[SOLVED] Is it time to buy a new Server...

[mitchel]

The below server was put into action on 4/15/2016 for our business, it's pretty much used as a file server and to handle the data file for our accounting software. It is not used as a mail or web server.

Below are the specs, it has never failed once, it cost just over $3000.00. I'm just wondering if 6 years is long enough that I should start getting concerned and just buy a new one. Lets just say the business is doing well, so the expensive is manageable.

What do you think?

PowerEdge T330 Server (210-AFFQ) 1
Intel Xeon E3-1220 v5 3.0GHz, 8M cache, 4C/4T, turbo (80W) (338-BIJF) 1
16GB UDIMM, 2133MT/s, ECC (370-ACFT) 1
1TB 7.2K RPM SATA 6Gbps 3.5in Hot-plug Hard Drive
1TB 7.2K RPM SATA 6Gbps 3.5in Hot-plug Hard Drive
DVD+/-RW, SATA, Internal (429-AAHW) 1
Single, Hot-plug Power Supply (1+0), 495W (450-ADWP) 1
On-Board LOM 1GBE Dual Port (BCM5720 GbE LOM) (542-BBCQ) 1
iDRAC8, Basic (385-BBIJ) 1
Chassis with up to 8, 3.5" Hot Plug Hard Drives (321-BBVL) 1
PERC H730 RAID Controller, 1GB NV Cache
Windows Server 2012R2 Essentials edition

 

[kanewolf]

The below server was put into action on 4/15/2016 for our business, it's pretty much used as a file server and to handle the data file for our accounting software. It is not used as a mail or web server.

Below are the specs, it has never failed once, it cost just over $3000.00. I'm just wondering if 6 years is long enough that I should start getting concerned and just buy a new one. Lets just say the business is doing well, so the expensive is manageable.

What do you think?

PowerEdge T330 Server (210-AFFQ) 1
Intel Xeon E3-1220 v5 3.0GHz, 8M cache, 4C/4T, turbo (80W) (338-BIJF) 1
16GB UDIMM, 2133MT/s, ECC (370-ACFT) 1
1TB 7.2K RPM SATA 6Gbps 3.5in Hot-plug Hard Drive
1TB 7.2K RPM SATA 6Gbps 3.5in Hot-plug Hard Drive
DVD+/-RW, SATA, Internal (429-AAHW) 1
Single, Hot-plug Power Supply (1+0), 495W (450-ADWP) 1
On-Board LOM 1GBE Dual Port (BCM5720 GbE LOM) (542-BBCQ) 1
iDRAC8, Basic (385-BBIJ) 1
Chassis with up to 8, 3.5" Hot Plug Hard Drives (321-BBVL) 1
PERC H730 RAID Controller, 1GB NV Cache
Windows Server 2012R2 Essentials edition

There are a few things you can do to improve the reliability. Buy the second power supply ASAP. Power supplies fail. That chassis has the option for redundant power supplies. Clean all the dust. That could be an issue for a host that has been in service for six years.
To improve performance, get the second 16GB DIMM. Your CPU is running with half the memory performance available.
Replace the 1TB SATA HDD with 2TB SSDs.
That chassis could easily run 10 years with the above upgrades.
It is then just a question if the performance is acceptable.

 

[mitchel]

There are a few things you can do to improve the reliability. Buy the second power supply ASAP. Power supplies fail. That chassis has the option for redundant power supplies. Clean all the dust. That could be an issue for a host that has been in service for six years.
To improve performance, get the second 16GB DIMM. Your CPU is running with half the memory performance available.
Replace the 1TB SATA HDD with 2TB SSDs.
That chassis could easily run 10 years with the above upgrades.
It is then just a question if the performance is acceptable.

Thank you for the information!
There are no performance issues at all, I just want to make sure we don't suddenly go down and the business suffers.
I didn't think about upgrading it, hmmm.....

 

[thx1138v2]

If it is doing what you need and you don't foresee adding a lot of employees, I would leave it alone and just keep using it. Any changes might open a can of worms you don't want to deal with.

It shouldn't hurt to give it a good round of preventive maintenance though.

 

[kanewolf]

Thank you for the information!
There are no performance issues at all, I just want to make sure we don't suddenly go down and the business suffers.
I didn't think about upgrading it, hmmm.....

The other question, is what kind of automated backup routine do you have? Does your backup routine include off-site backups.
Spending money for automated backups would be a wise investment also.

 

[mitchel]

The other question, is what kind of automated backup routine do you have? Does your backup routine include off-site backups.
Spending money for automated backups would be a wise investment also.

We have an automated offsite / cloud provider that does incremental backups every hour.