Idle power consumption

ℹ️ Support
1

I’m trying to build a new Ubuntu server that is going to run Nextcloud. Since the device is going to run 24/7, low power consumption during idle is of upmost importance to me.

Has anyone measured how much power drain running Nextcloud actually adds to your system, when Nextcloud is running but not actually being used?

2

The power consumption depends on many things and isn’t that easy to compare:

  • which CPU (35W, 65W, 90W, …?)
  • type of RAM (high or low voltage) and number of modules
  • number of hard disk drives (raid?) and if they can go to sleep (server settings)
  • frequency of jobs and what they do (cron job for example)
  • power supply efficiency
  • number of cooling fans and how aggressive they cool

If you care about low power consumption, it might be more important what hardware you pick. And when setting up the server it is rather about sending hard disks to sleep early and avoid waking them up. Furthermore avoid intense background jobs.
For Nextcloud itself, I’d say the footprint is rather small. Apart from the background job Nextcloud needs to run, it only puts load on the CPU and hard disk if somebody accesses the server. So without somebody accessing the server it is rather the power consumption the system itself in IDLE state.

3

TOMillr,

I understand where you’re coming from.

I’ve just ordered the parts to build a Pi based NextCloud Box as well as an ODroid HC2 with a Samsung SSD. Though I have neither yet, once up and running, I’ll plan to attach each unit to a Kill-a-Watt and try to Answer your question.

Cheers