I recently inherited a Dell PowerEdge R540, though I'm not sure how old it is. It's functional, and I'm considering installing the Veeam Hardened Repository ISO on it. I'd add some large 3.5" disks to reach around 70TB and upgrade the RAM. My main question is—do you think it's worth the effort to set all this up?
6 Answers
If you're using it for non-production, small business, or home lab purposes, go for it! But for production environments, you might want to reconsider. Explaining to the execs why backups failed on outdated hardware could lead to some serious backlash.
Make sure to check the Veeam knowledge base and forums to ensure the repo can run on your specific hardware. It should be compatible if it runs Rocky Linux, but Veeam may have a specific list of supported systems.
If it doesn't work out, you can always install Linux and set it up that way. You can keep the Veeam server elsewhere.
Before you dive in, check Dell's support site with the service tag. It'll give you insights about its age, original parts, and warranty details.
We're currently using a Dell R730 for the same thing. We installed Ubuntu, set it up as a Veeam hardened repository, and isolated it so only the Veeam server can access it. I'd recommend having a spare disk handy, too. In my experience, having offsite backups like Wasabi is a great idea. After dealing with ransomware this year, our backups remained intact while we replaced the Veeam server, thanks to solid support!
The R540 still has a lot of potential left! Even though it's a bit older, it's definitely not dead weight yet.
The R540 was released in 2017, so keep your organization’s budget in mind. If funds are tight and new hardware isn’t an option, this is a solid plan. It should work for years and parts are easily available online. But if your organization has the budget for supported gear, they might prefer that route.
As a secondary repository, it should still work fine!