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Home Server Build

JoshuaKoe
By JoshuaKoe
in Servers, NAS, and Home Lab
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I'm looking to build a Home Server for:

- Minecraft Server Hosting (Mostly vanilla w/ texture packs)

- Family File Server

- Virtual Machines (Win 10, Win 8, Win 7 etc...)

- Server Network Booting

 

Should I build a server or can I just get away with a normal PC? And what are the recommended specs?

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1 minute ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

A normal pc should be able to handle this.

 

How much storage do you need? Budget in mind? What os are you running?

Im gonna run either Windows 10 or Windows Server. And budget is around $300 - $700. I don't know the recommended storage size for what I'm looking to do.

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1 minute ago, JoshuaKoe said:

Im gonna run either Windows 10 or Windows Server. And budget is around $300 - $700. I don't know the recommended storage size for what I'm looking to do.

Id run a hypervisor on the hardware, so hyper-v if you want windows.

 

Id probably just get a low end desktop here, something like a i3 10100 will be plenty.

 

How much storage do you need? How many tb are your files?

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Just now, Electronics Wizardy said:

Id run a hypervisor on the hardware, so hyper-v if you want windows.

 

Id probably just get a low end desktop here, something like a i3 10100 will be plenty.

 

How much storage do you need? How many tb are your files?

total is around 1 TB. Still need to store the minecraft server, VM files and other documents.

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6 minutes ago, JoshuaKoe said:

total is around 1 TB. Still need to store the minecraft server, VM files and other documents.

Id probably get a ssd for os + vms, then get like a 4 or 8tb hdd for your files and stuffs.

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3 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Id probably get a ssd for os + vms, then get like a 4 or 8tb hdd for your files and stuffs.

alright. I'll try to get something from PC Part Picker.

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42 minutes ago, JoshuaKoe said:

I'm looking to build a Home Server for:

- Minecraft Server Hosting (Mostly vanilla w/ texture packs)

- Family File Server

- Virtual Machines (Win 10, Win 8, Win 7 etc...)

- Server Network Booting

 

Should I build a server or can I just get away with a normal PC? And what are the recommended specs?

 

22 minutes ago, JoshuaKoe said:

alright. I'll try to get something from PC Part Picker.

You could try to build something, or you could buy an old power-edge or something similar for cheap off of eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Poweredge-R720-2x-Xeon-E5-2640-2-5GHz-12-Cores-32gb-H710-2x-750w/233906315652?hash=item3675e72184:g:LPoAAOSw8Q5dyIST

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1 minute ago, birdflyer said:

 

You could try to build something, or you could buy an old power-edge or something similar for cheap off of eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Poweredge-R720-2x-Xeon-E5-2640-2-5GHz-12-Cores-32gb-H710-2x-750w/233906315652?hash=item3675e72184:g:LPoAAOSw8Q5dyIST

That's pretty good. I will have to just buy some storage then I'll be good to go. Thanks a lot!

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Just now, JoshuaKoe said:

That's pretty good. I will have to just buy some storage then I'll be good to go. Thanks a lot!

No problem! 😀

 

Are you putting the server in a closet or somewhere where it is okay for it to make some noise? Servers are loud so keep that in mind when looking at industrial equipment.

 

R U L E  # 1   A b o u t   M e:   I   u s u a l l y   g i v e   D U M B   a d v i c e   a n d   y o u   s h o u l d   n o t   l i s t e n   t o  m e.

 

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3 minutes ago, JoshuaKoe said:

That's pretty good. I will have to just buy some storage then I'll be good to go. Thanks a lot!

Ya looking at that Power-Edge a bit more I am convinced (As long as there is actually nothing wrong with it) that's a freaking awesome deal. Do search a bit more though, you may be able to find something cheaper or a better value. Also look into whether you will be needing a GPU for your VM's. You could always turn a different computer into a VM server later if it is not an immediate need. As far as a file server goes, this would be the Bee's Knees for your potential use case. In fact I am currently running a old Dell Inspiron As far as potential upgrade path's go, I may go that same root (if I can run Ethernet to it that is in a different room, LOL)

R U L E  # 1   A b o u t   M e:   I   u s u a l l y   g i v e   D U M B   a d v i c e   a n d   y o u   s h o u l d   n o t   l i s t e n   t o  m e.

 

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6 minutes ago, birdflyer said:

No problem! 😀

 

Are you putting the server in a closet or somewhere where it is okay for it to make some noise? Servers are loud so keep that in mind when looking at industrial equipment.

 

Probably put that in my garage, storage area, my workshop or closet so I'm fine if it made some noise.

 

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Just now, birdflyer said:

Ya looking at that Power-Edge a bit more I am convinced (As long as there is actually nothing wrong with it) that's a freaking awesome deal. Do search a bit more though, you may be able to find something cheaper or a better value. Also look into whether you will be needing a GPU for your VM's. You could always turn a different computer into a VM server later if it is not an immediate need. As far as a file server goes, this would be the Bee's Knees for your potential use case. In fact I am currently running a old Dell Inspiron As far as potential upgrade path's go, I may go that same root (if I can run Ethernet to it that is in a different room, LOL)

yeah. Ethernet cables are probably the hardest thing to manage here😂

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9 minutes ago, JoshuaKoe said:

yeah. Ethernet cables are probably the hardest thing to manage here😂

Main issue for me is we have no closets in our house and haven't found the time or even know how we would run Ethernet cables around the house so, currently mine sits next to our router. The sound doesn't personally bother me, mainly the other people in my house.

R U L E  # 1   A b o u t   M e:   I   u s u a l l y   g i v e   D U M B   a d v i c e   a n d   y o u   s h o u l d   n o t   l i s t e n   t o  m e.

