HP ProLiant DL180 G6 review

Power redundancy is available, as the single 460W hot-plug unit can be augmented with a second supply. As with all the other G6 models, the DL180 uses a common slot type so you can choose from 460W or 750W models which will, no doubt, be determined by the number of drives you opt for.

HP has done a fine job in reducing power demands, with our inline power meter recording a draw of only 7W in standby and 79W with Windows Server 2008 Enterprise idling along. With SiSoft Sandra pushing all eight logical cores to the max, this peaked at only 126W.

Remote management options aren't as good as those in the DL300 series, as you don't get HP's iLO2 controller. Instead, you get an embedded Lights-Out 100i, which offers a reduced feature set. This shares the first Gigabit port and offers basic web browser access for remotely controlling the server.

From the web interface you can reset the system, cycle the power and do a hard reset. The status of all critical components can be viewed, and the PEF (platform event filtering) feature allows you to select individual components and assign actions to them. If, for example, a fan fails you can automatically switch the server off, reset it or just send an alert.

Unlike the iLO2, you don't have options for monitoring and graphing power consumption, but more management options are available. For example, the basic 100i controller can be firmware upgraded to add virtual media and KVM-over-IP functions for around £165.

The server can be booted with the supplied CD, which loads HP's Easy Setup environment. It offers assistance for installing an OS and can do a complete system erase, while the maintenance option provides useful diagnostics tools and direct access for configuring the 100i controller.

The latest ProLiant DL160 G6 looks well suited to life as a network storage server. Processing performance isn't a high priority, but you'll be hard-pushed to find another 2U rack server with this many storage options and upgrades.

Author: Dave Mitchell