I had a Jetway N2930 machine that just suddenly died one month out of warranty. It was running as a firewall/router device and so I needed a replacement. I was looking at a Supermicro E200-9B, but @nthu9280 pointed me to this HP T620 Plus. (see this thread https://forums.servethehome.com/ind...es-with-superserver-e200-9a-or-e200-9b.20931/).
Then, I found a nice deal on these machines here : https://forums.servethehome.com/ind...good-for-network-appliance-pfsense-etc.20954/
I received the machines today, and so I thought I would share some info. I searched online for information, both from HP's website and other places, but info on this box is a little scarce. Of all places, one of the best videos I found was an Iranian video that showed some footage of the internals.
So, now that I have one on hand, I figure I post some information to share in case others look for this:
1) LOTS of expansion capability in this little box:
[INTERNAL]
- PCI-E slot: physically 16x, but i think electrically 4x. I installed a i340-T4 NIC in it and it linked at PCI-E 2.0 x4 width.
- 2x SO-DIMM slots: max RAM is 16GB and you can mix sizes. I had the original 4GB 1Rx4 module and a 8GB Crucial (CT102464BF160B) and it booted up with 12GB just fine. I'm going to run it only with 1x 8GB SO-DIMM though... one interesting thing that I would like to know is if you can put a single 16GB SO-DIMM to max out with a single DIMM vs 2.
- 2x internal USB-A ports, one near the bottom side and the other is near the front power button. This will be my preferred boot drive choice, as they are easy to replace in a hurry, even though there are more internal boot drive options (more below).
- 1x mini-PCI slot (don't know much about this, but I saw it. i don't have anything to try in that slot)
- 1x M.2 slot. this is where the original 16GB flash SSD is installed as boot drive from HP. I'm not using their OS, so this will just be extra storage for me; maybe backup config or emergency boot drive to re-install/restore-config.
- 1x mSATA slot: this one is at the rear of the PCI-E slot. I have a mSATA SSD I plan to put in it, but the screw I have to hold down the mSATA SSD don't fit the threads. i'm not sure why... the mSATA SSD fit just fine, but it won't stay down without a hold down screw. I'll test this more when i get the right screws.
NOTE: not all T620 PLUS units have the mSATA slot. there are certain revisions of the board where the mSATA slot was not included. For details, see this post: https://forums.servethehome.com/ind...ork-appliance-builds.21014/page-4#post-197717
[EXTERNAL]
Front side:
- 2x USB 2.0 ports in front
- 2x USB 3.0 ports in front
- Audio jack out (headphones)
- Mic in
Back side:
- 2x USB 2.0 ports in back (keyboard+mouse?)
- 2x Display ports
- PS/2 ports for keyboard+mouse
- 2x serial ports
- 1x parallel port
- audio out (speakers?)
- mic in
2) VERY power efficient:
I'm really, really surprised on this point... the numbers I got are even better than previously reported by @nthu9280 . Maybe it has to do with the OS used (CentOS 7), but I got some very impressive numbers. Measurements taken from a Kill-A-Watt:
- Empty system w/ 1x 4GB RAM + 16GB M.2 SSD: 6.9W @idle.
- Empty system w/ 1x 4GB RAM + 16GB M.2 SSD: 16.1~16.2W @under load (running sysbench cpu w/ 4 threads for 60 seconds and observed peak)
- System w/ i340-T4 NIC (no ports plugged in), 1x 8GB RAM, 16GB M.2 SSD: 10.7W @idle
- System w/ i340-T4 NIC (1-port plugged in), 1x 8GB RAM, 16GB M.2 SSD: 11.4W @idle
On my lab workbench I didn't have 4 ethernet ports to try out, but if I extrapolate from that, with 4-ports plugged in, it should idle around 13.5W!! I would have been happy to be under 20W, but this exceeded my expectations!
3) VERY quiet:
Using a phone sound meter app, the room measured at 23 dBA, holding the phone with the mic right above the right side of the unit (with HP logo), which is where the intake fan resides. When I powered on the machine, it when up to 27-28 dBA. More subjectively, if you're in total silence standing 2-ft from it, you can sort of hear it. Any further away, it's very hard to hear it. Put another way, it is quieter than my current temporary replacement Supermicro SYS-5018A-FTN4 machine, even though that's also pretty quiet machine, the T620 Plus is even quieter.
4) Miscellaneous info:
- the BIOS POST is REALLY FAST. other than a quick glace at an HP logo, it immediately went to the boot drive. this is really nice as a little appliance, but might be a pain if you ever need to interrupt POST.
