This is part 4 of the HP Proliant Microserver N36L series.
Yesterday night I started the download of Microsoft Windows Small Business 2011 Standard Edition
(here is the downloadlink).
To be able to do the download you need to have a windows live login.
The download uses a java download manager which for me did not work very well
(the regular firefox download manager works much better).
Eventually the download (tried a couple of times) did start.
Total filesize of the iso is about 6,5 GB.

This morning I created the first vm. I was unaware of the minimal diskspace so I created a vdisk of 100GB. During the installation of Microsoft SBS 2011 I found out that the minmal vdisk value is 120 GB.
I resized the vdisk and did the installation again.
The installation of the OS is a breeze, ready within 15 minutes.
The second part (exchange, updates, etc.) is a different peace of cake, takes in or about 45 minutes.
One big advantage: the installation requires very little user intervention.

After the installation I installed the VMware tools for better performance.

The vm performs reasonably well: cpu low, memory at 3,5 GB.
Later this week I will add a win7 client vm.

Now some screenshots of the vm installation:

1. The initial vm settings:

2. The upload of the 6,5GB Win SBS 2011 iso from pc to server (2-3 minutes on Gbit lan)

3. Mount the iso to the vm

4. Don’t forget to select “connect at power on”

5. The finished vm

Happy scripting/building.

Best regards,

Dirk Adamsky

Ok, this morning I have connected the HP Proliant N36L microserver to my testing environment.
Filled in the IP details and give it a go.
I connected to the web login:

Then start the download of the vSphere 4.1 client (244MB).

Install the vSphere client and login:

First thing to do is fill in the license key for ESXi 4.1 (you can find it in your vmware download screen).

Then check some details of the machine:

In the next post I will define some vm’s and do the install.
See if I can get my hands on MS Small Business 2011 trial version…..

Happy scripting/building.

Best regards,

Dirk Adamsky

This part is about the installation of VMware Esxi 4.1 (vSphere) on the HP Proliant N36L Microserver with P410 Smart Array controller.
This morning I took the server to my work because they have a external usb dvd-player.
I started with the burning of the VMware ESXi 4.1 iso with HP plugs on a cd.
Then did the installation which was a breeze (10 minutes or so).
Started the server and everything seemed to work.
But unfortunately after 2 minutes I got the PSOD (purple screen of death).
wtf!!!!!

A little googling learned that the HP plugs were probably the reason of the PSOD.
I re-installed VMware ESXI 4.1 but now the regular version without HP plugs.
After that the server runs without a glitch.
Later this week I will do an update on running VM’s on the server.
My goal is to run 3 VM’s on the server:

• Win 2003 SBS
• Win 2003 Terminal server
• Centos/Ubuntu server (for vpn access (openvpn))

Happy scripting/building.

Best regards,

Dirk Adamsky

This post is about something that I wanted to do for a long time.
I was one of the first persons to post on the [amazon_link id="B004G608JW" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]HP N36L microserver[/amazon_link].
At that time I already was interested to run VMware ESXi on it.
Unfortunately I did not have the time to buy and build one.
That’s untill now.
A couple of weeks ago I purchased the next items:

• HP Proliant N36L microserver (price 285 euro incl 19% VAT, price now is down to 245 Euro)
• HP Smart Array P410 RAID controller with 512MB memory (with battery) (price 265 incl 19% VAT)
• Kingston memory 4 GB (KVR1333D3N9/4G) – 2 pieces (price 80 Euro incl 19% VAT for 2 pcs)
• WD Velociraptor WD3000HLFS, 300GB – 2 pieces (price 270 Euro incl 19% VAT for 2 hdd’s)

Total cost is in or about 900 Euro (1250 USD based on Dutch prices, US price will be lower)

I have read a lot about the N36L microserver and it’s VMware ESXi capabilities.
Other people have combined the server with various RAID cards (Adaptec, etc.).

In my job as system administrator I mostly work with HP hardware.
So I decided to combine the HP N36L microserver with a decent HP RAID controller.
I have very good experience with the HP P400 RAID controller.
For this setup I decided to buy it’s successor, the P410 with 512 MB memory and battery backed cache)

I was uncertain if the RAID card would fit (the HP N36L case is very small).
Luckily it did.

This part of the post is about the assembly of the server + raid controller + extra memory + new harddisks.
The HP Proliant N36L is sold with 1GB internal memory and 1 250GB SATA harddisk.
The first thing to do is to remove both memory and harddisk.
After that I took the P410 RAID controller card and changed the normal profile bracket with a low profile one.
After that I removed the top of the case and the front door to get some working space.
With the server comes a small Torx screwdriver.
I released the screws at the front of the mainboard and carefully slided the mainboard outside.
I then removed all connectors except the power connector.
With the board outside the server I removed memory and hdd.
Then placed the P410, 2 x 4GB internal memory and the WD raptors.
The WD raptors fit in the plastic hdd brackets.
I then connected everything (the RAID controller works with a mini-SAS connector which fits nicely).
With everything in place it was time to get it back.
To do so you have to release a small handle at the back.
After the release you can change the most outer blank bracket so that the P410 RAID controller will fit.
The last thing was to start the server: BIOS and RAID controller BIOS lokked fine: everything was detected.
The P410 RAID controller had a simple option to create a RAID 0+1 array with the raptors which I did.
The next part will be on the installation of VMware ESXi 4.1 (vSphere) and some performance info.

1. The HP Proliant N36L Microserver + P410 RAID controller + Kingston memory + WD Velociraptors

2. The open HP N36L Microserver + cables removed + standard memory + standard SATA disk

3. Another one: The open HP N36L Microserver + cables removed + standard memory + standard SATA disk

4. The open HP Proliant N36L Microserver + P410 RAID controller + Kingston memory already on mainboard + WD Velociraptors in plastic brackets

5. The backside of the frontdoor with Torx screwdriver and extra Torx screws

6. The backside of the microserver with open bracket (for the fixation of the HP Smart Array p410 controller card)

7. Everything in place

8. Case closed, ready to run

Happy scripting (and maybe building).

Best regards,

Dirk Adamsky