"THE SERVER" is an HP ProLiant DL380 Gen9 that was destined for the dumpster at a company.
I was in the right place at the right time and saved it from said dumpster.
It is currently hosting about 4TB of backups, system images, and Linux ISOs. It has 10TB of storage, with a mass SSD upgrade in the works.
The server is running in RAID5 with a dead storage cache battery.
I have installed VMWare ESXi 7 on it and it is configured to be almost completely headless.
I have used it to teach myself the basics of server grade hardware and software, including setting up Active Directory, a VPN, NAS, Virtual machines, and networking (Cisco switches on the way!).
I have also played around with Ubuntu Server, and am currently teaching myself how to deploy a LAMP stack.
To top it all off, this server sits on a block of plywood in a college apartment, with 2 drives missing because I couldn't afford spares when I got it.
It is the epitome of jankiness, and I guard it with my life.
I also have a Dell SAN from 2009.
