Having quickly realised that my Raspberry Pi was not powerful enough to run all the things I wanted (this wordpress blog, checking the multiple sensors connected to the GPIO ports and displaying their status on a php page), I used an old spare HP Compaq D530u desktop computer as my “server”:

HP Compaq D530u

Although it’s been running fine for a while, since the addition of DomotiGa, and due to its old age (and probably dust) it’s not really up to the task anymore (it did crash a few times due to overheating etc). I’ve therefore decided to upgrade my gear to something that’s closer to a real server than a desktop computer.

I’ve purchased a brand spanking new HP Proliant G7 N54L server:

HP Proliant G7 N54L

I’ve now installed Ubuntu Server x64 on it and transferred all applications, MySQL databases, files, etc.

It comes with a 250GB SATA hard-drive which is much better than the 40GB PATA one I had before, and I still have space for another 3 (when I decide to use it as a NAS too).

Not only it is quicker than the old HP Compaq D530u, it’s much quieter too 🙂

I did have to change from tightvncserver to vnc4server. Tightvncserver would crash within 30 min or so and the only option would end up connecting via SSH to attempt to kill and restart the service. Since the installation of the alternative vnc4server, I’ve not experienced a single crash 😎