Network / home server

[total-noob]

So I'm building myself a house. Being an owner-builder I have the option to build it however I like (as long as it's to code). I am still in the building phase with actual construction happening spring 2021 (pending the apocalypse). I want to install a wired network into my house so that I can have ethernet where I expect there to be a TV or a wireless router or whatnot. But also, my office is going to be right beside my utility room. So I was wondering about setting up a server rack in my utility closet. I really want to keep everything clean and tidy so i think a nice little enclosed rack would be nice. (Also the cool nerd factor of having a server rack in my house is cute). I've done a lot of homework, but I'm looking to this glorious forum that helped me build my first PC to seek out your opinions and ideas. Maybe I'm doing this in a really dumb way. Maybe I'm missing something. Let me know what you think.

 

Budget (including currency): $~5000CAD (not including computers) I'm in a privileged position where cost is less of an issue for this. I just don't want to waste money.

Country: Kootenays, BC, Canada

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Server rack: data storage/media player, 24/7 F@H rig, Main PC,

Networking: wired internet connectivity house-wide

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

 

Here's what I'm going for:

 

A server rack containing:

- NAS (either 12TBx2 or 4TBx4 RAID I'm not sure what would be better, but that would satisfy my data needs for a while) probably Synology because they seem the most reputable.

- My main desktop PC (My computer desk is going to be directly on the other side of the wall so it makes sense to put it in a 4U case and just wiring everything through the wall would eliminate all noise & heat issues)

- F@H rig (My PC is 3 years old, so after Ryzen 40XX and RTX 30XX come out I'll be upgrading and I want to turn my current rig into a full-time F@H rig)

- Networking mumbo jumbo (Ok, so I know the basics of how a home network works, but when it comes to EXACTLY what I need i always get a little confused)

- UPS (An absolute must. I live in the country and the power regularly goes out after heavy snowfall. I'll have a standby generator for sure, but they take 15-60seconds to boot up.)

 

In house networking:

I'm really unsure if I should go 1, 2.5, or 10Gbit. I want to be as fast as I need without wasting money. I'll probably wire the house and shop with Cat6 cable just to future-proof myself as upgrading that later wouldn't be practical.

My shop will be about 200 feet away from the house, can I just run a buried/protected Cat6 cable that far?

 

Anyways that's what I've got so far. I really want to rig up a way to catch all the heat coming out of the rack and either exhaust it straight outside in the summer or collect it and circulate it into the house in the winter (maybe save me a couple bucks on my heating bill).

 

 

[Prodigy_Smit]

@total-noob Cat6 would be a good idea for future proofing. 10 GB ethernet is very overkill for normal use, I had 1 GB but i upgraded to 2.5 GB recently and its well worth the upgrade. I suggest looking at the 45drives website https://www.45drives.com/ and see if you want to get a server from there. Getting a good 2.5 GB switch is essential because a bad switch  just causes necessary problems. Also running every server and PC on your network wired is essential. 

Also don't overspend on your server make sure to get something that you can actually use. Last thing if you can get a 2 or 4 u chassis for a server it is quite easy to build your own which I have done for a file, plex and minecraft server.

I am not familiar with UPS's so cant recommend anything but you should be able to get something to keep the server on for 5 minutes for a decent price.

[tzaitam]

@total-noob Go for at least Cat6 cabling but look into what the price difference is for Cat6A. I would argue that you should run as much ethernet as possible, you do not know what appliances will need networking in the future (fridge, speakers, washing machine and so on) and make sure you have some connections for access points.

 

Running copper cable between your house and the shop might not be the best idea, you will have issues with grounding and it is not hard to find examples of thunder hitting ethernet in the ground. You can run fiber or use some point to point wireless.

 

I'm happy with my Synology NAS (918+) but I think you should look at Qnap as well, they usually have better performance (CPU, 10Gb ethernet) at the same price but maybe not quite as user friendly as Synologys DSM. In any case buy something you can grow in, it is easier to add hard drives than to replace them.

 

Make sure your server rack has enough dept for what you want to do, some racks are designed more for networking and you will not be able to fit a server or UPS in them.