I have a stock EX487 however the network port has failed. I know that a USB to LAN adapter can be fitted and this process is simplified by buying a third party product that allows connection to a monitor+keyboard+mouse etc... This 'video adapter' + LAN adapter is going to cost about $100US to get everything fixed again.

However I am thinking about changing the server to get back the gigabit LAN speed. A few questions to ask:

(I intend to use my HP EX487 as a multimedia server - movies, music and photos)
- Will a working HP EX487 experience bottlenecks with USB 2.0 speeds?
- Is it worth installing an E5200 processor upgrade to speed up my HP EX487? (will the end result still be limited by USB 2.0 speeds?)
- What kind of data transfer speeds can I expect with USB 2.0 on a HP EX487?
- Is it worth potentially 'upgrading' to another server e.g. HP Proliant 40L?

Cheers

I have used the Sabrent Gigabit LAN Adapter but I can't comment on the speed over the network. I just did it to prove it could be done and to provide an option for correcting a failed LAN port. I did write a Guide on how to perform a recovery using the USB-LAN Adapter which requires you to obtain a copy of your SMI Area and to create a Bootable USB Flash Drive then copy the SMI Files to the Bootable USB Flash Drive and then edit the SMI files to use the 32 bit Sabrent Drivers for the Recovery Process. Now I have passed this information along to others to use but no one to date for some reason has ever reported back they were successful so I have been reluctant to post the guide which describes a blind server recovery but is best done with a DEBUG Board which helps the end user spot any undocumented issues.

Now the HP Proliant 40L is an interesting option because it has a video port and is also expandable but if you require more horsepower for things like transcoding then it may not be a suitable server. If its just used to deliver content and as a central storage with no real hardware intensive tasks then I believe the HP Proliant 40L should be acceptable. The question is which OS to load on it. If you like WHS v1 then you would need the OEM version to install it otherwise you would have to install some other OS of your choice but the price for the HP Proliant 40L is very attractive.

If your looking for something more powerful then I would urge you to consider a DIY Build where you can chose the hardware that best fits your needs and where you can find replacement components easily. But in the end the choice is yours to make and its actually a good time to actually reflect on your Wants, Needs, and Desires. For many their HP MSS is an old reliable friend and they are often very comfortable with it and this may be the case with you but at some point down the road many actually out grow what their MSS can do and opt to upgrade and for some that actually means a DIY build. There are others like myself who have upgraded to other servers that also keep their original servers running thus repurposing it for other tasks. For me it just opens up additional backup capacity be it for my clients or for clients I work on for others where the owners have agreed to my performing a backup for them to hold for a period of time but thats another story.

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Exploring the possibilities!

Migrated from WHS2011 to WS2012E: HIGHLANDER

~ Norco 4220 Enclosure
~ Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5
~ AMD Phenom II X4 995 3.2 GHz
~ 8 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
~ 3 Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8