How to Update the BIOS and Prep a Virtual Drive on a Dell R630 Server | NSX Home Lab Part 3

[@kikiphoe8380]

What a coincidence I'm now studying server shenanigans with a 2nd hand R630 You are so helpful dude

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you @kikiphoe8380!

[@gordonwalaits4195]

You are doing a great job sharing you knowledge with us. Mr. Barker could you share the eBay link of your purchased dell 630?

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you for the question @gordonwalaits4195. There are a lot of them. Here is what I would recommend: Do eBay search for "Dell R630" Avoid resellers that have a review of less than 95% Look for servers that have lots of RAM (128G+) If there is an included hard drive, even better. Otherwise you will need at one or two. (Should have close to 1TB of storage for datastore(s)). If there is a 10G card included, even better The ones I bought had 256G of RAM, 2 1G Ethernet and 2 10G SFP+ ports, and I added my own disk. Happy hunting!

[@gordonwalaits4195]

@@KeithBarker Great thanks for your help.

[@adrian_gheorghita]

Do you continue with this serie ?

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you for the question @adrian_gheorghita. Just released the rest today. 25 in all. Here is a link to the playlist: ogit.online/nsx Enjoy.

[@Eatmoluigispizza]

Hey Keith! Great content. When I am creating a virtual disk the only write option I have is “write though” instead of “write back” on your video. Does this matter?

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you for the question @Eatmoluigispizza. 8888888888888888888888888 From ChatGPT When setting up a virtual drive on a Dell R630 server, the options "write-through" and "write-back" are related to how the RAID controller handles cache and writes to the storage media. Here’s the difference: Write-Through Caching: How It Works: Data is written directly to the storage media (e.g., HDDs or SSDs) and then acknowledged as written. The cache is only used for reads, not writes. Pros: It prioritizes data integrity and consistency because data is always written to stable storage immediately. Cons: It can be slower than write-back caching because every write operation waits until data is physically written to the drives. Write-Back Caching: How It Works: Data is first written to the controller’s cache (usually backed by a battery or flash memory) and then acknowledged as written. The data is later written to the storage media. Pros: It is faster because it doesn’t have to wait for the actual write to the storage media; the system can move on to other operations while the data is still in the cache. Cons: If the RAID controller loses power and the cache is not battery-backed, you could lose data in the cache that hasn’t yet been written to the storage media. Summary: Write-Through: Safer but slower. Good for situations where data integrity is critical. Write-Back: Faster but requires a reliable cache (like one backed by a battery) to ensure data isn’t lost in the event of a power failure. 8888888888888888888888888888888888888888 In short, I think you are good either way, and it may depend on the controller in your server.

[@EddyCuevas-ym7zq]

Hey, Keith. Doesn't that server generate a lot of noise and heat? Thank you so much.

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you for the question @EddyCuevas-ym7zq. With the fans set to low, (if the room isn't too warm, fans on low are ok), and with a medium sized workload, they noise isn't too bad, heat is moderate (can check with iDRAC), and the power consumed per blade server is around 100-200 watts.

[@EddyCuevas-ym7zq]

@KeithBarker Thank to you, buddy!

[@shuvoraj8273]

Hey Keith, how are you? Man 😊

[@KeithBarker]

Hello @shuvoraj8273! I am doing well, thank you!