I want to buy a server

[apt-get install Windows]

The server would be used for VMware ESXi for hosting my media streaming/file server, VPN server and PF sense.

 

Maybe some other things later. What would you buy?

 

Where I live it's impossible to find reasonably priced hardware, is any of this even worth thinking about?:

 

Dell Poweredge R620 , Intel Xeon E-26XX v2 – 1 year old

Dell R 710 Dual Xeon P095G XEON X5670 (2.93GHZ) - 3 years old

Dell PowerEdge 310 - 3 years old

 

HP ProLiant DL380 G6 E5540

 

HP HP ProLiant DL380 G7 SFF -DL380 G7

 

 

Thanks

[DarrenP]

The server would be used for VMware ESXi for hosting my media streaming/file server, VPN server and PF sense.

 

Maybe some other things later. What would you buy?

 

Where I live it's impossible to find reasonably priced hardware, is any of this even worth thinking about?:

 

Dell Poweredge R620 , Intel Xeon E-26XX v2 – 1 year old

Dell R 710 Dual Xeon P095G XEON X5670 (2.93GHZ) - 3 years old

Dell PowerEdge 310 - 3 years old

 

HP ProLiant DL380 G6 E5540

 

HP HP ProLiant DL380 G7 SFF -DL380 G7

 

 

Thanks

Where are you from? You could always look at building it yourself? If not and you're looking for used:

 http://www.servermonkey.com/

and Ebay, are the only places i would suggest buying used server hardware from. Well that an Kijiji/Craigslist

[Hans Christian | Teri]

Unless you have a dedicated server room in your house I would stay far away from any of those. While they're all cool and everything they're NOISY AS HELL.

[Firearm2112]

my dad once housed the server for the company he worked for. it was this big ass black thing that put off so much heat and was so loud. 

[apt-get install Windows]

Where are you from? You could always look at building it yourself? If not and you're looking for used:

 http://www.servermonkey.com/

and Ebay, are the only places i would suggest buying used server hardware from. Well that an Kijiji/Craigslist

Build myself? Like the ones I see in the build-logs section? Isn't it kinda expensive buying all new parts, especially regarding norwegian prices?

 

I live in Norway and all the servers I suggested above Id have to travel 5-6 hours by car to get to. 10+ hour drive total.

 

Also whatever price you expect them to be at, double that.

[apt-get install Windows]

Unless you have a dedicated server room in your house I would stay far away from any of those. While they're all cool and everything they're NOISY AS HELL.

I have a garage  

[wpirobotbuilder]

The server would be used for VMware ESXi for hosting my media streaming/file server, VPN server and PF sense.

 

Maybe some other things later. What would you buy?

 

Where I live it's impossible to find reasonably priced hardware, is any of this even worth thinking about?:

 

Dell Poweredge R620 , Intel Xeon E-26XX v2 – 1 year old

Dell R 710 Dual Xeon P095G XEON X5670 (2.93GHZ) - 3 years old

Dell PowerEdge 310 - 3 years old

 

HP ProLiant DL380 G6 E5540

 

HP HP ProLiant DL380 G7 SFF -DL380 G7

 

 

Thanks

Don't get the 310. The CPUs that went into those were very slow compared to today's CPUs and will be far less power efficient.

 

What exactly will you be doing with it? If you are doing a lot of stuff with virtualization (virtual machines, ESXi, Hyper-V, Xen) then you want a system with more cores (so you'd want the R710).

 

What processors does the DL380 G7 have in it? What specific processor does the R620 have in it?

[apt-get install Windows]

Don't get the 310. The CPUs that went into those were very slow compared to today's CPUs and will be far less power efficient.

 

What exactly will you be doing with it? If you are doing a lot of stuff with virtualization (virtual machines, ESXi, Hyper-V, Xen) then you want a system with more cores (so you'd want the R710).

 

What processors does the DL380 G7 have in it? What specific processor does the R620 have in it?

 

The DL380 G7 has an Intel Xeon X5650. I Messaged the Seller of the R620 for the specific processor.

