GlorifiedPaperShuffler

Back to the hardware a little... I still don't know WHY I'd buy a Xeon Scalable Silver for the purposes of a home server. I can certainly afford it, but at this moment it feels like I'm buying a Lambo as a grocery getter. I'm not saying I'd want a Corolla as a grocery getter either, even though it is fit for purpose. Perhaps something in the Mercedes Benz range? What would be a processor equivalent to the Mercedes Benz range?

So having taken a quick look at ESXi, my fantasies started shifting. I might just go with 1 server with virtualized FreeNAS/pfsense. Here are the specs, mostly server grade I think: Never played with Xeon before. No idea if the Scalable series is suitable. I just picked the maximum I could afford. Also dropped some storage capacity, since I don't REALLY need 40TB.

My guests often include co-workers and higher ups of my employer. Can't really boot them out without losing the means of building sweet ass home networks.

Yeah, no, I'm not gonna run used hardware. I've had an unRaid box for a while now, and this home server/networking stuff is like crack to me. Endless tinkering, playing with nifty new Dockers, new VMs, etc. It's also a minor passion for me. I used to do physical networking for banks. Having my own mini "datacenter" setup is a minor dream, and these two servers are a starting point for that. (Sweet setup btw! I don't know what to do with all that space yet, but I wanna end up there some day.) From what I understand, the router processes data transfers between subnets (routing!). The pfSense box will eventually be processing data transfers between my home security network (estimated maybe 5-6 high res cameras), my smarthome network, maybe my own personal cloud accessible via VPN, etc. etc. I'd like to eventually kill off my Google Drive/MEGA subscription. Do you run multiple subnets? I see two people suggested ESXi. Sounds like more tinkering, which is great! But why? Is there any particular advantage to virtualizing pfsense/FreeNAS? My reasons for a dedicated pfsense box is at the start of this post. There will be multiple subnets. Does it matter enough to justify a dedicated box? Reason for using different cables is cost reduction, and ease of passing a Fluke test (for CAT-6). Back when I did physical networking it was a PITA to test/certify CAT-6A. Also, again, you're the second person to mention ESXi. Is there any particular advantage to doing so?

Hey guys (this is Austin), I decided to start a new thread this time, because this is about the entire server system and not just the case. I'm building 2 servers for my new home, one for pfsense and another for FreeNAS (which will run a variety of things via Docker/Plugins like Emby, openHAB, etc.). I think I've narrowed down the specs quite a bit, but I can't help but feel that a sanity check is in-order before I pull the trigger on thousands of dollars of gear. In particular, I feel like the pfsense box is way overkill for home use, but I might also be wrong, and have no idea how to build a cheaper machine. Intel's website does not make it easy for a nub like me to figure out how to step it down sensibly. Can you guys take a look and tell me if I'm being an idiot? The setup is for my new home. I will be running 1x CAT-6A and 1x CAT-6 to every room for physical layer. There will be a rack in one of the rooms, with a patch panel for easy management. Connection wise, both my main PC and the Media Box will be connected via the 10G uplink ports of the switch for fast file transfers. Everyone else should be on 1G. Use case is primarily media serving via Emby, but I will also be using openHAB, and whatever IP CCTV solution is available to be investigated later. Here are the specs: (NO I am not Austin, but it just seems like a natural follow up to "Hey guys". Austin, please don't sue me for impersonation)

This is a solution for my main server, but not my pfsense server. That is a 2U unit, so a regular ATX PSU will be choked for air.

Uh, so dumb question, Do you have any recommendations for a PSU? Most ATX PSUs I find have an angled airflow, where air enters the bottom of a PSU. Obviously, this won't work too well in a rack chassis. Preferably something with modular cables. I like to keep my systems clean.

Shit man, this is why I come here. You win. Literally within the hour too!

