Unboxing and Setting Up Two Dell PowerEdge R720 Servers

In this very long-winded and disorganized video, we unbox and set up two Dell PowerEdge R720 servers and install them in the server rack.

[callmebigpapa]

The miracle of this video is that the ears survived the shipping process!

[victorcoss]

The Windows install taking up ~100GB of storage out of the box is due to the page file. When you have a system with a crap ton of ram, like in your case 192GB, the page file will closely match it. Wears the hell out of an SSD too. I'd change the page file size or disable it completely. I'd also disable the hibernation file.

[RobinB]

Thanks for the video. Interesting to see how you set them up.

[rdsii]

You made out very well getting a unit that came with that much storage for so cheap.

[tg]

Great video, I use to have a client with R710's so I'm very familiar with those servers. They are slow by today's standards, but still good work horses. See you next time!

[ebubegideon]

This is just amazing to watch.

I have been captivated by computer networking but I don't know how to get started.

Currently running a VM in my PC to simulate how a network really operates.

I will be very grateful to get honest suggestions.

[gglsniper]

I don't have a R720 but it loos similar to the R730s I have. First if you want to use the two 2.5 bays in the back, you will need to get the backplane kit with cables, if they plug straight into the motherboard I believe they are only SATA, and only software raid. However, if you plug them into a Dell PCIE raid controller, you can have use either SATA or SAS with raid, or you can use HBA cards.
As for using the server for TrueNAS, ZFS really don't like raid controllers, so you need to check if H710 raid controllers have Enhanced-HBA mode, my H730 have, but I don't have a H710 to try. You can check in BIOS Device Settings, and find the raid controller, should be a setting in there. If it doesn't support it, you should change it to a SAS HBA card, or flash the H710 to IT mode.

[ksz]

720xd is more desirable for diy NAS and typically sell for more thab the reg r720 sibce you get 4 more 3.5 drives. Just order extra trays. the rear drives requires a kit and prerty handy. internally the mb and rest of stuff are the same. the 720xd is a good find, provided everything else works. fan noise ramps up with the last dell bios upgrade once you add non dell drives. if you find that is the case, you need to manually override the fan speeds using IPMItools.

[karthanis]

I think the yellow flashing light is because the 'mirror' doesn't have the mirror. Also, on my T320s I have found that the controllers do not like a lot of drives. I had tried to use several HDs that were pulls from various laptops, and the controllers reported that most of them were bad drives. I ended up buying newer SSDs and that cleared up the lights. (with proper mirror...)

[CaleMcCollough]

You can get a drive bay adapter to convert an optical drive to a 2.5" drive.

[PeterBatah]

Thank you for sharing. Did you find the R720 to be louder than you had expected? This is what concerns me somewhat.

[damonpence]

Been looking at the 720XD, 730XD, etc. I noticed you have the 710 Raid controller and the only RAID's that allow passthrough that I have found for TrueNas or other software is the 310(720) 330(730) Raid controllers. Also, the 2 rear caddy ports are for 2.5in drives but you would have to also purchase the $35 card that mounts on the inside for those caddies to plug into.
you may already know all of this but just hope this is somewhat helpful.
good video, enjoyed.

[faizalraazy]

Good informative video brother appreciate your effort

[claudioinostroza]

Hey, great detailed video!! The setup of the first server is really good. Can you provide the link of the vendor on Amazon you purchased it from. Based on the hardware included and the packing material, it seems like they would be a good vendor get good used equipment from.

[rdsii]

My Dell R720 serves as my nvr server. I'm running windows server 2019 on bare metal and the only service running on it is blue iris. Believe it or not, it is surprisingly quiet even if it's only running once service. That may change as I add cameras but for now its its office desktop quiet.

[Atall]

You can use a imbus for a torcks but I don't remember if it was a bigger or a smaller size.

[chrisKnapp-dc]

this is the pickiest person ive seen review a used server geez

[hefeydd_]

As a Network Engineer, I've done this so many times I could do one blindfolded.

[freddyhardware]

I have a 4 bay R620. I was thinking of doing the same but don't know where to start. I'm also wondering if the controller that came with it will support the 8 bays and if not, what controller do I need to get. It's got 2 CPUs, 88Gb RAM and two X 750W PSUs

[Jampyr]

Hi g6, I got a question :) I got a deal on an r720 with originally 2.5 bays and the seller is saying its not going to work for my 3.5 drives. Any suggestions I've never touched these type of computers before so I dont know if im missing something obvious. In a normal computer its just a cable i plug it to a 2.5 or 3.5 no fuss but I'm not sure if dell's require an hdd bay . I dont mind frankesteining it a bit and just having mypair of hdd drives sitting there without being secure. Any recommendations?