 

Thanks for the awesome answer

 

 

You wouldn't happen to know why it's not recommended to run a media / file server in a VM?

[Englishman]

I'd go with the dl380 G7 then buy another processor to drop in it. I have used a fair few of those servers before and they are quite nice, although the drives aren't the cheapest to get if you want a decent capacity

Also... ram capacity?

[apt-get install Windows]

I'd go with the dl380 G7 then buy another processor to drop in it. I have used a fair few of those servers before and they are quite nice, although the drives aren't the cheapest to get if you want a decent capacity

Also... ram capacity?

Drives? I thought you could use any HDD with SATA?

 

Also I'm just looking for something to start out with I probably won't have more than 6 or 8 TB in it. I'm also going to be the only one using it. As long as it can handle streaming it's fine

 

Thanks

[wpirobotbuilder]

The DL380 G7 has an Intel Xeon X5650. I Messaged the Seller of the R620 for the specific processor.

 

Thanks for the awesome answer

 

 

You wouldn't happen to know why it's not recommended to run a media / file server in a VM?

It's fine to run a media/file server in a VM.

 

If you're just running a file server off of it, then you can get basically the cheapest one.

[norritt]

If you want the best bang for the buck take workstation grade or premium desktop hardware. Certified server hardware is pretty expensive and since pricing seems to be important to you, that's not the way to go. Another thing is that those servers are usually not exactly the best choice when it comes to power consumption.

 

If you're looking for reliable stuff don't by it used you don't know what it has been through. You're better and probably cheaper off if you choose some 24/7 rated desktop drives together with a Core i7 CPU along with 32/64Gigs of ram build a raid and set up a dedicated NAS or at least an external USB 3 drive for backups.

[apt-get install Windows]

It's fine to run a media/file server in a VM.

 

If you're just running a file server off of it, then you can get basically the cheapest one.

And a VPN, granted I can see the file /media server through the VPN

[apt-get install Windows]

If you want the best bang for the buck take workstation grade or premium desktop hardware. Certified server hardware is pretty expensive and since pricing seems to be important to you, that's not the way to go. Another thing is that those servers are usually not exactly the best choice when it comes to power consumption.

 

If you're looking for reliable stuff don't by it used you don't know what it has been through. You're better and probably cheaper off if you choose some 24/7 rated desktop drives together with a Core i7 CPU along with 32/64Gigs of ram build a raid and set up a dedicated NAS or at least an external USB 3 drive for backups.

 

I have no idea of where to even start with a build like that.. Can I use any board that has Sata6 and support for a I7 processor? If I'm doing a build, I want to be able to have all the servers in one place. At least the VPN and media / file server in one enclosure.. If I could have all the servers I want to set up in one tower, could I do that without it costing my left nut?

 

I don't know how much money I want to put into this yet so sorry if I'm being cheap..

 

As far as I know for ESXi, would it be a good idea to have two LAN ports on the motherboard so that I don't have to use bridge a connection between the VMs?

[norritt]

Well before you start you should think thoroughly about what this server is going to be used for. If its really only gonna be a VPN gateway/File Server you can do much much cheaper than i7.

 

- How many VMs are you going to run (including future plans)

- How much (media) data does the file server need this will help finding out how many HDDs you'll need and thus help choosing an appropriate system.

- Choosing a decent case/psu/mainboard will be a result of these choices

 

If you're sure you only want to run a file/media server + VPN server and 6-8TB of hard disk memory is enough for you, you might want to consider skipping ESXi and look for a HP Pro Liant N40L or N54L MicroServers (which should be available for something between 170€ and 250€ new). They are very compact have low power consumption, and are reasonably quiet (in comparison to the models posted above) but still audible and they even offer some server/workstation grade features (like ECC RAM or an optional Remote Administration Card with BIOS access). The downside of those machines - they don't offer USB 3 so if you want to do larger backups on an external USB drive you might want to consider buying one of the successors of these machines or go for the custom build option.

