Thoughts on HPE MicroServer Gen 11

I was looking at HPE Servers and I come across HPE MicroServer Gen 11 has been release few months ago (probably August 2024)

I did not know that HPE MicroServer Gen 11 has been released. I knew it was planned, but I did not know when.
I did some research so far HPE MicroServer Gen 11.

I look at at the Reddit form more information:
https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/comments/1fftzl9/hpe_microserver_gen11_handson_lessons_learned/?rdt=58766

So far, what I know is the CPU and Wattage are the same (Intel C252 and still 180w).

However this now have of the following:
- M.2
- 4 UDIMM DDR5 slots which can go up to 128GB RAM.
- 2 PCI-E Slot, PCIe 5.0 x16 and 4.0 x4. Both low-profile
- No iLO, but have iLO 6. However, iLO and Serial are optional

The motherboard as some new feature ports, but HP cannot identify what they are.

I thought about purchasing one but I will wait for a while because I purchase and upgraded my Gen10 v2 which I done a YouTube video on does since March 2024. Also the v2 does what I need at the moment as it have 64GB RAM and 8 Core / 16 vCore on Gen10 v2.

6TB and 8TB on Proliant MicroServer Gen10 plus

On my last post I did mention about doing a theory of putting 6TB and 8TB on Proliant MicroServer Gen10 plus.

The reason for the theory because for may years that HP stated that you can only support up to 4TB per slot maximum. However on the Home Server Show website did a test run and can put 10TB Hard Drive meaning you can put a larger (above 4TB) Hard Drive in the slot.

Link = https://www.servethehome.com/hpe-proliant-microserver-gen10-plus-ultimate-customization-guide/2/

This was the question for years people was asking me. Since I decide to do my Server upgrade from Version 1 to Version 2 on HPE Gen8 plus because I have more CPU power on 65w which low consumption and double the memory capacity to 64GB, why not buy 2 Western Digital Red, one 6TB and another is 8TB. I was thinking 'What the Hell, it is worth a try'. I got to put my money where my mouth is and put to the test by making a video about it.

On the video, I could not use the capture card because it did not capture BIOS setup and I was using a VGA to HDMI adaptor to run it so I had to hold my phone when I was recording it. 

I could of use a tripod, but it was the heat of the moment and I had to put it to the test.

As you see on the video that both 6 and 8TB WD Red works which is the good result. Since I am please with the result I can put it on the v2 of the HPE MicroServer plus and use it for more storage than before.
Thanks to the results you can do RAID up to 32TB. I do not need 10TB or more at the moment for now.

Also another note as I close this post. I got this Yeskamo CCTV NVR for my home and the Surveillance unit can support up to 4TB. I decide to to buy 6TB for the time being if this works. I thought about 8TB but that is too much. So I purchase 6TB Western Digital purple and it works perfectly on my CCTV NVR. I think this is because of the firmware upgrade it done.

HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus v2 upgrade

On my previous video where I done a side-by-side comparison, I gathered all parts to do an upgrade just like the previous version of the HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus Server.

The following parts I use to install into the Server:

• CPU = Xeon E-2378 @2.60GHz (8 Cores/16 Thread) 65w
• Memory 1 = Global Memory 32GB DDR4-2666 ECC UDIMM
• Memory 2 = Global Memory 32GB DDR4-2666 ECC UDIMM
• PCI-E = NVIDIA GeForce 210 512MB GDDR3
• ILO Slot = iLO Enablement Kit (P13788-B21)
• HDD Slot 1 = Western Digital Red 500GB SSD
• HDD Slot 2 = Western Digital Red 4TB NAS Drive
• HDD Slot 3 = Western Digital Red 4TB NAS Drive
• HDD Slot 4 = Western Digital Red 2TB SSD
• Hard Drive Caddy 2.5 to 3.5 Adaptor (HP 654540-001)

This time I decide to replace the previous SSD and one of the 4TB Hard Drive with both Western Digital Red 500GB and 2TB Red because the 500GB Red is for the Windows OD Drive and the 2TB is for the Hyper-V. I thought about 4TB SSD but it may not work.

I did mention in the video that since this MicroServer can only Support 4TB NAS Hard Drive, I will purchase a 6TB and 8TB Western Digital Red plus NAS Hard Drive to see how if this works. If it does I will post and confirm it.

Video of HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus - Side by Side

One my previous post when I done a Research on the side by side comparison between 2 HPE Proliant MicroServer Gen10 plus and showing the picture of Tale of the tape. I made a video in details about the Tale of the Tape.

Previous post = HPE Proliant MicroServer Gen10 Plus - Tale of the Tape

Enjoy the video:

HPE Proliant MicroServer Gen10 Plus - Tale of the Tape

I have been doing a lot of research on the difference between the old v1 and the new v2.
HPE Proliant MicroServer Gen10 Plus v2 was introduced in late 2022 to improve the Hardware performance.

I did not get much information until few weeks ago to find out if I wanted to buy v2 of the MicroServer Gen10 plus.

After a litter dig deep from HPE. I found a clear comparison between the version 1 and version 2

What's new in the v2:

- Better motherboard which can support upper tier CPU which is Intel C252

- More memory capacity which is doubled to 64GB DDR4 RAM

- Internal USB is now USB 3.2

- TPM is embedded

Unfortunately, both Power Supply will retain 180w and the Heatsink will retain as 71w.

However the good news is that I can get a Intel Xeon 8 Core CPU on 65w

Here is the picture of the tale of the tape for you to see:

Next post: Video of HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus - Side by Side