HP Proliant Microserver G7 N40L

HP PROLIANT MICROSERVER G7 N40L

HP Proliant Microserver N40L Is a Great NAS or Router

You can put four large SATA disks into this device. It is just ideal as a home NAS, without resorting to expensive QNAP or Synology devices, which may not give you the flexibility you want.

The on-board RAID controller only seems to support RAID 0 and RAID 1. If you want to make a NAS out of this device you want to go for RAID 5. So you have two options.

1. Buy an additional hardware RAID controller that supports RAID 5;

2. Use Linux or BSD software RAID and don't spend a dime.

Processor

It contains the AMD equivalent of Intel's Atom processor, the Turion II Neo N40L dual-core, which runs at 1.5 Ghz. This CPU is not fast, but it is energy efficient and it helps keeping the device silent and cheap.

Memory

The device contains just 2 GB of ECC RAM. Sufficient for most tasks, but you can crank it up to 8 GB. The fact that you get ECC RAM in this device is a real plus, making this device extra reliable.

Disks

By default, a 250 GB disks is included.  This disk takes up one of the four drive bays.

Expansion

The microserver has two half-height PCIe slots, one x16 and one x1. It has also an e-sata connector at the back, so you can connect an external disks for backups or something. There are two USB ports at the back, four at the front. I wish they put four at the back and two at the front.

Environment

Noise levels are also excellent. There are just two fans. One very large fan at the back, that just seem to cool the entire device. The second fan is housed inside the tiny power supply, but although it is small, the fan makes little noise. When it is idle, you don't hear this server running.

Compatibility

I was able to install Ubuntu 12.04 LTS out-of-the-box. Is running fine. I didn't test any other operating systems.

Final words

It's an ideal device for any computer enthusiast who wants more flexibility than a standard NAS or embedded router can offer. It's cheap, small, silent and power efficient. Those HP engineers who created this device should get a thumbs up.