I’m thinking of picking up an old HP Microserver (gen8) and was wondering if it is a bad idea from a security standpoint.
I mean it’s only 10 years old - is there any exploit or something like that?
What about a N36L Microserver?
I’d probably run Debian headless on it.
I’d only use it for Syncthing and as a backup NAS.
UPDATE
Everybody made really good arguments against the microserver and I won’t be getting one. Thank you for your inputs
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They’re pretty slow, come with less RAM and replacement parts have become more expensive, because they’re not as available as ones for modern computers. Also my N54l consumes like 45W in idle…
I wouldn’t spend money on one, today. You can probably get something way faster and more capable for less money. Security isn’t an issue though. That mostly depends on the operating system you put on it, not the hardware. The security issues in the processor and such, should have been fixed by microcode and software updates.
So I still have one from back in the days. But I wouldn’t run it 24/7. I’ve built a small server like 8 years ago that consumes a third of the power and is far better in every regard. I use the Microserver to store backups and just turn it on every few weeks. But interacting with it feels sluggish and copying files over USB 2.0 takes hours and hours. It doesn’t feel like it can make use of the Gigabit ethernet, and it took me some effort to install because you need to do additional things, patch the BIOS to unlock full SATA speed.
Get one if it’s free and electricity is cheap whereever you are. But don’t spend too much money on an really old computer. The sweetspot of buying used computers is somewhere around 5 years, not 15.
What would you get nowadays looking at that 5 year mark?
Uh, that really depends on the use-case.
I like to follow the recommendations of the German PC magazine c’t: https://www.heise.de/ratgeber/Bauvorschlag-fuer-einen-sparsamen-Heimserver-aus-c-t-3-2024-9587594.html
Other than that: An Intel NUC, one of those cheap chinese Mini-PCs from Amazon where you get 16GB of RAM, a fairly recent processor generation and 512GB SSD for like $250 or my advice: get a refurbished laptop for $250. That’s energy efficient by design and has everything on board. And available in abundance.
Downsides of these approaches: You don’t get a lot of SATA ports for harddisks, if at all… So for storage, I wouldn’t consider those. So it’s gonna be an old PC, Server or NAS. Comparing mainboards and energy efficiency isn’t easy. That’s why I rely on PC magazines. But that’s for new stuff… Not used components. So tipps from the internet are probably your best bet.
If you’re not from a country where electricity is that expensive, you might want to have a look at some of those refurbished PC shops. An server or a Dell Workstation from 5 years ago should be affordable.