Reviews

Broadberry CyberServe XE5-102S v3 review

Broadberry’s pizza-box server shows that good things do come in small packages

1 Jul 2015

.polaris__post-meta--date { display: none; } .polaris__post-meta--date.no-script { display: block; padding-left: 45px } 1 Jul 2015

Remote management

The CyberServe also includes an onboard ASMB8-iKVM remote management controller. Access can be shared with the first Gigabit network port or restricted to the dedicated DM port next door and you can create groups of users and administrators and determine levels of access for each one.

The simple web interface provides plenty of information about the server's operational status. The health screen displays a complete rundown on sensor readings for all critical components and you can link their thresholds to actions such as power recycles plus SNMP traps and email alerts.

Notably, KVM-over-IP and virtual media services come as standard so you can remotely control the server and use devices on the host system as virtual boot media. Tier-1 vendors such as HP, Dell and Lenovo expect you to pay for an optional upgrade to activate these features.

Conclusion

It may be small but the CyberServe punches well above its weight in the hardware rankings. Storage capacity is a weakness but you'll be hard pushed to find another solution that packs this much power in as small a chassis and for this price as well.

Verdict

The CyberServe XE5-102S v3 delivers a mighty hardware spec in a tiny rack chassis making it ideal for hosting a wide range of business apps in the smallest of rack spaces

Chassis: Asus R9D 1U rack Motherboard: Asus Z10PR-D16 CPU: 2 x 1.9GHz Xeon E5-2609 v3 (6-core, 15MB L3 cache) Memory: 16GB 2,133MHz DDR4 (max 1TB using LR-DIMMs) Storage: 2 x 240GB Intel S3500 SATA SSDs RAID: Intel C612 Array support: RAID0, 1, 10, 5 Expansion: 2 x PCI-e Gen3 slots, Asus OCP mezzanine slot Network: 2 x Gigabit Other ports: 2 x USB 3, VGA, PS/2 Power: Fixed 500W Platinum PSU Management: Asus ASMB8-iKVM with Gigabit Warranty: 3yrs on site NBD Options: 10GbE mezzanine cards – single-port SFP+, £110; dual-port SFP+, £160; dual-port RJ-45, £180 (all ex VAT)