My Homelab -- (Virtualization Server and Storage)

Hey all,

This thread will be a continuing progress report and build log of my homelab servers.

Right now I have two servers (that may get merged into one if I get time):

Storage "server":
OS: OpenMediaVault
RAID: RAID6

Hardware:
Gigabyte 990FX-UD3
Sempron 145
4GB of RAM
6x4TB HGST NAS Drives
Dell Perc H310 flashed to IT Firmware

The purpose of the storage server is to maintain my family's media (movies, pictures, music, backups, etc)

Virtualization Server:
View attachment 162117
OS: Undecided - Will do ESXi, HyperV, and may try Proxmox

Hardware:
Motherboard: SuperMicro X8DTI (Socket 1366)
CPU(s): Dual Intel L5630 (4c8t per CPU)
RAM: 32GB DDR3-1333 ECC-Registered
HDDs: Undecided
Cooler(s): Supermicro SNK-P0040AP4

The purpose of the virtual server is for learning various hypervisors and increasing knowledge for certifications to further my IT career.

Fun stuff! I like HyperV a lot if you've already got a Windows machine to put it on, but it definitely has more overhead than a baremetal hypervisor. To get familiar with it, you could always build a Windows Server machine with HyperV inside an ESXi VM.

I'll probably be doing just that shortly, I just need to get some files setup. I have a hydration setup for an SCCM/OSD book (Stealing with Pride) and would love to follow along.

I think you could set NAS/media server on 4 core Kabini lowering power usage and improving performance. That of course depends if you will move it to the bigger server or not.
Kabini also supports virtualization and I was testing it on Server 2012R2 with pretty good results. It's actually good basic platform to learn.
I'm learning Server 2012 administration with Hyper-V and some other things. Because I share time with many other things, it's going slowly.

Good advice, I may end up looking into that if it ends up being an issue. I'd like to get it all housed in one box, but having things separated to not put all my eggs in one basket is also a nice feature, at least right now.