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5 things you should do after getting a server PC
- Quick maintenance tasks are essential to maximize your server PC's potential, from dusting to diagnostic tests.
- Tweak BIOS settings like virtualization to enhance server performance & prioritize booting from a USB drive.
- Consider upgrading with additional components like Ethernet cards, GPUs, and ECC memory for better functionality.
Investing in a server PC is worth the cost for any DIY enthusiast who needs a powerful machine for their projects. Of course, you need to do plenty of research beforehand, but let’s say you’ve finally ordered your dream rig. Before you go any further, here’s a checklist of tasks you should perform to unleash the maximum potential of your server PC.
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Perform some quick maintenance tasks
Only after you've inspected the hardware
While the consensus is that you should avoid pre-built gaming systems, the situation is quite different in the home lab landscape. In fact, used workstations from Dell, HP, Lenovo, and other big-name brands are easier to get and offer a lot of upgradability. While it may sound obvious, it’s important to examine all the components to confirm that you got what you paid for.
After that, I recommend performing some common maintenance tasks to ensure your PC operates at its full capacity. For starters, dusting the system will eradicate any traces of dirt and grime on top of preventing the system from overheating. In case the pre-owned server includes some storage drives, it’s a good idea to run some quick diagnostic tests to ensure they’re in proper working order. If it’s a particularly old server chassis, you can reinvigorate the processor(s) by replacing the thermal paste.
Tweak certain BIOS settings
To avoid frequent trips to the firmware settings later down the line
With the basic maintenance complete, it’s time to power on the server PC. But before you start dabbling with the OS, you might want to enable a couple of BIOS settings first. Most workstation hardware released in the last decade supports virtualization and, since most DIY server projects use this functionality, you should start by enabling it. Often found inside the CPU or Advanced settings tab, Xeon-compatible motherboards call it VT-x, while their Red-themed rivals refer to it as AMD-V.
If you’re unable to find either option, your motherboard manufacturer may have listed it as SVM or simply Virtualization instead. I also suggest enabling IOMMU, which is necessary when setting up PCIe passthrough in Linux-based Type-1 hypervisor platforms. Lastly, if you’ve flashed an OS onto a USB drive, be sure to head to the boot order settings and switch the startup priority to it instead of an HDD or SSD. Speaking of operating systems…
Install your favorite OS
Or take your time testing them all!
One of the best aspects of investing in a server PC is that there’s a massive number of operating systems created specifically for home lab projects. Sure, Windows 11 Pro or Ubuntu (and other Linux distros) should be enough to suit the needs of any up-and-coming server enthusiast. But specialized OS like Nextcloud, TrueNAS Scale, and OpenMediaVault are far better if you want to make full use of the server machine.
Plus, most server-grade operating systems (besides Unraid) are free to use, meaning you can test the operating systems to your heart’s content before setting down on one. Once you’ve built your tinkering muscles, you can venture into Proxmox, ESXi, XCP-ng, and other platforms designed for virtualization-intensive workloads.
Check out virtualization projects
Containerization is fun (and confusing when its not)
Docker and Kubernetes may sound familiar to Linux enthusiasts, and there’s a lot more you can do with containerization tools inside workstation PCs besides running a media server or installing a self-hosted VPN/ad-blocker service. Thanks to their sky-high core count and humongous memory capacity, server systems can run a plethora of containers and virtual machines in tandem without breaking a sweat.
From Nginx-powered web servers and Grafana’s robust analytics tools to the Cloud flared tunneling daemon and automation-centric Home Assistant OS, you’d be surprised at the sheer variety of containers you can run on a server PC.
Look into essential upgrades
Especially an Ethernet card
I’ll admit, this step is somewhat optional as there’s a lot you can do with a server machine before needing to amplify its processing power with the latest and greatest hardware. That said, I recommend looking into a 2.5GbE or 5GbE NIC if the Ethernet capacity of your motherboard is restricted to 1GbE. Sure, a 10GbE card may be somewhat overkill for a beginner home lab owner, a 1GbE connection won’t make the cut unless you’re only planning to use the server PC as a streaming box.
Likewise, a GPU can grant some much-needed firepower if you're into developing neural networks and machine learning models. That’s because a discrete graphics card can execute AI algorithms at a much faster speed compared to the average processor. Meanwhile, ECC memory can increase another layer of security for your precious data, making it an essential component of high-end NAS setups.
Adding some extra oomph to your computing setup with a server PC
Besides these tips, there are a handful of tweaks and improvements you can make on the software side of things. NAS setups, especially those running OMV or the TrueNAS lineup, will benefit tremendously from RAID. On the other hand, Proxmox users rocking multiple expansion cards can enable the PCIe passthrough feature to access the devices connected to the motherboard's PCIe sockets inside virtual machines.
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That’s before you include the plethora of tools you can use to document your server configuration and expedite fault diagnosis and recovery when some hardware inevitably breaks down. Either way, one thing’s for sure: the home lab rabbit hole goes a lot deeper than you may imagine, and sooner or later, you’re bound to become a server enthusiast who only fears lost data and sky-high electricity bills.
