Restoring an IBM System x3650 M2 enterprise server from 2010.
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looks like fire damage.
Typical IBM. When they work, they almost bullet proof. But when they break, it's ugly. Beautiful machine.👍
This could well have been the result of a building fire. Some fire suppressions can leave residue dunno though obviously
That server looks like it was though a fire. The grime is soot and smoke residue and the water damage is from sprinklers. That would be my guess at least.
Careful with that brake cleaner, it eats rubber / plastics. I believe the ABS sensor safe versions are better for this but I would still avoid it near electronics.
Man, I love enterprise gear! Everything is so thought through and modular.
I appreciate you courting old-age cancer for our entertainment today. Your workshop is now a superfund candidate.
Yea ADP and the Okidata branded ADP printers too. If anybody wants to go down a costly rabbit hole. The upside was all the equipment, software, etc etc. was already per-configured to plug in and mostly go. But, if you was just to purchase the hardware separate in some cases. It was $$$ less. If they would give you that option. I don't know about ADP but most of those type of systems started out on Mini computers and moved into x86 systems due to cost saving. Well for the company mfg. the software / hardware. Not really towards the end customer.
Looks like it was running at a dealership. Their server closet probably was just set it in the back with the mechanics where theres soot and brake dust all over. Probably a carcinogen.
Evaporust would work great on that big metal sheet.
what a beaut of a server! Is using contact cleaner safe on CPU sockets? Those things are so fragile, anything will bend a pin. Regardless, nice to see IBM including those handy little diagnostic lights, it's just cool to have for what ever reason even when the system works.
Hey, me again… So what you have here is a server that ran a DMS, dealer management system. I am not sure what the product was called when ADP owned it, but nowadays the division was sold off to a company called CDK Global, and the new iteration of the software is called Drive. I haven't watched the video yet but it will be running a heavily customized version of CentOS (or maybe RHEL) I believe. This was absolutely located in a dealership of some kind, I am intimately familiar with the software. The software manages the entire dealership from service department, to part sales and inventory, HR and payroll…all text menu (green screen) driven. There is almost certainly data on those drives. I actually work for a dealership (as IT) and one of the first things we did during my employment was migrate away from this CDK drive into a platform called Excede. The dealership had migrated away from autonet years prior in favor of SD-WAN. Autonet was really just T1. I still have a working instance of drive running if you wanted a closer look, but its not very exciting stuff.
At least it looks way better than my Sun X4500, that was in good condition, when ordered, but then the delivery guy let it fell from a pallet , even cpu socket was ripped off
i just use a hammer each time my server bricks it self surprisingly it boots right after.
9:39 not the connectors😩
Got 2 R410’s one was a little dirty the other one was something like this machine but without the rust.
I would have tried to JB weld the button for the light path module
This is the server I use for my home NAS, the main difference being its branded by Cisco. Happy to see you restoring it, it's a nice piece of hardware.
Other than the LPD providing a code, doesn't this model have a management port and interface? The default userID and password can prob be reset.
This is a server from "CDK" (formerly ADP). DMS = Dealer Management System. They are often found at car dealerships in North America. Past few years they have moved 'serverless' now relying on SD-WAN. I encounter these all the time. As far as the IBM 3650m2 – it was a solid machine. I still have one running at my office, we will decommission it. The IP address on the front of the server is likely not reachable via the Internet. CDK (ADP) used a Cisco WAN to extend that IP address out to the dealership. Controls printers and communication to/from the CDK data center.
I love the industrial design of servers
look like it was in a fire
Yup, 13 years ago feels like yesterday. When I had hair.
almost looks like its been in a fire
I had been feeling like this machine had spent some time as a homelab in a basement or garage from the looks of the residue in there, and I feel like an auto plant (or even a larger dealership) tracks with that, like you're seeing a decade of buildup from oil changes and radiator flushes.
My first thought with this is smoke damage. While this server obviously wasn’t burning, I wonder if something near it caught fire and had to be extinguished. That might explain the minor moisture damage and soot (maybe?) inside. Enjoying the restoration and looking forward to part 2.
It looks like it was in a data center fire and the damage on the case looks like it got hit by water instead of halon like most data enters use
Such a dog to work on, you have my sympathies mate!
ADP had a sewerage pipe burst at a data center back in 2011 in Ohio. Caused an outage if I remember correctly.
I used to deploy these systems… My main gripe was always the absolutely ridiculous BIOS boot time
Water damage and a black soot like dust?…..perhaps it was in a building that had a fire ?
This server has seen some shit.
You ever thought about getting one of them electric cleaners? Would be good for the smaller boards and things. They really clean things good. They probably have ones for the bigger board but I am sure they are very expensive. Or put it in your dish washer (I hear people do that with motherboards). Also I hear BW100 is great for cleaning electrical stuff. It's non conductive and drys like IPA if not faster.
It must of been in some sort of Fire
6:15 That is an xclarity license key and may be the only part worth anything from that machine. Good luck!
Is it possible this server was in the vicinity of a fire, and maybe got splashed with water?
Or has someone just run it in their garage for a few years?
The fact you didn't wear gloves really proves there is a thin line between madness and bravery
I got one HP proliant dl 360p gen 8 and 2 Proliant dl380P gen 8 but rgey say that IBM is more easy to work whiy i dont know but i will get one some day…What do people do whit there computers/servers????….where have this server been ? in a factory?…brrrr….do people know abiut taking care of there servers? clean them etc…they work longer if they take care of them..By the way do you know about ILO? My 360 does not find the ILO and the IP adress and i have try every thing but stil and i am not a technican so i dont know what to do or search…
Man, that server was grungy! I've pulled a few servers apart that had a little bit of that filth with close to 10 years of service, but nothing like that! Wow!
This has more than a slight resemblance to the Lenovo RD220 which is "the server" where I work. Turns out it wasn't being used for much so I shut it down this year and nobody was affected. As part of a Wi-Fi upgrade I then installed a same-generation HP DL320 G6 with Proxmox to run the UniFi controller and an OpnSense instance. These old servers run the exact same software as new servers so I don't consider them retro. If they supported software (or hardware gizmos) not usable on modern systems then I would call them retro. Actually then I'd call it vintage but whatever. It's nice to see stuff come back from being junk no matter what you call it.
I start looking for part two and then I noticed that this video is just one day ago. I mistakenly overlooked and thought it was one year ago. Crap!