 

Though If you really want to go with multiple virtual machines these servers will be to weak. In that case I'd go for a custom i7 build. A 2nd ethernet port is not really needed, this is more important for router/gateway/firewall machines which I would recommend not to run on the same hardware as your internal file server.

[apt-get install Windows]

Well before you start you should think thoroughly about what this server is going to be used for. If its really only gonna be a VPN gateway/File Server you can do much much cheaper than i7.

 

- How many VMs are you going to run (including future plans)

- How much (media) data does the file server need this will help finding out how many HDDs you'll need and thus help choosing an appropriate system.

- Choosing a decent case/psu/mainboard will be a result of these choices

 

If you're sure you only want to run a file/media server + VPN server and 6-8TB of hard disk memory is enough for you, you might want to consider skipping ESXi and look for a HP Pro Liant N40L or N54L MicroServers (which should be available for something between 170€ and 250€ new). They are very compact have low power consumption, and are reasonably quiet (in comparison to the models posted above) but still audible and they even offer some server/workstation grade features (like ECC RAM or an optional Remote Administration Card with BIOS access). The downside of those machines - they don't offer USB 3 so if you want to do larger backups on an external USB drive you might want to consider buying one of the successors of these machines or go for the custom build option.

 

Though If you really want to go with multiple virtual machines these servers will be to weak. In that case I'd go for a custom i7 build. A 2nd ethernet port is not really needed, this is more important for router/gateway/firewall machines which I would recommend not to run on the same hardware as your internal file server.

 

I think I'm gonna start off with the VPN and File/ media server. If I want to do more later I'll build another server, I'll probably have a lot more money to spare then as well.

 

I do want the VPN and file/ media server in the same enclosure though.. Or am I making this extremely hard for myself? I have an old gaming laptop that may be able to do the VPN part..

 

If two in one enclosure is fine, and not overly advanced to set up, I'd like that.

 

 

I appreciate your time

[norritt]

File/Media/VPN "Servers" are only services or "programs" for that matter that run on a machine. You neither need to installed multiple virtualized OSes nor is there any need to run this on multiple physical machines. For your purposes one of the Pro Liant Microservers (N40L/N54L) will do fine. You can use them with Windows Home Server or Linux/Webmin and set up both Fileserver, and VPN Services.These system's power consumption can go way below 20W in idle, which will keep your power bill at bay. If you consider buying them, don't forget these servers usually come without or only with small 250GB HDDs, so you will need to add two 3,5 inch SATA drives rated for 24/7 uptime, and maybe a small SSD for the OS.

[apt-get install Windows]

Is this one ok?

http://www.senetic.com/product/664447-425

 

Found 3 models of each of the names you gave me.

 

 

And this little thing will be able to stream 1080p, and give a fast VPN throughput?

[norritt]

On 22.9.2014 at 2:13 AM, apt-get install Windows said:

Quote

Is this one ok?

http://www.senetic.com/product/664447-425

Yes that is a good configuration - 4GB of RAM and no Harddrive. Im using that one myself (got 2 of em, the second one is a backup machine in case the 1st one breaks down.) along with 2 3TB WD Green drives. I strongly suggest NOT to use the WD Green but rather the WD Red drives, because for one the Green drives arent certified for 24/7 operation and their aggressive powermanagement might cause them to break down early.  Of course you could also go for drives of a different vendor like the HGST Deskstar NAS, Seagate Constellation Drives just compare the prices.

 

 

On 22.9.2014 at 2:13 AM, apt-get install Windows said:

Found 3 models of each of the names you gave me.

 

 

Yes there are slightly different configurations available of this machine. For instace you could buy one with a preinstalled 250GB HDD and only 2 GB of RAM, but as I said the 4GB version you posted is probably the best you can find.

 

 

On 22.9.2014 at 2:13 AM, apt-get install Windows said:

And this little thing will be able to stream 1080p, and give a fast VPN throughput?

