Mini home server...

[unijabnx2000]

Im thinking of rearranging my home network a little and in the process instead of having my internal web server set up as a virtual machine, to make a tiny computer to put it on.

I only really use it to teach myself stuff, because im taking a intro html class and it does no good to know how to make a webpage if i cant get it to work, for real.

And i could set up a few other things like a dhcp or something down the road.

Thermaltake Element Q VL52021N2U Black SGCC / Plastic Mini-ITX Desktop Computer Case 200W SFX Power Supply 

ZOTAC Z68ITX-A-E LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard 

BYTECC Bracket-35225 2.5 Inch HDD/SSD Mounting Kit For 3.5" Drive Bay or Enclosure 

Intel Core i3-2105 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I32105 

OCZ Vertex Series OCZSSD2-1VTX30GXXX 2.5" 30GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) 

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT 

Western Digital Scorpio Black WD2500BEKT 250GB 7200 RPM 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive -Bare Drive 

Thermaltake Slim X3 CLP0534 80mm CPU Cooler

I think that once I get it configured I can just remote into it to make changes or add new webpages I make for class.

And i think the smart response technology will help speed up things after a while.

What you think?

 

[Automata]

For the price of that case, I would just get an Antec 300. I don't think the 200 w power supply that comes with will be enough for the system. Or, at very least, cutting it far too close for comfort. Get an Earthwatt series as they are cheap and very good for the price. I recently purchased two for my VM servers.

If you are leaving it stock clocks, just leave the stock cooler on.

For the hard drive, get a real desktop grade one if you go with a larger case. It should be cheaper and give you more options.

Memory wise, think about what you are going to use it for and what you could use it for. If you are going to be running quite a few virtual machines, you will want to increase to at least 8 GB.

 

[unijabnx2000]

For the price of that case, I would just get an Antec 300. I don't think the 200 w power supply that comes with will be enough for the system. Or, at very least, cutting it far too close for comfort. Get an Earthwatt series as they are cheap and very good for the price. I recently purchased two for my VM servers.

If you are leaving it stock clocks, just leave the stock cooler on.

For the hard drive, get a real desktop grade one if you go with a larger case. It should be cheaper and give you more options.

Memory wise, think about what you are going to use it for and what you could use it for. If you are going to be running quite a few virtual machines, you will want to increase to at least 8 GB.

But that antec doesnt come with a psu.
And it wont be running VMs on it. Only Windows Server 08. I use my desktop for VM's.
The stock cooler wont clear the psu in the miniITX case.

and Paul in the Newegg video ran it with an i5

 

[Automata]

It is ultimately up to you, but locking yourself into such a small case is going to be headache in the future. It may be cheaper now, but what happens if the power supply goes out? That isn't even mentioning the annoyance of cramming that much hardware into that small of a space. What if you want to add more hard drives? What if you want to add a more powerful processor? You could always upgrade the case later to something a bit larger and get a power supply for it, but why not do that in the first place since that will be cheaper?

I'm simply giving advice from my own personal experience with running home servers. What I've suggested gives a lot of room for upgrades and are quality components that I've personally used.

 

[turbohans]

What are you trying to host on though Apache2 or IIS7???

 

[unijabnx2000]

yeah looking at the ability to upgrade in the future, it is the better thing to do.


IIS7

 

[turbohans]

Ahhh you have VMware correct? If you are a student you should be able to grab that off of MSDNAA as a 1.5 year trial.

I am more of an Apache guy but both can be run using a VM, VMware allows you to clone and back up your machines a lot better than anything else though. And you can run your IIS7 install VM on a Linux host.

EDIT: And personally I am going to build mine in a cube box to allow for a lot more updates in the future. You can check that out in the build log section here http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=684065

 

[unijabnx2000]

Thinking this case will work.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129072

Ive had VMware workstation since Jan. I use them for my operating systems classes.
And i have all kinds of software from that free program.

I only have Windows Web Server 08 installed as a VM on my desktop, just to test the few webpages i made, and my links between them. But if I do this build I'll just install Win Server 08 R2 SP1, so I wont have to worry about adding roles/features later.

My OS class this semester is Linux based. So i have Fedora13 and Ubuntu 11 as VM's as well.

 

[turbohans]

Vista, & 7 will run IIS7 also The only thing R2 '08 has on either of those is the ability to run active directory's and roaming profiles... Apache2 is super easy to set up and can do quite a bit more than IIS7 IMO. But if you have VMware you will be able to experiment with everything.

