are not running and not using resources/RAM and their 
RAM is no counted.  Its the active VM's that count.  RAM is not shared.
4) The amount of file space allotted to a VM is also static and is taken 
up even when the VM is off.  For example if I have 10 VMs that are 
assigned 20GB of disk space each, then that would total 200GB that are 
allocated and are always assigned and not shared with the other VMs.

---

OK, another question.  If commercial rack mount servers are so noisy and 
use a lot of electricity... then why not use consumer grade computers?

Around 2005/2006 I was working as a level 1 at iPower.  A manager showed 
us some pictures of the server room in downtown L.A. and they had a ton 
of HP mini towers on storage racks that were being used as hardware 
servers for hosting.  I think they called them dedicated servers.

---

> On Thu, Jul 20, 2023 at 3:09 PM George Toft via PLUG-discuss
> <plug-discuss at lists.phxlinux.org> wrote:
> 
>> Be very careful with ESX.  I know someone who bought a random server
>> and ESX7 was not supported.  It used to run on anything, now, not so
>> much.  Check the support matrix before you buy.
>> 
>> Regards,
>> 
>> George Toft
>> 
>> On 7/20/2023 1:12 PM, greg zegan via PLUG-discuss wrote:
>> 
>>> Hello,
>>> I appreciate this topic.  I have been wondering for a while now
>>> if there is an affordable home server out there for EXSi and such.
>>> Is there any way for someone to come up with a few choices for
>>> people like me?  Is there a low end, mid range, and high end home
>>> server for someone to list with parts or suggested parts?
>>> 
>>> thanks,
>>> Greg
>>> 
>>> On Thursday, July 20, 2023 at 01:01:13 PM MST, Keith Smith via
>>> PLUG-discuss <plug-discuss at lists.phxlinux.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Thanks!!
>>> 
>>> On 2023-07-20 11:36, Ryan Petris via PLUG-discuss wrote:
>>>> I personally wouldn't even go for a used server. They're
>>> generally
>>>> loud, and even when they aren't they use much more electricity
>>> than
>>>> what you would get from a consumer platform. There's really no
>>> benefit
>>>> unless you have room in your house to make a real server room
>>> with
>>>> racks and the electrical capacity to go along with it.
>>>> 
>>>> On Thu, Jul 20, 2023, at 10:59 AM, Stephen Partington wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> the downside for these processors is their mainboards are still
>>> very
>>>>> pricy to buy. much more than the CPU itself. you are almost
>>> better
>>>>> off looking for and buying a refurbished server which you can
>>> get
>>>>> for almost ludicrously inexpensive prices.
>>>>> 
>>>>> On Thu, Jul 20, 2023 at 1:56 PM Ryan Petris via PLUG-discuss
>>>>> <plug-discuss at lists.phxlinux.org> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> The CPU's cheap because it's old and no one wants them anymore
>>> --
>>>>> it's of the same generation as 6000 series intel processors
>>> (i.e.
>>>>> skylake). It also uses a server socket, so the only
>>> motherboards
>>>>> you're going to be able to find are server motherboards. Those
>>> are
>>>>> going to be expensive and/or have other quirks, such as
>>> requiring a
>>>>> vendor specific heatsink, or a vendor-specific power supply, or
>>> take
>>>>> 5 minutes to start up, etc.
>>>>> 
>>>>> You'd be better off spending money on a last-gen cpu and
>>>>> motherboard, for instance here's a combination that is
>>> relatively
>>>>> cheap:
>>>>> 
>>>>> $174 for an i5-12400, which according to cpubenchmark.net [1]
>>> [1] is
>>>>> nearly 30% faster than the Xeon you linked (score of 19501 vs
>>> 15146,
>>>>> much faster single-core score as well):
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>> 
>> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Intel-i5-12400-Desktop-Processor-Cache/dp/B09NMPD8V2/
>>>>> 
>>>>> $139 for a compatible motherboard:
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>> 
>> 
> https://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-B760M-DS3H-AX-Motherboard/dp/B0BSP61QZC/
>>>>> 
>>>>> I also wouldn't pay so much attention to the number of
>>> "threads" you
>>>>> think you'll need; you can run many VMs with a total number of
>>>>> virtual processors that is much more than what you actually
>>> have,
>>>>> and as long as you're not trying to go whole hog on every
>>> machine at
>>>>> the same time you'll be fine, and even if you do, you'll still
>>> be
>>>>> better off with a faster processor with a few fewer threads
>>> than an
>>>>> older slower cpu with more.
>>>>> 
>>>>> On Thu, Jul 20, 2023, at 10:26 AM, Keith Smith via PLUG-discuss
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> Hi,
>>>>> 
>>>>> I was surfing the Inter Web when I happened upon a Xeon server
>>> CPU.
>>>>> It
>>>>> 
>>>>> is marked at $32.49 at Newegg.  It has 12 cores and 24 threads
>>> and
>>>>> has a
>>>>> 
>>>>> good benchmark score.
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>> 
>> 
> https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+Silver+4116+%40+2.10GHz&id=3179
>>>>> 
>>>>> https://www.newegg.com/p/274-000A-007K2?Description=Xeon
>>>>> 
>>>>> In the future at some point I would like to build something
>>> with 20
>>>>> plus
>>>>> 
>>>>> or minus cores and 40 threads more or less for Proxmox.  This
>>> would
>>>>> be
>>>>> 
>>>>> over kills because I only need 1 or 2 VMs active at one time...
>>>>> maybe 3
>>>>> 
>>>>> in an extreme situation.
>>>>> 
>>>>> This 12 core/24 thread CPU with 64Gb of Ram and a 1Tb SSD would
>>>>> really
>>>>> 
>>>>> be more resources than I would ever need.  Off the top of my
>>> head
>>>>> this
>>>>> 
>>>>> means I might be able to build a decent Proxmox server for $500
>>> -
>>>>> $600.
>>>>> 
>>>>> I do not need fancy video except for one VM that might be
>>> running
>>>>> Win 10
>>>>> 
>>>>> or 11...  I assume a server grade CPU would handle Win 10 and
>>> 11?
>>>>> 
>>>>> Am I on the right track?
>>>>> 
>>>>> Thank You For Your Feedback!!
>>>>> 
>>>>> Keith
>>>>> 
>>>>> ---------------------------------------------------
>>>>> 
>>>>> PLUG-discuss mailing list: PLUG-discuss at lists.phxlinux.org
>>>>> 
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>>>>> 
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>>>>> 
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>>>> 
>>>> --
>>>> 
>>>> A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent
>>> you from
>>>> rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze
>>> button.
>>>> 
>>>> Stephen
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Links:
>>>> ------
>>>> [1] http://cpubenchmark.net
>>> 
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> 
> --
> 
> Todd Cole
> Ubuntu Arizona Team
> 2928 W El Caminito
> Phoenix AZ  85051-3957
> toddc at azloco.com
> 602-677-9402
> 
> 
> Links:
> ------
> [1] http://cpubenchmark.net
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