I recently gained a Dell Poweredge T320 and need help!

[harryderouich]

Hi All,

I recently gained a Dell Poweredge T320 (my Dad's company no longer needed it). Its the 2015 version, quad core Xeon with 8GB RAM and 4x1TB HDD. I literally have no idea where to start with this.

Its got Windows Server 2012 R2 on it which is very different to the Windows that I know, I wanna try and set up some sort of NAS on it, and maybe run a game server for me and my friends. Any pointers on how to get started?

I think 2x1TB are in RAID 5 but I'm not sure. I got about as far as doing the final install for the OS and I am lost about where to go from here. Any other uses for this server are welcome. For the functions I want it to perform, would a desktop OS be more suited? I have an spare SSD with windows 7 on it that could work. All in all I have never touched a server before in my life but I am keen to learn more about it! Let me know if you need any more information and I'll try my best to get it.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Alabalcho]

Windows server is not that different from Windows Desktop, from "desktop" point of view. Before messing with it, answer for yourself following questions:
- do you have installation media / license keys if you have to reinstall it?
- you can do much more than NAS. As for a game server - you will need something designed for Windows
- RAID arrays are two-edged swords. Usually they are setup in "hardware", so Windows really sees the drive as a single large disk. And for sure, RAID 5 needs at least three

So, make an inventory of what you god, and what you want. Go to Dell site, enter the service tag, download and read the manuals. Read a book or two on Windows Server.

 

[marko55]

You may or may not be able to load Windows 7 on that box. Dell's site only has drivers for that server for server OS's, as that server is built to be, well, a server with a server OS.... You've got yourself a very nice server for business purposes; you're a lucky man.

Not sure how many games support running on Server 2012. You'll have to look in to that. This may become a theme with other software you're thinking about loading on there as you may be stuck with only Server 2012 compatible applications.

If you decide you'd rather offload that and make some cash....drop me a line.... If not, you've got a great training tool on your hands to learn Microsoft server capabilities. Which version of 2012 is on there (Essentials, standard, etc)?

 

[harryderouich]

You may or may not be able to load Windows 7 on that box. Dell's site only has drivers for that server for server OS's, as that server is built to be, well, a server with a server OS.... You've got yourself a very nice server for business purposes; you're a lucky man.

Not sure how many games support running on Server 2012. You'll have to look in to that. This may become a theme with other software you're thinking about loading on there as you may be stuck with only Server 2012 compatible applications.

If you decide you'd rather offload that and make some cash....drop me a line.... If not, you've got a great training tool on your hands to learn Microsoft server capabilities. Which version of 2012 is on there (Essentials, standard, etc)?

Thanks for getting back to me, I have no idea what version it is, other than 2012 R2 if that means anything. Any way I can find out?

 

[Clayto1332]

Do you have a license for whatever version of Windows server you have? If you do, check your RAID with the disk configuration utility while server is booting up (I think I remember it being ctrl+I and your server will flash that on the screen early in the boot process). If you have two drives and are not running a RAID 1, and you want to use this server as a NAS, you need to remove those drives from whatever array they are on and change to RAID 1. It'll wipe out whatever is on them but it sounds like there isn't anything you need to save. Then boot to an ISO installer CD for whatever version of Windows Server you are licensed for. You can usually find installation media for windows server on the internet.

To check your Windows Server version just go and look in your system properties.

 

[harryderouich]

Do you have a license for whatever version of Windows server you have? If you do, check your RAID with the disk configuration utility while server is booting up (I think I remember it being ctrl+I and your server will flash that on the screen early in the boot process). If you have two drives and are not running a RAID 1, and you want to use this server as a NAS, you need to remove those drives from whatever array they are on and change to RAID 1. It'll wipe out whatever is on them but it sounds like there isn't anything you need to save. Then boot to an ISO installer CD for whatever version of Windows Server you are licensed for. You can usually find installation media for windows server on the internet.

To check your Windows Server version just go and look in your system properties.

Apologies for the delay in replying. I found out that it is Server 2012 R2 Standard if that helps. I do not have a way of reinstalling it, the system arrived like this. Is there a way of:

a) 'Extracting' the product key and then download it elsewhere to reinstall it
b) Copying the OS over to an external storage device and then reinstalling it after I remove the RAID.

I managed to hook my SSD up and get it to load into Windows 7. If possible I'd like to transfer Windows Server 2012 to my SSD and use that as my boot drive, and the remaining 4x1TB drives for NAS storage. Any advice on how to do this would be great!

 

[harryderouich]

Any ideas guys?

 

[Alabalcho]

1. A utility like this one might help you extract the key.
2. Most disk clonning apps can "transfer" disks, so you shoud be able to duplicate existing image to a SSD drive.

While it is still available: Visit Microsoft' evaluation center, and download am evaluation version of Windows Server. You should be able to use it with the key extracted.