The only other thing I would suggest is a dynamic DNS provider account with "NO-IP" or "DynDns" and a beefy router running DD-WRT.

EDIT: And if you want to play with the open source side of "active directory" & share management pick up a copy of FreeNAS.

 

[unijabnx2000]

I guess with the bigger case I can add my spare HHD's, set up a network drive, and share out my harddrive full of movies so i can watch them over the wifi on the laptops.

 

[CompuTamer]

I like the idea you have... you know... considering it's what i've been doing for years. (Literally)

Little white box in the closet with some Deltas in it. Handles most everything network related.

 

[turbohans]

I like the idea you have... you know... considering it's what i've been doing for years. (Literally)

Little white box in the closet with some Deltas in it. Handles most everything network related.

Now If I could just get FIOS and a few more public IP's Thanks for the inspiration though!

 

[unijabnx2000]

Thanks for the input guys, Heres the revised list.
Im just going to gather some spare HHDs I already have to use for OS and network storage.

They are:
250GB for OS,
500GB with video and movies on it,
250GB for shared storage,
and I have about 3-4 laptop hard drives I can put in there too.

Antec TWO HUNDRED S Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 

BYTECC Bracket-35225 2.5 Inch HDD/SSD Mounting Kit For 3.5" Drive Bay or Enclosure 

Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W Continuous power 


G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory 

ZOTAC Z68ITX-A-E LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard 

Intel Core i3-2105 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor 

OCZ Vertex Series OCZSSD2-1VTX30GXXX 2.5" 30GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive

And to split up some network traffic, im getting a switch to separate my wireless router out of the main loop. (figure of speech)

 

[Vengance_01]

Have you looked at HP's little NL-36 micro server? Might just what your looking for. I use it for a ZFS Nas box. Low power, room for 5 3.5 inch drives and 4 out of the 5 are hot swapable.

 

[unijabnx2000]

nvm but thanks.

If its what i just found im not a fan of AMD (nothing against them, just like intel)

and i think i will bet better performance out of what Im planning.
That HP server is a dual core @ 1.3ghz (1MB of cache) and only 1GB ram.

The intel i3 is 3.1ghz and 3MB cache and im putting 4GB of ram.

 

[Vengance_01]

nvm but thanks.

If its what i just found im not a fan of AMD (nothing against them, just like intel)

and i think i will bet better performance out of what Im planning.
Its a dual core @ 1.3ghz (1MB of cache) and only 1GB ram.

The intel i3 is 3.1ghz and 3MB cache and im putting 4GB of ram.

Just not sure what the full purpose of the server. Just putting it out there. I know its not for everyone.

 

[\dev\goat]

You won't regret following thideras's earlier advice for one simple reason

Once you build the server it opens up a whole can of worms. You think it's just gonna be a web server and nas and "possibly" dhcp in the future. But if you're anything like me or thid then it will be doing 14 different things and you'll be trying new stuff on it all the time. Pick quality expandable stuff now so you don't miss out on the learning/fun later.

Might want to consider some dual intel gigabit nics and going with a bigger non m-itx motherboard. the ssd might not be necessary either

 

[Automata]

You won't regret following thideras's earlier advice for one simple reason

Once you build the server it opens up a whole can of worms. You think it's just gonna be a web server and nas and "possibly" dhcp in the future. But if you're anything like me or thid then it will be doing 14 different things and you'll be trying new stuff on it all the time. Pick quality expandable stuff now so you don't miss out on the learning/fun later.

Might want to consider some dual intel gigabit nics and going with a bigger non m-itx motherboard. the ssd might not be necessary either

I like this guy. What he speaks is the truth. I originally created my server to be for file sharing and nothing else. I used it to learn Linux in a server environment, then it became a testing ground for other services and finally it is the centerpiece to my network as a virtual machine server along with all the other duties. OP, if you are anything like us, you will go through the same thing and you need to leave room for upgrades.

 

[unijabnx2000]

the ssd is just so i can experience the smart response technology

 

[Automata]

If it is a server, having the main drive be a SSD is going to net you no performance difference. I had a SSD in my server and the only time it was faster is when I restarted; which was never. I've been running two 15k RPM SAS drives in RAID 1 for nearly two years now and I have no need to upgrade them.