From the MB manual, page 4-9 "Wake on LAN from S5" and page 4-14 "Suspend Mode".

From the MB manual, page 4-9 "Wake on LAN from S5" and page 4-14 "Suspend Mode".

 

You DO know that S5 = Off, right?

 

I don't believe for a second that that Combo does not support s3 sleep!! Computers a good 5+ years ago support it!!

 

Supermicro was very clear about it. Server grade boards don't need S3 and so it is not in the BIOS.

 

Well in that case perhaps such motherboards are not suitable for home server use?

 

My Asus Workstation class motherboard has been rock solid!

 

 

That is a whole different discussion. I had considered the P8BWS but it didn't have IPMI, which I value more than S3.

 

Fair point, IPMI was something I wanted too but for some reason I dropped the idea!

 

 

I don't believe for a second that that Combo does not support s3 sleep!! Computers a good 5+ years ago support it!!

 

Supermicro was very clear about it. Server grade boards don't need S3 and so it is not in the BIOS.

 

Well in that case perhaps such motherboards are not suitable for home server use?

 

My Asus Workstation class motherboard has been rock solid!

 

 

 

 

My SuperMicro X7SPA-HF-D525 build with 4 4TB drives cost to run:

At 100% load, the server will cost ~$45/year to run

At idle, the server will cost ~$18/year to run

90+ % of the time will be in idle.... I can live with the $1.50/month and not care about suspend.

 

Mine idles at about 30W, so given it is off for 18 hours a day (actually more on average) then I'm saving the best part of £40 a year.

 

Different user different conditions!!

Do you have a graphics card installed (I don't see one in your sig)?  If so removing that might save 30w or so if you can run headless.

 

With all of my drives powered down my setup is pulling 80w which is more than I was hoping for when I built the server.  However I hadn't considered the impact of a graphics card and therefore didn't specifically look for a mobo that allowed me to run without one, which is annoying!  I'm assuming that it is the graphics card pulling the extra juice over my cpu which is 34w I believe, but I might be wrong.

 

I turn my server off at night using the powerdown script available on this site (with a cron job scheduled in my go script) and use the bios to auto wake it the next morning.

 

I've considered changing my mobo for one I can run headless, but if you do the maths the investment works out to be a hell of a lot of electricity (years) to use before even breaking even.  I don't think you've stated your power consumptions, but I'd imagine unless you are using a huge amount this would be the same for you.

 

 

I don't use a graphics card, the server runs completely headles. How do I use a cron job in the go script to powerdown? Like to give that a try. I guess the BIOS can only auto wake if it supports S3?

 

I have the following line in my go script which sets up the powerdown:

 

echo "powerdown" | at 22:00

 

You will need to "install" the powerdown script first, which I found somewhere on this site - I think written by Joe L.

 

In terms of waking up (assuming your bios doesn't support it) - maybe if you have a smartphone there are likely apps that you could use to wake the server (assuming your phone is in the house when it sends the wake on lan).  I use FING on Android to wake the server manually, but I'm unsure if that can be scheduled.

Depending on where you live in the world, you could run your server for nothing. A solar panel charging a battery (or bank of), and run the server off that via an inverter. You'd have to do the maths to see what the payback period is. This isn't really an option for those of us who live in the UK as it's always cold and wet

 

Personally, I leave my server on 24/7 as the heat it generates isn't truly wasted - it helps keep my house warm 

 

On a slightly more serious note but not to be recommended if there are small kids around, is that my server is tucked away under a desk in my study so I leave the sides off. That way the case fans don't come on. It's mainly because it runs quieter like that but I guess it saves a small amount of electricity.

 

 

Do you have a graphics card installed (I don't see one in your sig)?  If so removing that might save 30w or so if you can run headless.

 

With all of my drives powered down my setup is pulling 80w which is more than I was hoping for when I built the server.  However I hadn't considered the impact of a graphics card and therefore didn't specifically look for a mobo that allowed me to run without one, which is annoying!  I'm assuming that it is the graphics card pulling the extra juice over my cpu which is 34w I believe, but I might be wrong.

 

I turn my server off at night using the powerdown script available on this site (with a cron job scheduled in my go script) and use the bios to auto wake it the next morning.

 

I've considered changing my mobo for one I can run headless, but if you do the maths the investment works out to be a hell of a lot of electricity (years) to use before even breaking even.  I don't think you've stated your power consumptions, but I'd imagine unless you are using a huge amount this would be the same for you.

 

 

I don't use a graphics card, the server runs completely headles. How do I use a cron job in the go script to powerdown? Like to give that a try. I guess the BIOS can only auto wake if it supports S3?

 

I have the following line in my go script which sets up the powerdown:

 

echo "powerdown" | at 22:00

 

You will need to "install" the powerdown script first, which I found somewhere on this site - I think written by Joe L.

 

In terms of waking up (assuming your bios doesn't support it) - maybe if you have a smartphone there are likely apps that you could use to wake the server (assuming your phone is in the house when it sends the wake on lan).  I use FING on Android to wake the server manually, but I'm unsure if that can be scheduled.

 

 

Thanks for that

 

I had the powerdown script installed together with apcupsd. So adding that line will suffice.

 

I leave the sides off. That way the case fans don't come on. It's mainly because it runs quieter like that but I guess it saves a small amount of electricity.

If you have checked the temps on all the critical components and found them to stay cool enough, fine, but in general running with the case open is a bad idea. Most PC cases are designed to flow air through them from front to back, so the moving air can cool all the critical pieces. Leaving the sides off means pockets of stale air that can allow out of control heating.

Just curious,

what do you think, are the pros and cons using S3 vs. powerdown?

 

Pro:

> server is faster back online

 

Con:

> checks during boot not run? --> boot errors not detected?

 

In order to save some energy (thinking about the environment!)

I intend to powerdown or S3 the server during night times. I can live with the manual

WOL that I send from my smartphone or tablet or desktop if I need the server but I hate

thinking of the server each evening before I go to bed.

 

echo "powerdown" | at 22:00

Is OK but very crude and might be interfering with a possible movie session or a copy2server session.

I need some simple checks to be done before shutting the server down.

e.g.

> is any drive spinning (suggests there is activity on the server (mover, parity check, etc.))

> is my desktop running (then I might need the server)

> is my mediaplayer running (then I might need the server)

> ??

 

Anybody stumbled upon a script like this maybe?

If not, I'm sure one of you specialists can put together one in a short time

while being much more efficient than me.

(suppose it's a while-loop with some if-cases but my linux bash is too bad)

I need some help ... please.

 

If this is too off-topic from the OP then I apologize and will

gladly delete this post and open an new thread. Just say a word.