 

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1 minute ago, birdflyer said:

Main issue for me is we have no closets in our house and haven't found the time or even know how we would run Ethernet cables around the house so, currently mine sits next to our router. The sound doesn't personally bother me, mainly the other people in my house.

you can just route the ethernet cable next to the wall on the floor, that way people won't accidentally step on it. That's how I connect my PC to my router via ethernet.

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11 hours ago, JoshuaKoe said:

you can just route the ethernet cable next to the wall on the floor, that way people won't accidentally step on it. That's how I connect my PC to my router via ethernet.

Awesome suggestion.

 

One final warning before stepping your toes into the server space, and especially the commercial server "community". Unfortunately I have come across many people in this space who are quite stingy about answering questions, or get upset if you don't (for some reason) know part of the basics. Basically for the first few months state that you know nothing and except that you will probably get the same things taught to you time and time again, but hopefully you will also learn something new each time. It is a huge learning curve so be ready for that. Remember that failure is apart of learning so make sure to make backups. Even I am still what I would call a beginner in the server space and I hope to become a lot more literate in this space. If you have trouble feel free to mention me and I would love to try to help. Best of luck to you my friend.

Edited by birdflyer
My terrible speelling

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3 minutes ago, birdflyer said:

Awesome suggestion.

 

One final warning before stepping your toes into the server space, and especially the commercial server "community". Unfortunately I have come across many people in this space who are quite stingy about answering questions, or get upset if you don't (for some reason) know part of the basics. Basically for the first few months state that you know nothing and except that you will probably get the same things tough to you time and time again, but hopefully you will also learn something new each time. It is a huge learning curve so be ready for that. Remember that failure is apart of learning so make sure to make backups. Even I am still what I would call a beginner in the server space and I hope to become a lot more illiterate in this space. If you have trouble feel free to mention me and I would love to try to help. Best of luck to you my friend.

Thanks 🙂

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2 hours ago, JoshuaKoe said:

That's pretty good. I will have to just buy some storage then I'll be good to go. Thanks a lot!

keep in mind these servers consume a ton of power, if electricity is expensive where you are this server is gonna cost multiple times its own price per year to run.

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Posted

someone earlier said to watch out for enterprise grade hardware because its noisy... this is completely true! These servers are meant to be in racks in rooms with noise isolation and AC... 

 

For example, my RS210 ThinkServer's fans run full chooch and they sound like a blow drier.. this machines specs are 1U, x3430, 4gb ram, 2tb storage... nothing special..

 

I picked up a ThinkStation S30... Xeon 1660v2, 32gb ram and a few SSD's and spinning rust.. even under extreme load.. is far far quieter than the 1U rack server.. like.. i cant even hear it right next to the thing...

 

The ThinkServer is "Enterprise Grade" (well.. was many years ago) and the ThinkStation is "Workstation" grade.. I'm missing things of mediocre importance in a home environment like IMPI (remote restarts, os independent hardware monitoring among other things)

 

So you may want to take that into consideration..

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12 hours ago, JoshuaKoe said:

I'm looking to build a Home Server for:

- Minecraft Server Hosting (Mostly vanilla w/ texture packs)

- Family File Server

- Virtual Machines (Win 10, Win 8, Win 7 etc...)

- Server Network Booting

 

Should I build a server or can I just get away with a normal PC? And what are the recommended specs?

You could easily get away with using a normal PC. It just depends on what your planning to do on your Minecraft server and how many players your going to host. If your going to run on vanilla, then you fine as long as your able to allocate at least 3GB of RAM to your server. 

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11 hours ago, birdflyer said:

I hope to become a lot more illiterate in this space

I think you meant literate?  man that made me chuckle 😄

 

Please quote my post, or put @paddy-stone if you want me to respond to you.

Spoiler
  • PCs:- 
  • Main PC build  https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/2K6Q7X
  • ASUS x53e  - i7 2670QM / Sony BD writer x8 / Win 10, Elemetary OS, Ubuntu/ Samsung 830 SSD
  • Lenovo G50 - 8Gb RAM - Samsung 860 Evo 250GB SSD - DVD writer
  •  
  • Displays:-
  • Philips 55 OLED 754 model
  • Panasonic 55" 4k TV
  • LG 29" Ultrawide
  • Philips 24" 1080p monitor as backup
  •  
  • Storage/NAS/Servers:-
  • ESXI/test build  https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/4wyR9G
  • Main Server https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/3Qftyk
  • Backup server - HP Proliant Gen 8 4 bay NAS running FreeNAS ZFS striped 3x3TiB WD reds
  • HP ProLiant G6 Server SE316M1 Twin Hex Core Intel Xeon E5645 2.40GHz 48GB RAM
  •  
  • Gaming/Tablets etc:-
  • Xbox One S 500GB + 2TB HDD
  • PS4
  • Nvidia Shield TV
  • Xiaomi/Pocafone F2 pro 8GB/256GB
  • Xiaomi Redmi Note 4

 

  • Unused Hardware currently :-
  • 4670K MSI mobo 16GB ram
  • i7 6700K  b250 mobo
  • Zotac GTX 1060 6GB Amp! edition
  • Zotac GTX 1050 mini

 

 

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10 minutes ago, paddy-stone said:

I think you meant literate?  man that made me chuckle

Ya, I was a bit tired, It's fixed now (I hope). Thanks for pointing that out. 😂

R U L E  # 1   A b o u t   M e:   I   u s u a l l y   g i v e   D U M B   a d v i c e   a n d   y o u   s h o u l d   n o t   l i s t e n   t o  m e.

 

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