Home NAS+Gameserver

[Takeo]

Hey guys!

 

I want to build a server hosting it at my home. Main subjective for is being a NAS with remote access (~ 6TB with redundancy). Secondarily I want to run different projects such as a game server and a web server.

 

As far as I can tell, a simple NAS server with two bays won't suffice. Thus, a "normal" PC is needed (the casing should be compact though). My main problems are pricing (€) and power consumption.

I've seen the "HP ProLiant Microserver". That's more or less the direction I'm thinking.

 

My questions are:

1. How much do you think will the power consumption be?

2. Any recommendations regarding a DIY case build?

[RedWulf]

If you mean making your own case, just dont unless you are a great plastic/metal worker. If you just mean in making a pc like the rest of the forum(pre made case and just put the components in), its a good idea and you can get a micro-atx or maybe itx pc to save size. Power consumption is hard to stab at like this but i would think wattage demand would be under 300 roughly. 

With just a NAS its fairly cheap, but the game server and website can get very heavy depending on traffic, game, and website complexity. A minecraft server for friends, nas, and blog are one thing. Team speak site or one wit alot of java and videos, nas, and a complex game with dozens of player and mods would be a massive multi xeon system.

[Mikensan]

If you don't mind used, the most bang for your buck is going to be either a Dell R610 or R710 from ebay (assuming they're available in your area).

 

The price can vary wildly based on what type of games you intend to host, and what NAS operating system you chose. 

Power consumption will vary on the processor and # of drives you buy, but with a single modern intel processor and 12 disks you should sit around 100watts. 

You can go either a server chassis or any form factor with 5.25" bays if you want hot swap. If you don't care about hot swap then whatever you feel like buying. It is a personal preference. Even a mITX build with a raid card and expander can support 12 drives...

[Takeo]

Thank you for the idea with the Dell series. I had a look into the R610 and must say that the power consumption seems to be an issue there.

I don't know about pricing at your place, but here in Germany we have ~29ct/kWh*200W*24h*365d = 508€/year. Is my calculation right or am I missing something here? Because apart from the costs to buy/build a server, running it seems to be quite expensive (presuming I'm running the server 24/7).

 

My main goals are:

Backup, NAS + Media stream (Plex, including vpn)

On or two low player number gaming servers (MC, UT2004, ...)

Webhosting

 

Optional:

Video rendering platform (Premiere Pro)

 

So I need a system which uses low power (around below 25-30W) at idle and might go up to 70-80W on streaming and/or running the game. Ignoring the video rendering for now.

[Sevilla]

11 minutes ago, Takeo said:

Thank you for the idea with the Dell series. I had a look into the R610 and must say that the power consumption seems to be an issue there.

I don't know about pricing at your place, but here in Germany we have ~29ct/kWh*200W*24h*365d = 508€/year. Is my calculation right or am I missing something here? Because apart from the costs to buy/build a server, running it seems to be quite expensive (presuming I'm running the server 24/7).

 

My main goals are:

Backup, NAS + Media stream (Plex, including vpn)

On or two low player number gaming servers (MC, UT2004, ...)

Webhosting

 

Optional:

Video rendering platform (Premiere Pro)

 

So I need a system which uses low power (around below 25-30W) at idle and might go up to 70-80W on streaming and/or running the game. Ignoring the video rendering for now.

The only way you'd achieve such low wattage while under load is going for a single CPU lower end spec chip. No legitimate server (and by that, I mean dual CPU + 20+GB of ECC DDR3 RAM or something like that) will run what you're looking at with everything you intend to run.

My server (HP Z800) typically consumes around 250ish watts with 4 VMs running, and under load around 320ish+ with it running Plex (encoding in the VM), Freenas, and 2 Windows application VMs.

Remember that most server grade chips alone will typically require at least 80-115 W (depending on which CPU is selected) and while under idle they may not get that high, once you start working or doing anything, it'll easily surpass that. Also take into account that you'll be powering other components other than the chip so it'll still add up.

[Mikensan]

If you go with their most power hungry configuration x5670, it's 95w TDP per chip, so 190watts at 100% for just the CPUs. The E5520 eats 80w per chip. I would say a server at max load would eat more than 200watts... You also have to take in to account cooling if you think your servers are going to be running at 100% 24/7. 

 

If you cut out game hosting, you could easily go with a Pentium chipset like the G3258. That'll happily power a NAS and plex (2-3 users @ 720p) That chip is very inexpensive, very powerful, supports ECC, and only consumes 55w TDP. I would build your server around that. It ~might~ work for some game hosting, but I can't say for certain, just depends on each case scenario.

I didn't spend a great deal of time, but I was thinking something like this: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JnVMP6

They estimate ~160watts TDP.

 

**Also webhosting and VPNs would run off a potato unless you need more than 1gbps over the internet..........

 

[2FA]

On 4/13/2016 at 8:57 AM, Takeo said:

Thank you for the idea with the Dell series. I had a look into the R610 and must say that the power consumption seems to be an issue there.

I don't know about pricing at your place, but here in Germany we have ~29ct/kWh*200W*24h*365d = 508€/year. Is my calculation right or am I missing something here? Because apart from the costs to buy/build a server, running it seems to be quite expensive (presuming I'm running the server 24/7).

 

That's assuming the server will be at full load 24/7. Power consumption will likely stay below 100W assuming the work being done isn't very resource intensive.