this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2024
54 points (96.6% liked)

Selfhosted

39980 readers
775 users here now

A place to share alternatives to popular online services that can be self-hosted without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don't control.

Rules:

  1. Be civil: we're here to support and learn from one another. Insults won't be tolerated. Flame wars are frowned upon.

  2. No spam posting.

  3. Posts have to be centered around self-hosting. There are other communities for discussing hardware or home computing. If it's not obvious why your post topic revolves around selfhosting, please include details to make it clear.

  4. Don't duplicate the full text of your blog or github here. Just post the link for folks to click.

  5. Submission headline should match the article title (don’t cherry-pick information from the title to fit your agenda).

  6. No trolling.

Resources:

Any issues on the community? Report it using the report flag.

Questions? DM the mods!

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
ruud@lemmy.world
Loki@lemmy.world
CannaVet@lemmy.world
devve@lemmy.world
HybridSarcasm@lemmy.world
HybridSarcasm@lemmy.hybridsarcasm.xyz
54
Low usage power saving recommendations request? (programming.dev)
submitted 3 months ago by Mir@programming.dev to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
26 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I'm new to selfhosting and I find myself rarely using the server, only when I need to retrieve a document or something.

I was thinking of implementing something to make it power on, on demand, but I'm not sure if this might be harmful for the HDDs, and I'm not sure how to implment it if so.

What's your recommendation to do so? I'm running a dell optiplex 3050

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] jeroenvaes@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

I built a system ground up with a focus on power-usage a few years ago. You can go far down the rabbit hole when you start googling, but the key take-aways for me are:

  • Eliminate features you don't really need. E.g. do you realy need a RAID 10 configuration with 4 disks? Or can you get by with 2, or maybe even 1 (which might mean you experience downtime while waiting for a new HDD, but you do keep backups right?).
  • Standard 300-400w ATX power supplies are inefficient under low loads (meaning much AC goes to waste converting it to DC). Use a PicoPSU (or a motherboard that runs on DC). Search for a high-quality power adapter (e.g. Leicke) that's rated for low loads. Just make sure your PSU can handle booting, when your system will draw much more.
  • Install drivers for motherboard features you don't need (like soundcards or wifi) and then switch them off in the OS as this usually sets them in a more power-efficient state rather than disabling them in BIOS.
  • SSD's use less power than HDD's but get expensive for higher capacities. I use a Nvme SSD as a startup drive and to host my containers, and 2,5" 5400rpm HDD's for storage. Those disks are slow but get the job done, and despite running 24/7 there hasn't been any failures.
  • I installed a passive cooling-block on the CPU and optimized the airflow in the case. It has 3 (small, as it's a 1u server case) case fans that are controlled by fancontrol and only kick in when the cpu's temp is > 60°C, which is not very oten. This also means it's very quiet ;-).
  • Make sure to configure all power settings in the OS of your choice (powertop and tlp for linux).
[–] magguzu@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Great tips. I hunted 2.5" HDDs when I was doing my build but they seem to be on their way out, being meant for laptops which are now largely just using SSDs :(

[–] jeroenvaes@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

I used to buy external Seagate HDD's and pry open the enclosure. Inside it's just a regular 2,5" HDD with a small sata>usb board. Last time I checked these are still available and might be easier to find (and cheaper). But yeah, you don't have many models to choose from these days. You could use SSD's which will save a bit of power but they are vastly more expensive. I don't think the money you'll save on power will offset that.