Proxmox VE 6.x on old server (HP Proliant ML350 G5)

[zecas]

Hi,

I currently have an HP Proliant ML350 G5 laying around that I would like to consider for a proxmox ve build.

For that I would make an hardware upgrade, so it would get:
- 2x Intel Xeon L5420 2.50GHz LGA771 (SLBBR);
- Total 32Gb DDR2 667MHz, PC2-5300F-5 (I believe it's the max it can take).

Everything else is what came with the server.

My objective is for this server to have a proxmox ve backup instance. That is, if my main proxmox ve server has a problem, I can put the VMs up and running, then focus on fixing the main server problem.

The question here is whether this hardware, and more specifically the CPUs, can handle a proxmox virtualization environment.

For example, intel ark spec site states:
Intel® VT-x com Tabelas de página estendida (EPT) : No
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/b...or-l5420-12m-cache-2-50-ghz-1333-mhz-fsb.html

Would this or anything else have impact that can make this possibility a no-go?

I'm thinking before going out and spend the money on the upgrade components.


Many Thanks.

 

[wolfgang]

Hi,

theoretically, this HW works fine with Linux.
But we see in the past often kernel problems with old HW.
The use of this HW is no more common and so bugs get discovered later and fixes take longer.
In a combination with the fixing of the critical vulnerabilities in modern CPU, this can be a problem.
And a serious problem is that this CPU gets not more microcode updates.

So there is no guarantee that every kernel is running fine.

 

[zecas]

Hi,

That's not very good news ... I can find those CPUs and memories on ebay for a good price, it just felt like a brainless upgrade to have a backup server.

Maybe if I get the time I'll test this with the current processor (1x Xeon 5120) and memory (4Gb DDR2 ECC), but from what you say, even if its running doesn't mean it will be stable. I hate to put working hardware to the side.

Thanks.