I have an old HP EliteDesk G3 Mini PC

  • 4 core CPU
  • 8 GB RAM
  • 256 GB SSD (SSD)
  • Gigabit ethernet
  • Wi-Fi, etc

This is twice the specs of both of my current virtual servers added together, so it should do the trick.

Potential upgrades

  • RAM maxes out at 32 GB
  • Able to take 2 SSDs: one SATA and one NVMe

Things to consider

  • Increase RAM to 32 GB

  • Install large (2 TB? 4 TB?) SATA and NVMe SSDs

  • Set up RAID1 – save data on 2 different drives, allowing for continued operation even if one of them fails.

  • Backup system – to local and remote devices

  • UPS to allow continued operation in case of power-failure. In this case, it has to provide power for

    • Server
    • Router
    • Switch
    • Backup server

  • Performance monitoring

    • CPU usage and performance
    • RAM usage and performance
    • SSD usage and performance
    • Network usage and performance
    • CPU health – voltages and temperatures
    • SSD health – SMART monitoring, RAID status
    • Network health – errors, retries, etc