HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen11 review

Now into its sixth generation, HPE’s ProLiant MicroServer just keeps marching on. The original N36L model was introduced in 2010 and since then we’ve reviewed the Gen8, Gen10, and Gen10 Plus versions with the Gen10 Plus v2 model appearing around a year ago and adding support for Intel Xeon E-2300 CPUs.

The MicroServer Gen11 keeps the focus on small offices seeking a compact entry-level server for up to 15 users but also targets hybrid cloud and edge applications. It bears some similarities with the Gen10 Plus v2 but is a lot more powerful as along with a dual-core 3.7GHz Pentium Gold G7400, it’s also available with a choice of two Xeon E-2400 CPUs.

Memory goes from DDR4 to faster DDR5 and the four DIMM slots in the MicroServer Gen11 allow this to be doubled to the maximum 128GB. Storage doesn’t see any changes as it uses the same two groups of horizontally stacked LFF cold swap drive bays at the front.

Expansion sees big improvements as the MicroServer Gen11 offers PCIe Gen5 and Gen4 slots – the Gen10 Plus v2 only has a single Gen4 slot. Remote management also gets a boost as the system board sports HPE’s classy iLO6 controller.

HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen11 review: Clever chassis design

Sitting a Gen10 Plus next to the Gen11 model shows the new chassis is slightly larger. There’s no appreciable difference in depth (4mm at most) but the Gen11 is wider by 16mm and taller by 35mm.

Its chassis cover is retained by two thumbscrews at the rear and removed by sliding it back and upwards. The front cover also has internal locking tabs on each side that can only be accessed with the lid off so if you use a padlock or Kensington lock, the drive bays are safe from wandering fingers.

HPE has put the extra room to good use and has radically improved system board access. On the Gen10 Plus, you pull a couple of cables and slide the tray out the back but accessing the Gen11 board is even easier.

With the lid and front cover out of the way, you remove two Torx screws on the top of the chassis and two more down next to the front hinges. The smart clamshell design allows the upper section to be swung over through 90 degrees to provide unfettered access to the system board – you don’t even need to remove any cables.

Cooling is handled efficiently as the CPU has a large passive heatsink with two copper heat pipes routed to a vertical radiator array located in front of a 9cms diameter system fan. Noise levels are extremely low making the MicroServer Gen11 a great choice for small offices that value tranquillity.

HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen11 review: Storage and expansion

The MicroServer Gen11 keeps the carrier-less bays from its predecessor. To install a drive, you fit mounting screws on each corner and slip it in until the tab as the front locks – sixteen Torx T15 screws are provided in the panel below.

You can fit SATA SFF drives using the optional HPE MicroServer Gen10 SFF NHP SATA Converter Kit. The quick specs guide lists this as part No. 870213-B21 and we found it on Amazon for around £12.

Intel keeps RAID duties as these are handled by its embedded VROC (virtual RAID on CPU) controller which supports RAID0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays for SATA devices. The default seeing is SATA AHCI but VROC can be easily enabled and arrays created from the server’s RBSU BIOS menu.

Network connections are plentiful as the server presents four embedded Gigabit ports. There’s room for more, such as multi-Gig or 10GbE, as both PCIe slots support half-length, half-height cards with the Gen5 slot the x16 variety.

HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen11 review: Server management

The motherboard has HPE’s iLO6 controller chip on-board and on our review system, we were able to load its web console using shared access from the first LOM port for in-band management on the local network. HPE’s quick specs guide is a little confusing on this topic, but if you want out-of-band (OOB) remote management on a dedicated network, you’ll need HPE’s ML30 Gen11 Serial Port/iLO/M.2 enablement kit.

The card fits in a dedicated slot on the system board, provides a single M.2 SATA/NVMe SSD slot for a fast boot device, puts an extra Gigabit port at the back for OOB iLO6 access, and includes a cable kit for adding a serial port. It also comes with an iLO6 Essentials license which activates full OS remote control and virtual media services – the in-band option doesn’t include these features and will require a license upgrade.

The iLO6 console provides all the management goodness you’ll find in HPE’s higher-end servers with plenty of valuable information about critical components and their status along with 3D thermal graphs showing temperature ranges throughout the chassis. The server uses the same ‘dumb’ external 180W PSU as the Gen10 Plus and v2 so power monitoring graphs aren’t available.

The console has an option for integrating the MicroServer Gen11 with HPE’s Compute Ops Management web portal – useful for larger businesses that may have them deployed to multiple remote offices. You also have HPE’s Intelligent Provisioning for easy OS deployment and we used it to load Windows Server 2022 on a mirrored pair of 4TB SATA drives in 25 minutes.

HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen11 review: Is it worth it?

The ultra-compact and powerful MicroServer Gen11 is a fine choice for small office, remote site, or edge deployments. It looks good value too, as the price for the system on review is around £890 excluding VAT. This represents a relatively modest increase over the Gen10 Plus v2 as the model with an Xeon E-2314 and 16GB of DDR4 costs around £738.

Management sees big improvements as it gets the benefit of the latest iLO6 controller although you’ll need the upgrade card if you want dedicated OOB access. The MicroServer Gen11 also doubles memory capacity and the PCIe slot count, wraps it all up with a sturdily constructed chassis and its smart clamshell design makes upgrades and maintenance a piece of cake.

HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen11 Specifications