The DL380 is the main staple of the server estate for my current company, the server is into it’s 4th generation and this review focuses on the 3rd generation. For some reason I think because they are thin but wide and long they got named pizza boxes. This review is on the G3 model of the 360 there is now a G4 model available but I have not seen any of these as yet.
The DL380 comes from the density optimized line, this means that there are some sacrifices that are made to package the server smaller. DL servers aren’t typically as expandable as the ML line servers and can only be rack mounted, typical applications for the DL380 are departmental file/print servers, and small data base servers.
********** Specification*************
The DL380 is at the mid low end of the DL range and will accept either 1 or 2 Intel Zeon processors ranging up to 3.2GHz, the server can be ordered with only one proc but an additional one can be ordered when you require more capacity. The server will take up to 6GB of PC2100 for the 2.4GHz model and the 3.2GHz will take up to 12GB the quickspecs (these are the data sheets available from www.hp.com) have more information. The servers also have 3 PCI-X two 100MHz which also hot pluggable, which means hardware can be changed whilst the server is on if the driver supports it, the other PCI slot is a 133MHz.The server also has space for an additional redundant power supply and additional redundant cooling fans, both ofbwhich can be purchased at additional cost. The server comes with 2 copper Gigabit NIC's on board, additional NIC's can be added using the PCI expansion slots. For the internal disks the server has a built in smartarray 5i+ controller which allows you to have Raid1 or raid 5 arrays using the 6 internal hot plug disk slots.
********** Manageability*************
HP have a device called the Integrated Lights-Out Standard, this is a device that is integrated into the server and allows you to power off and restart the server as if you were stood in front of it, you can also watch and interact with the boot sequence, load virtual CD's and Floppy disks into the server from anywhere. With the purchase of an additional licence the ILO can provide keyboard and mouse interaction when the operating system has loaded, so you can be truely stood at the server keyboard from 1000's of miles away. One Observation I have of the ILO is that it can be slow for the screen to react so it is really for when all other tools such as terminal services have failed on you.
Other areas where the manageability of HP servers shines through is the ability to carry out system firmware upgrades when the operating system is loaded, ideal if you have servers that are not close to you. HP also provide various means of configuring your server with the operating system you can use either the enclosed Smart Start CD or if you have a lot of servers to deploy there is a scripting tool kit, and for the very large enterprise there is the Rapid Deployment Kit based on Altiris Deployment Server, unfortunately this last option does require the purchase of a licence but it is well worth it if you have lots of servers.
Bundled with every server is a copy of HP Insight manager which is a web based console that uses SNMP traps from the server it can manage you whole server and desktop estate, it is basic monitoring but for a small company is ideal.
The support website of HP is very good and easy to navigate, that may be because I have been using it for a long time! On the site you can get copies of documentation, firmware, drivers and all the other things you require to support the server. On feature I make good use of is the automated notification for products, you can register your 'e' mail address and HP will send you an alert when there is a new drivers or firmware available for the server
********** Performance*************
The DL380 is one of the mid low end servers from the DL range, I have deployed a number of these servers as departmental file servers, print servers, and application servers. The server is ideal as it has six disk slots which allows a fair amount of storage to be contained within it’s 2U package. This model of server tends to get used for everything at my company, we always have spares kicking around for the odd application that we have to deploy yesterday.
********** Summary*************
This model of server has a good level of redundancy available if you go for the extra fans and power supply, but one of the best features is that it has two hot plug slots, which for this class is excellent. If you want to reduce the workload on your support staff then the HP Proliant server are the way to go, you will pay a premium compared to other vendors, but this additional cost is where you pay for all the tools and utilities that are bundled or available on the web.
More details
Reliability
Excellent
Memory / capacity
Good
Range of Extra Features
Excellent
Instruction manual
Satisfactory
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