There are all kinds of reasons to buy used or refurbished servers instead of new ones; that’s probably why so many companies do it. From saving money to reducing their carbon footprint, there are plenty of advantages and very few disadvantages. Just like with new servers, though, you have to make sure you’re getting the best models for your needs. New or not, a server should still deliver top-notch performance and full functionality. The question is, which used servers are most dependable?
You should consider which brand you want, but you also have to decide which line of servers gives you the most relevant features. One option is to decide on the right brand, and then ask a sales representative from a trusted seller to guide you to the best choice. For instance, you might already know that you want refurbished HP servers, but you aren’t sure which line would be most suitable for your business. A knowledgeable seller could get to know what you need the servers for, and tell you exactly which one would work best.
If you want to brush up on the subject for yourself, just keep reading; below you’ll find more information on the best used servers to buy in 2022.
Supermicro Servers
Supermicro’s servers are produced as part of their whitebox service, so if you’re considering them you should know what you’re getting into. On the one hand, you’ll have lower acquisition costs; for some people, that’s a big plus. On the other hand, the services that are included are a lot less comprehensive.
That being said, Supermicro does include a 4-hour response time for urgent cases in its support contracts. If you buy servers without a comprehensive support contract, you could simply keep plenty of spare parts on hand and trust that clusters will keep functioning if one server stops working.
Quanta Servers
If your company doesn’t need a full service suite from an organization like Dell-EMC, Quanta might be a good option to consider. They provide a ton of server options, including GPGPU, cluster, and multinode servers, microservers, and 1U servers. Quanta is quickly becoming one of the most interesting names in servers, since they serve as both ODM and OEM.
Lenovo ThinkSystem Servers
Lenovo hasn’t historically been one of the biggest players where servers are concerned, but they’ve been making strategic decisions in the last few years that have turned them into serious competitors. In 2014 they acquired IBM’s x86 server, which put them in a more favorable position for the enterprise server ecosystem, and made them more agile compared to HPE or Dell EMC. According to experts, Lenovo is staking their claim on the hyperscale market, including large-scale enterprise data centers
The ThinkSystem models were released in 2017, and people immediately started taking notice. They include hardware that’s set world-record benchmarks, the Intel Xeon Scalable processors.
- 2U Lenovo ThinkSystem SR550
This server is made for enterprises of any size, and is supposed to represent an economical solution for key workloads.
- 1U Lenovo ThinkSystem SR570
It covers multiple bases, such as typical IT, visualization, and cloud workloads.
- Lenovo ThinkSystem SR650
This represents a big step forward in Lenovo’s server offerings, since it’s highly expandable, gives good value, and is well designed. The all-new xClarity Controller cements Lenovo’s place in today’s server management.
- Lenovo ThinkSystem SR670
It’s optimized for performance, cooling, and access; instead of being fixed along a static motherboard, the system has its various functions located throughout the system. Rather than PCIe slots, flexible PCI lanes provide integrated modularity.
HPE ProLiant Gen10 Servers
This line represents a refresh of HPE’s line, released in 2017. It focuses on better manageability and security, especially at the firmware level; this includes an integrated lights out (iLO) offering, using iLO firmware and customized HPE silicon. This design is supposed to prevent servers from executing corrupted firmware code, and repel firmware attacks.
- HPE Apollo 6000 Gen10 System
If you ask HPE, their Apollo 6000 Gen10 System has the most secure HPC system out there. It’s a large commercial HPC platform, which is air-cooled and made to deliver more than 300 teraflops per rack. The price performance is supposed to be exceptional, as is the rack-scale efficiency.
- HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10
The storage department of this server got a refresh thanks to its modular design. Its Smart Array RAID controllers also got uprated, now offering more interface and storage choices. It can participate in Big Data functions, house database apps, anchor the core of a virtual machine network, become part of a cloud, serve files, and more.
- HPE ProLiant DL580 Gen10
This is HPE’s 4U expandable option, or their “workhorse server”. It has a flexible processor tray and drive cage. The processor tray can support between one and four Intel Xeon Scalable processors (including up to 28 cores in each processor), with up to 6 terabytes of memory. The drive cage can contain up to 48 storage devices.
Dell PowerEdge Servers
- Dell PowerEdge R740
This server family was part of Dell’s refresh announcement in 2017. The R740 has a more mainstream appeal, and there’s also a R740xd (or “extreme disk”) version. With a modular platform, these servers can excel in almost any application. The R740xd’s 2U chassis is paired with a top-quality remote management act for a complete range of storage capabilities.
- Dell PowerEdge R940
It’s designed to offer power without being bulky; the 4-socket Xeon Scalable solution delivers on that promise. The R940xa is a variant on this server that brings a bit more oomph for any organization that needs it.
The takeaway
The great thing about used and refurbished servers is that they’ll always be available. Plus, with global supply chain issues affecting pretty much every industry, the idea of buying anything refurbished is more appealing now than ever. They’re the best choice if you’re trying to maximize your budget, and you’ll never have to wait on emergency spare parts. If you find a reliable seller, the hardest part of buying used servers will be figuring out which model you need.