You can expect almost GBit Ethernet Speed from the N40L From my experience the transferrate for copying big files is roughly 95-110MB/s. If you want a tad more power reserves I'd suggest you go for the N54L which has a slightly stronger CPU than the N40L. VPN shouldn't be a problem at all, unless maybe you have a really fast internet connection => 200MBit (<-- rough guesstimate, don't quote me on that) and try to transfer large files in that case the encryption *might* slow things down. Since I'm definitly bottlenecked by my internet connection here that was never an issue to me and thus I can't exactly tell when CPU bottlenecking will start but it's pretty sane to assume that Ethernet speed (100Mbit) and above (150/170Mbit) shouldn't be too much of a problem.

 

In case you have such a really fast internet connection and definitly want to use the full bandwith for your VPN, you might want to look for a stronger CPU, which would take us back to the custom build idea.

 

Concerning the 1080p Streaming: You can expect 1080p to require ~30Mbit where the N40L provides ~1000Mbit. So bandwith is not an issue. I can watch 1080p footage, that is stored on the server and shared via Samba with no problems. If you want to set up a media center with it (like XMBC), I can't tell from personal experience, since I only use the N40L as File-, EMail and VPNServer. I did a quick search on google tho and have found people reporting that 1080p streaming worked wonderfully, so the media center approach should work as well.

[apt-get install Windows]

Yes that is a good configuration - 4GB of RAM and no Harddrive. Im using that one myself (got 2 of em, the second one is a backup machine in case the 1st one breaks down.) along with 2 3TB WD Green drives. I strongly suggest NOT to use the WD Green but rather the WD Red drives, because for one the Green drives arent certified for 24/7 operation and their aggressive powermanagement might cause them to break down early.  Of course you could also go for drives of a different vendor like the HGST Deskstar NAS, Seagate Constellation Drives just compare the prices.

 

 

 

 

Yes there are slightly different configurations available of this machine. For instace you could buy one with a preinstalled 250GB HDD and only 2 GB of RAM, but as I said the 4GB version you posted is probably the best you can find.

 

 

You can expect almost GBit Ethernet Speed from the N40L From my experience the transferrate for copying big files is roughly 95-110MB/s. If you wand a tad more power reserves I'd suggest you go for the N54L which has a slightly stronger CPU than the N40L. VPN shouldn't be a problem at all, unless maybe you have a really fast internet connection => 200MBit (<-- rough guesstimate, don't quote me on that) and try to transfer large files in that case the encryption *might* slow things down. Since I'm definitly bottlenecked by my internet connection here that was never an issue to me and thus I can't exactly tell when CPU bottlenecking will start but it's pretty sane to assume that Ethernet speed (100Mbit) and above (150/170Mbit) shouldn't be too much of a problem.

 

In case you have such a really fast internet connection and definitly want to use the full bandwith for your VPN, you might want to look for a stronger CPU, which would take us back to the custom build idea.

 

Concerning the 1080p Streaming: You can expect 1080p to require ~30Mbit where the N40L provides ~1000Mbit. So bandwith is not an issue. I can watch 1080p footage, that is stored on the server and shared via Samba with no problems. If you want to set up a media center with it (like XMBC), I can't tell from personal experience, since I only use the N40L as File-, EMail and VPNServer. I did a quick search on google tho and have found people reporting that 1080p streaming worked wonderfully, so the media center approach should work as well.

Alright then, I'm buying it within the week, putting two WD reds in there and set up windows home server.

 

 

Appreciate all your help

[norritt]

Yvw, just to doublecheck - you will want to run those Harddisks in RAID 1 (Mirroring) not RAID 0 (Striping) that means you need to buy 2HDDs of the same size, but you'll have only the size of one of those drives available then (because the other one holds redundant copies of your data), so make sure the size of one of those drives is enough to hold your entire data for now and the near future. If you need more space in the future you still can add 2more drives since the ProLiant Microservers have 4 drive bays. Have fun with your new server =)

[Villy]

http://www.senetic.com/product/664447-425 is definitely worth considering as a stable server since it's good value, configuration and quite small.