[RndTbl] New Old Dell Server

[Adam Thompson]

FYI, that's not a server - it's an iSCSI SAN.  Which, yes, I suppose has an embedded server of sorts, but all it can run is the embedded Dell PowerVault OS.
These were pretty decent iSCSI SANs when they were new, but that was, as stated, quite a long time ago!

It will have redundant PSUs, and redundant controllers , 4x 1G ethernet ports that can all be active at once.
The 8x600 drives will be 15krpm 3.5" SAS drives (the only type of 600GB drives ever approved for that unit AFAIK).
They can be configured as RAID 0, 1, 10, 5 and 6, so total capacity anywhere from 2.4TB up to 4.8TB of usable space.
IIRC these models do support multipath iSCSI, so you can theoretically burst almost 4Gbps out of them... not that the disks can sustain that, but hey, for that one millisecond, it'll be awesome!
If you have a VMware home lab, you might still be able to use the VAAPI (?) PowerVault-specific accleration plugins with this to do things like offload thick zeroing and similar background tasks to the array.

Beware:
This sucker can pull back up to 600W when loaded with 12 drives.  It's only got 8 drives, but of the most power-hungry type, so I'd guess it'll pull (steady-state) somewhere around 350W (non-stop) and closer to 450W (at 100% busy).  It claims to only generate 150W of heat, so it's a remarkably large, loud, and inefficient space heater, if you're using it that way 😄.
The serial console is a unique PS/2-type DIN-style connector.  I'm sure the pinouts are online somewhere.  If it's still NIB it should come with a cable, and you might never need it anyway.
You may need a VM to run a JRE old enough to run the management console... it's been problematic to run that for quite some time now.

I can't find the spec sheet on Dell's site, but here's one that looks like a legit copy: https://www.xbyte.com/dell-md3200i-spec-sheet

I would've given my left arm for one of these 10 years ago!
-Adam
________________________________
From: Roundtable <roundtable-bounces at muug.ca> on behalf of Scott Toderash <scott at 100percenthelpdesk.com>
Sent: April 19, 2023 12:35 PM
To: MUUG RndTbl <roundtable at muug.ca>
Subject: [RndTbl] New Old Dell Server

Hi folks,

I recently came into possession of a brand new old machine and I'm
wondering if anyone here might have an interest in it. The machine came
to me as part of a bigger deal.

I could deploy it but I don't necessarily need to so I would just as
soon sell it instead.

Dell PowerVault MD3200i
8 x 600GB drives installed
2U server with rails

It was brand new in the box, bought by somebody I know in 2013, and he
never got around to deploying it.

I realize it's barely worth it due to the age, unless of course you are
really into this specific hardware.

If you or someone you know might be interested, email me.
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