Home Server

[CAM]

I am looking to build a home server, something quiet that I can bung in the corner and forget about if it does a good job. I was thinking of a Nano Sketch but I'm not sure of it's suitability for that task with a 5400rpm single hard disk, so does anyone have any recommendations for what they run as their home server?

 

I'll probably put Linux on to keep costs down but if a version of Windows is more suitable I'd go for that.

[abillybob]

Got a HP N40L MicroServer, very quiet does the job (well lots of jobs very well considering the spec) it serves file's, is a backup to all home clients, serves DVBViewer, VPN Server and torrents TV Shows and films in accordance to the latest RSS feed, it also serves Tonido so that iPads and mobile device can all connect and stream content from the server.

 

Works very well, I don't know how much they are now but 2 years ago when I bought mine it cost me £80 with HP Cashback best purchase I've ever made, FYI torrents are good for Windows Server *cough cough*

[3s-gtech]

HP Microserver, second hand Mac Mini server or a self-built Kabini powered mini-ITX box.

[LeMarchand]

Got a HP N40L MicroServer, very quiet does the job (well lots of jobs very well considering the spec) it serves file's, is a backup to all home clients, serves DVBViewer, VPN Server and torrents Linux Distros in accordance to the latest RSS feed, it also serves Tonido so that iPads and mobile device can all connect and stream content from the server.

 

I've made that safe for you.

[abillybob]

I've made that safe for you.

 

Thankyou, that's obviously what I meant........... cheers

[SYNACK]

What do you actually want to use it for, obviously a home VM server is going to need more kick than a media server and file storage box.

[LincolnE]

I'd be tempted to go for a Microserver, if they ever do the decent cashback offers again.

 

It seems like they won't be, from what I've been reading, which is a shame but I guess I can't knock them for it.

[dhicks]

I am looking to build a home server, something quiet that I can bung in the corner and forget about if it does a good job.

 

I have a fanless Tranquil PC "media centre" acting as a server, and it's been running for around 4 years with no problems. You can fit a couple of laptop-sized harddrives in the one case, and these days reasonable-sized SSDs are affordable enough to be a good option, and would result in a completly solid-state server with no moving parts. Streacom, a Chinese manufacturer, now do very similar fanless cases, some to fit larger motherboards, too, if you want to build your own and save a bit of money.

[SYNACK]

Streacom, a Chinese manufacturer, now do very similar fanless cases, some to fit larger motherboards, too, if you want to build your own and save a bit of money.

 

 

Nice cases

[Fleetwood]

Been tempted to invest in a HP MicroServer for ages now but no idea which one to get or how to spec it. How good are they at running VMs? And just out of curiosity and being a nosey bugger, what do people generally use their home servers for?

[CAM]

I'm planning to use mine for media sharing, file backups and general screwing about with.

[newpersn]

i got a N36L next to me. Only has 3gb of ram (only 1.7gb usable though?!?! (my be an odd stick as it only takes unbuffered ECC Ram)) I'm planning to play with Server 2012R2

[computer_expert]

I'm looking at upgrading my microserver N40L (as I need a bit more power/ram for ESXi). However, I'm torn between getting a supermicro server board and xeon or a Intel NUC (the i3 model).

 

Does anyone have any experience with running ESXi on the NUC?

 

(I'd like to get the xeon but I'm worried about the heat/noise it would kick out compared to the NUC)

[abillybob]

I'm looking at upgrading my microserver N40L (as I need a bit more power/ram for ESXi). However, I'm torn between getting a supermicro server board and xeon or a Intel NUC (the i3 model).

 

Does anyone have any experience with running ESXi on the NUC?

 

(I'd like to get the xeon but I'm worried about the heat/noise it would kick out compared to the NUC)

 

I wouldn't use a NUC as a Server, just because of the lack of RAID configuration, I want redundancy and backup when I have a server. You also need to remember 3.5" Drives are much more robust than that of a standard 2.5" Drive (unless of course you're using an SSD)

[Davit2005]

I have 2 Micro Servers (N36 & N40), I find the N40L is quiet enough to put in my bedroom, I am quite a light sleeper and it doesn't bother me, a fan in the bedroom is more noise.

 

I have been really happy with both Micro Servers both running ESXi and contemplating getting a 3rd and retiring one to a backup server to replace my Quad core ML115.

[fromtheinternet]

I have a Microserver. N54L, came to about £90 after the cashback. I installed a bay converter in the optical slot, so that it holds a regular 3.5" and a 2.5" drive. It's running Ubuntu server, with ZFS-on-Linux taking care of the storage role. Five 3.5" drives in RAID-Z and the 2.5" drive as the system drive.

 

Performance is great, with it handling Plex transcoding like a champ. Combined with a Chromecast, it's flippin' awesome. The only issue I've ever had with it was upgrading zfs. I'd forgotten to do a dist-upgrade afterwards and couldn't load the storage pool. Slight panic for a moment, there...

[dhicks]

I wouldn't use a NUC as a Server, just because of the lack of RAID configuration

 

You can install a Mini-PCIe card that supports SATA expanders - I've had a NUC connected up to 10 drives:

 

http://www.edugeek.net/forums/thin-client-virtual-machines/113713-amazon-ec2.html#post975502

[computer_expert]

I wouldn't use a NUC as a Server, just because of the lack of RAID configuration, I want redundancy and backup when I have a server. You also need to remember 3.5" Drives are much more robust than that of a standard 2.5" Drive (unless of course you're using an SSD)

 

I'm not overly fussed about RAID (partly due to the microservers inbuit RAID not working with ESXi) as I'm not going to be hosting anything critical on it.