- the onboard 1Gbps NIC is a Realtek R8169. it connects to the system by PCI-E 1.0 x1.
- i saw many of these units sold without the power supply. now that i have a working power supply on-hand, here's the info on the PSU:
(note: in my ebay search, I removed "new" items because they tend to list sub-standard knock off power supplies. by choosing "used", the search came up with more genuine HP PSUs. but adjust accordingly to your preference)
UPDATE on PSU:
The above part number is for the 90W power adapter. For most of us using this device as a router/firewall/network appliance, we're likely only using 10~20W at most.So, I suspect the 65W power adapter would work just as well, and perhaps more efficiently? Here's the HP P/N for the 65W: HP 708778-001 65W WARNING: The 65W power adapter from the smaller T620 WILL NOT work on the T620 Plus.
The 85W PSU from the HP T730 newer generation machine does work on the T620 Plus. Besides the claimed wattage difference (90W vs 85W), the T730 PSU has a right angle power plug, which some might prefer over the straight one; depending on your placement. The part number for the T730 85W PSU is: HP Part 750112-002 or HP Spares No. 843233-001.
Some negatives I noticed:
1) the PCI slot is recessed. unplugging ethernet cables may require using some tool to reach in there to unlatch the RJ45 jack.
2) the CPU looks like it ispassively cooled by a heatpipe on the left side that carry the heat to a heatsink at the top, while the side with the PCI-E slot is cooled with a quiet fan that also blows through the heatsink at the top, in effect cooling both sides exhausting at the top. There's ventilation on 4 out of the 6 sides of the unit. however you place this unit down, if you're not using the stand (mine didn't come with one), you need to prop it up with something so as to not block the vents. I plan to use this in the vertical position, so i suspect the vents on the bottom side are import to draw cool air in as the hot air rises out the top. and the 2 sides should not be obstructed either. so, this is not something you want crammed near other components.
UPDATES:
7/3/18: discovered that HP doesn't use the standard M2x3mm screws for the mSATA/M.2/mini-PCI stand-offs. I just bought a pack of M2 screws and none of them fit and appear too large in diameter. searching elsewhere online, i see people complaining similarly about other HP machines not using M2x3mm screws and someone said they are M1.6 screws. I just ordered a pack of M1 through M1.6 screws so we'll see when I get them.
7/9/18: confirmed the screws to hold down the mSATA and mini-PCI are indeed M1.6 threads and can take at least a 4mm long screw. however, most M1.6 threaded screws do not have a large enough head to hold down a standard mSATA SSD card so you will need to add a washer. I found some black nylon M2 washers that did the job. i also found screws that would work out of the box, but they were very expensive ($50 for box of 100) - if you insist, search for "M1.6 wafer head screws".
Then, I found a nice deal on these machines here : https://forums.servethehome.com/ind...good-for-network-appliance-pfsense-etc.20954/
I received the machines today, and so I thought I would share some info. I searched online for information, both from HP's website and other places, but info on this box is a little scarce. Of all places, one of the best videos I found was an Iranian video that showed some footage of the internals.
So, now that I have one on hand, I figure I post some information to share in case others look for this:1) LOTS of expansion capability in this little box:
[INTERNAL]
- PCI-E slot: physically 16x, but i think electrically 4x. I installed a i340-T4 NIC in it and it linked at PCI-E 2.0 x4 width.
- 2x SO-DIMM slots: max RAM is 16GB and you can mix sizes. I had the original 4GB 1Rx4 module and a 8GB Crucial (CT102464BF160B) and it booted up with 12GB just fine. I'm going to run it only with 1x 8GB SO-DIMM though... one interesting thing that I would like to know is if you can put a single 16GB SO-DIMM to max out with a single DIMM vs 2.
- 2x internal USB-A ports, one near the bottom side and the other is near the front power button. This will be my preferred boot drive choice, as they are easy to replace in a hurry, even though there are more internal boot drive options (more below).
- 1x mini-PCI slot (don't know much about this, but I saw it. i don't have anything to try in that slot)
- 1x M.2 slot. this is where the original 16GB flash SSD is installed as boot drive from HP. I'm not using their OS, so this will just be extra storage for me; maybe backup config or emergency boot drive to re-install/restore-config.
- 1x mSATA slot: this one is at the rear of the PCI-E slot. I have a mSATA SSD I plan to put in it, but the screw I have to hold down the mSATA SSD don't fit the threads. i'm not sure why... the mSATA SSD fit just fine, but it won't stay down without a hold down screw. I'll test this more when i get the right screws.
