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I'm sure it would have a protocol for overheating, simply by shutting down, but would a server have a protocol for failing parts? For example, failing fans, or damaged power supply?

Javontae
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2 Answers2

23

There are some hardware features that are common in servers but relatively rare in home pcs:

  • Redundant power supplies
  • ECC RAM with ECC-supporting motherboard and CPU
  • SAS for hard drive error checking
  • "server-grade" motherboard

But if there is any problem, the hardware handles major faliures (there is thermal shutdown in 100% of modern CPUs and GPUs, and redundant power management is also handled by hardware), but other things are handled by software, which means it isn't server-specific.

grawity
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hatalmasalma
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13

In addition to what is mentioned in the answer, servers may have additional remote management facilities built in compared to a consumer computer.

This can be be manufacturer specific. E.g.:

  1. HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise) has Integrated Lights-Out (iLO), which How is HPE iLO unique? contains:

    To help you manage your servers more easily, this embedded management process runs on a separate microprocessor chip (which is why it is called “out-of-band management”). This way, HPE iLO remains available, even when the server suffers a failure. You can use iLO to determine precisely what went wrong and then fix it quickly and efficiently, even if you are unable to power up your server.

  2. Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) contains:

    The iDRAC is a piece of hardware that sits on the server motherboard that allows Systems Administrators to update and manage Dell systems, even when the server is turned off.

Chester Gillon
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