Hey there, I'm building a FreeNAS server. One that will outpace my current home server by leaps and bounds. I am also going to be rack mounting this puppy, in a rack with a glass front. I want the front face of the server to be aesthetically pleasing enough to not offend house guests. Even better if there's tempered glass so I can play with RGB too. But I've yet to find a single server chassis that would qualify as "non-offensive". There's one from iStarUSA, the DN-400 that would work, but for some insane reason it has the 3.5" HDD cage oriented sideways, basically blocking the path of airflow to the motherboard. That's a no-go. So I figured I'd come to the folks who deal with server chassis more often than I do. Have you guys seen anything that made you go "damn, that's pretty"? If so, please tell me. I don't have many requirements: At least 1 USB 3.0 or greater front I/O. Supports mATX to ATX motherboard. Supports regular desktop ATX power supply. Uses 120mm fans at minimum, or is otherwise relatively quiet if smaller (i.e., not that Gigabyte watercooled server Linus showed) Supports around 6-8 3.5" HDDs Supports 1-2 2.5" SSDs NO HOTSWAP BS (FreeNAS doesn't really need it, and I don't really want to pay for hardware that I won't use)

I find that hitting the Windows Key does the same thing. Yes, I am on Windows 10. But that really isn't a solution. Just a duct tape fix.

Alright, I think I've hit upon a really strange problem. I have a GTX 1070 FE. I also have 3x Asus VS247 monitors. The monitors do not have DisplayPort inputs, so I have 3x DisplayPort to HDMI cables. All fine and dandy. I set up NVidia Surround and installed Flawless Widescreen some time ago so I can play games with all three monitors. I switch back and forth between Surround and Extend mode using NVidia Control Panel. Problem: When the computer goes into standby mode, it plays the "disconnect" and "reconnect" sound, over and over and over again. It will not stop until I bring the PC out of standby. The reason I suspect shenanigans with the graphics/display side of things is that my displays "jump around" during standby. So the icons, which I usually only have on Monitor 1, may end up in Monitor 2 or 3. Also, if you catch it *just* right, one of my monitors will come back on showing with pure static (like the old-timey television white/black dots static). If I turn the monitor off, and on again, the static goes away. Other symptoms include GPU activity being reported by GPU-Z. The clock speeds pulse on and off at about the same rate as the "connect/disconnect" sounds playing, which furthered my suspicion of the GPU/display. This activity is during standby. I have no idea what is going on. So far, I've uninstalled Flawless Widescreen and all plugins, but that didn't seem to work. Ideas?

I genuinely wonder why a design like this isn't more mainstream. Seems like a brilliant idea. In any case, if I win one of these, it's going to turn my office into a crazy media consumption center. Imagine, reading Word documents plastered over an entire wall!

So I'm a STEP user, and I went with the Extended install path recently. Started a fresh save and everything. Problem is, it appears that something about STEP Extended is causing my GPU to crash. I get the following Event Viewer message in Windows 10: And at the same time: Followed by: When this happens, both my monitors go black, and the fans on my PC and GPU crank up to full speed. Hence why I concluded that the GPU driver is crashing. This GPU is the ASUS DirectCU II GTX 780 Ti, with a factory overclock. I don't think it is the GPU actually overheating, since the fans don't really do anything until immediately prior to the crash. Nor do I think my PC has insufficient power (it's a Corsair RM550). My current suspicion is the ENBoost that is part of STEP is causing some sort of issue, since if I understand ENBs correctly, it is basically an interface between Skyrim and Direct3D. Any ideas/solutions? PC Specifications:

I figured that Linux remote desktop is not as advanced. But there are some applications I use (like Deluge in thin client mode) that I simply can't be bothered to learn the CLI commands for. Hence my need for GUIs and Remote Desktop. In either case, someone's suggestion above for VNC guides on YouTube worked out really well. Kinda laggy, but its performance is acceptable for the occasional checking of torrents.

So I gave it a shot by looking it up on YouTube. This video worked perfectly. Thanks!

VNC does not support Ubuntu's Unity interface IIRC. All the guides have you installing some shitty GUI that I just plain don't like.