NOTE: not all T620 PLUS units have the mSATA slot. there are certain revisions of the board where the mSATA slot was not included. For details, see this post: https://forums.servethehome.com/ind...ork-appliance-builds.21014/page-4#post-197717
[EXTERNAL]
Front side:
- 2x USB 2.0 ports in front
- 2x USB 3.0 ports in front
- Audio jack out (headphones)
- Mic in
Back side:
- 2x USB 2.0 ports in back (keyboard+mouse?)
- 2x Display ports
- PS/2 ports for keyboard+mouse
- 2x serial ports
- 1x parallel port
- audio out (speakers?)
- mic in
2) VERY power efficient:
I'm really, really surprised on this point... the numbers I got are even better than previously reported by @nthu9280 . Maybe it has to do with the OS used (CentOS 7), but I got some very impressive numbers. Measurements taken from a Kill-A-Watt:
- Empty system w/ 1x 4GB RAM + 16GB M.2 SSD: 6.9W @idle.
- Empty system w/ 1x 4GB RAM + 16GB M.2 SSD: 16.1~16.2W @under load (running sysbench cpu w/ 4 threads for 60 seconds and observed peak)
- System w/ i340-T4 NIC (no ports plugged in), 1x 8GB RAM, 16GB M.2 SSD: 10.7W @idle
- System w/ i340-T4 NIC (1-port plugged in), 1x 8GB RAM, 16GB M.2 SSD: 11.4W @idle
On my lab workbench I didn't have 4 ethernet ports to try out, but if I extrapolate from that, with 4-ports plugged in, it should idle around 13.5W!! I would have been happy to be under 20W, but this exceeded my expectations!
3) VERY quiet:
Using a phone sound meter app, the room measured at 23 dBA, holding the phone with the mic right above the right side of the unit (with HP logo), which is where the intake fan resides. When I powered on the machine, it when up to 27-28 dBA. More subjectively, if you're in total silence standing 2-ft from it, you can sort of hear it. Any further away, it's very hard to hear it. Put another way, it is quieter than my current temporary replacement Supermicro SYS-5018A-FTN4 machine, even though that's also pretty quiet machine, the T620 Plus is even quieter.
4) Miscellaneous info:
- the BIOS POST is REALLY FAST. other than a quick glace at an HP logo, it immediately went to the boot drive. this is really nice as a little appliance, but might be a pain if you ever need to interrupt POST.
- the onboard 1Gbps NIC is a Realtek R8169. it connects to the system by PCI-E 1.0 x1.
- i saw many of these units sold without the power supply. now that i have a working power supply on-hand, here's the info on the PSU:
and here's a eBay search for them: HP (519330-001,463955-001) -(generic) | eBay
(note: in my ebay search, I removed "new" items because they tend to list sub-standard knock off power supplies. by choosing "used", the search came up with more genuine HP PSUs. but adjust accordingly to your preference)
UPDATE on PSU:
The above part number is for the 90W power adapter. For most of us using this device as a router/firewall/network appliance, we're likely only using 10~20W at most.
The 85W PSU from the HP T730 newer generation machine does work on the T620 Plus. Besides the claimed wattage difference (90W vs 85W), the T730 PSU has a right angle power plug, which some might prefer over the straight one; depending on your placement. The part number for the T730 85W PSU is: HP Part 750112-002 or HP Spares No. 843233-001.
Some negatives I noticed:
1) the PCI slot is recessed. unplugging ethernet cables may require using some tool to reach in there to unlatch the RJ45 jack.
2) the CPU looks like it is
UPDATES:
7/3/18: discovered that HP doesn't use the standard M2x3mm screws for the mSATA/M.2/mini-PCI stand-offs. I just bought a pack of M2 screws and none of them fit and appear too large in diameter. searching elsewhere online, i see people complaining similarly about other HP machines not using M2x3mm screws and someone said they are M1.6 screws. I just ordered a pack of M1 through M1.6 screws so we'll see when I get them.
7/9/18: confirmed the screws to hold down the mSATA and mini-PCI are indeed M1.6 threads and can take at least a 4mm long screw. however, most M1.6 threaded screws do not have a large enough head to hold down a standard mSATA SSD card so you will need to add a washer. I found some black nylon M2 washers that did the job. i also found screws that would work out of the box, but they were very expensive ($50 for box of 100) - if you insist, search for "M1.6 wafer head screws".
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