Testing of 2nd hand hardware

[ThaiTaffy]

So I have a 2nd hand server arriving in a few days and since it has a warranty I want to perform a full battery of tests to confirm if I will keep the unit or not.

I'm more familiar with windows at this time so I'm hoping installing windows 10 won't cause any issues, then go on to run memtest,chkdisk and some benchmarks to get an idea of temps, power consumption and any errors.

Is there anything else I can use to confirm the hardware? Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[cvaldes]

Yeah, test it in actual usage conditions.

Synthetic benchmarks never reflect true real world performance. This is not exclusive to PC hardware.

This is relevant to pretty much everything that one might deal with: coffee grinders, spouses, tax consultants, dishwashing machines, sex toys, whatever.

If I buy a second hand electric rice cooker, it would make sense for me to cook some rice in it. Measuring peak thermal transfer, insulation effectiveness, voltage stability, et cetera ad nauseam really doesn't count for much if it can't make good rice, right?

 

[ThaiTaffy]

As it's going to be running just a bsd firewall I don't think it will be under any real load but I want to put the unit under some stress hopefully to point out any flaws before they become an issue later on.

 

[cvaldes]

If you need to ask this question, most likely the people who can violate your system will do so long before you figure it out with automated tools and not some sort of targeted manual attack. A brand new random Linux/BSD server on the net is not a particularly ripe target that would raise the eyebrow of some serious blackmailer type.

Almost all of the vulnerabilities will be in the operating system or poor configuration thereof. That wouldn't be a hardware fault, just one of the user configuration so whether or not the hardware is new or used wouldn't ultimately matter.

You did frame this as a hardware question but ultimately it comes down to your system administration aptitude whether it be Windows, Linux, macOS, BSD, whatever.

 

[ThaiTaffy]

My system administration aptitude is nill this is purely a learning exercise for me. I've wired power in a few server rooms and fitted environmental systems but never touched the software side of things.

I'd just like to make sure what I'm using to learn isn't a bag of gremlins.

 

[cvaldes]

Well, you're not going to master this in a week, I guarantee you that.

As a former UNIX/Linux system administrator, I suggest you play with your new system outside of whatever DMZ you've set up.

Yes, you can accumulate valuable/marketable sysadmin skills doing this but it will take years if you don't have any guidance or expert supervision. Even if you have mentors it realistically might take you years to achieve a decent level of competence. This isn't amateur hour, you don't get a blue ribbon just for showing up.

And some people aren't suited for this anyhow. I'm unwilling to make any public assessment about your probable success in such matters.

I will say that that the challenges and stakes are much higher today than they were in the late Nineties.

Remember that you are throwing yourself into an arena of sysadmins AND crackers who have been waging war for decades. I can't tell you whether you are the best or worst at this. I can tell you that you aren't the first.

 

[ThaiTaffy]

I know this. I simply want basic knowledge, if someone wants in nothing I will ever be capable of will stop them. I purely want something to do while being stuck unable to work and also I'm a cheapskate so this is a work around for the network I'd like to accomplish at home for myself and my family.

I'm hoping to consolidate all our fibre lines into one network therefore giving me 2.5gbps download speeds and offering everyone else the remainder piped out via wireless access points.

I'm purely looking at putting this server through its paces before I confirm I will keep it or purchase more from the same company selling them.

 

[cvaldes]

Again, just use your newly acquired hardware in your intended usage case.

It's not like you've said "I am acquiring ____ model widget". You said nothing about the exact hardware you are acquiring. No one here is going to say, "if it scores 23534.63 points on this aggregate multi-benchmark assessment it is worthwhile and below that it is inadequate."

Did you score your current spouse on some sort of numeric evaluation? Put them in front of your computer monitor before you answer that and let that person answer first.

If your original question was "Is Brand X Model A hardware good for Usage Situation ____?" well maybe someone might have a clue (or probably not). You said NOTHING about the usage case.

Your question is more like "how do I make sure this used motor vehicle is worthwhile?" It's close to meaningless without any specific usage case, budget or parameters.

 

[Deleted member 202104]

Again, just use your newly acquired hardware in your intended usage case.

It's not like you've said "I am acquiring ____ model widget". You said nothing about the exact hardware you are acquiring. No one here is going to say, "if it scores 23534.63 points on this aggregate multi-benchmark assessment it is worthwhile and below that it is inadequate."

Did you score your current spouse on some sort of numeric evaluation? Put them in front of your computer monitor before you answer that and let that person answer first.

If your original question was "Is Brand X Model A hardware good for Usage Situation ____?" well maybe someone might have a clue (or probably not). You said NOTHING about the usage case.

Your question is more like "how do I make sure this used motor vehicle is worthwhile?" It's close to meaningless without any specific usage case, budget or parameters.

Dude. Bring it down a notch or 10.

They're only asking what tools to use to test the hardware to make sure it's not defective.

 

[ThaiTaffy]

Ok I'll rephrase this.
I have a server coming in a few days that has a limited warranty I've done my research on the product and it's overkill for its intended use I'm just wondering if there's any other fault finding solutions to point out future issues other than memtest, chkdisk and synthetic benchmarks?

I know dell servers come with some built in health checks is this going to be substantial enough?

 

[cvaldes]

My initial reply stands: test it under its intended usage case.

If you buy a toaster oven primarily to toast bagels, test it by toasting bagels. If you buy an electric rice cooker to cook rice, test it by cooking rice, not by how much it browns the dough of a Palestinian flatbread or how it boils liquid for poultry stock.

I see some people here *STILL* haven't figured this out.

As OP mentioned this is a used device. It's not like we're trying to figure out if it actually powers on.

 

[ThaiTaffy]

It's ok I was being lazy I guess.
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/13-windows-diagnostics-tools-check-pcs-health/ has a list for me to go through thanks for reading all mod can close the thread unless someone else has any suggestions.