Hello everyone, I'm trying to figure out a convenient way to control my home server from my desktop. I'm currently using TeamViewer, but it always asks for a password, even for LAN connections. I can't stop it from doing so. What I've been doing is therefore to use TeamViewer's account/contacts system with Easy Authentication to connect. However, this method defaults to using the Internet connection to control, and I don't like the security risks this poses (there's some important shit on this server). Basically, I have the server connected to my monitor via VGA, but I don't have any extra keyboards/mice or space for them. As such, I want to be able to connect my desktop's keyboard/mouse to the Ubuntu box via LAN, and only LAN. Is there a way to achieve this?

I was 10 seconds from dropping the money on these parts, and then I noticed this popped up: The Corsair XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory operating voltage of 1.65V exceeds the Intel Haswell Refresh CPU recommended maximum of 1.5V+5% (1.575V). This memory module may run at a reduced clock rate to meet the 1.5V voltage recommendation, or may require running at a voltage greater than the Intel recommended maximum. Wat? I've never had an issue with my previous builds with Corsair RAM, but does it matter at all for the i3-4160? Updated parts list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vRk7cf

Fair enough. I'll edit the original post.

No, it is not on an enclosed shelf. It's an open air bookshelf that my router sits on, and this NAS will sit next to it. I think I can forgo 4K content for now, since none of my screens are 4K. However, I already have some existing content in 4K... Not sure what you mean by HDMI2. There is no physical connection between this box and any screen. Everything will be streamed over the network. Does this matter? There will be zero gaming done on this machine. I already have a beastly desktop for all my gaming needs. It will purely be used to store important files and stream media over the network.

I'm not 100% sure about this, but doesn't the Sugo SG13 only have 1 3.5" bay? My storage needs are ever growing. Right now I already have 6TB when I started 2 years ago with 2 TB. I'd like some expandability...

I have the rest of my house (TV, XBox, 3-5 tablets, etc.) set up to stream from my Windows desktop already. However, it's an annoyance because my PC goes to sleep to conserve power (Duke Energy does not need my help to stay in business), and when that happens, I have no means of streaming besides going downstairs, waking the PC, and then going back upstairs to watch. I am building this so it'll run 24/7 and I can have access to my media whenever I want.

I'd love to. I've built a few PCs, and only one was AMD for a damn good reason. Unfortunately, I have zero clue about Intel's lower range of processors, or what would be a "good fit" for this HTPC.

So I'm building a new HTPC that will also function as a NAS server. I have a parts list set out, but I get an inkling that it's slightly overkill. Goals: Costs less than $500. Run as a headless server sitting on a shelf, being quiet as possible. Case is non-negotiable, since I find the Node 304 to be ideal for display on a shelf. Runs Ubuntu or some other user-friendly Linux distro. I'm not interested in paying for Windows. Accessible GUI from my regular Windows 10 desktop. Must be able to run PLEX 24/7 with all of its features including transcoding etc. for 1080p videos. Should also have other media server software that is more friendly to "private" videos. Plex does not easily comprehend standalone files organized neatly into folders. Have the ability to sync certain folders/drives with multiple services such as Google Drive, OneDrive, DropBox, etc. Let's call this the "important shit" drive. Every service should simultaneously have one copy of the contents of this drive. Safe, stable, long term storage of media files including photos, videos, etc. No RAID, because it just isn't necessary for these files. The stuff I'd want in RAID is already in the "important shit" drive. Let Google handle the advanced backup stuff. Parts List: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vRk7cf What do you guys think? I am also very familiar with how to build a gaming PC that is stable, efficient, quiet and will crush any modern AAA games. Hell, I can even RGB, water cool, and overclock the shit out of the system. I've built multiples of such PCs. However, when it comes to quiet, efficient and low-powered computers that will run 24/7 in the background, doing its thing, and just has to play high resolution videos over the network for minimum cost, I don't have a clue. I don't keep up with the mid to low end of CPUs for example. So right now I know how to get myself from Goals 1 through 4, but I don't know how to get from 5 to 9. Help?

Jesus Christ. I had an inkling there might be another version of the Mark 1 that I wasn't aware of, based on 0x1e's post. So I searched again on Asus's website. Lo' and behold, there was another version, and I just updated my bios without a hitch. All that hair pulling and table slamming, over something so simple. Thanks everyone for the help. I guess this is what they mean when they say "let's get a fresh pair of eyes on this".