Question about building a VM server.

ItHurtsWhenIP

Hi folks,

Quick one for ye. I'm thinking I want to build a wee VM server for myself. I'm currently running them on my Lenovo W530 Laptop, which does need to leave the house now and again, so that can be a pain, cos the machines are obviously not working when I'm not there!!!

What I want to know is, can I ask for the spec in this forum or is it too boring (for all you gamerz ) and I should slip off over to the Servers and Systems forum for specs and prices???

I like ye're advice - it's good and constructive!!!

durtybit

MMFITWGDV wrote: »

Hi folks,

Quick one for ye. I'm thinking I want to build a wee VM server for myself. I'm currently running them on my Lenovo W530 Laptop, which does need to leave the house now and again, so that can be a pain, cos the machines are obviously not working when I'm not there!!!

What I want to know is, can I ask for the spec in this forum or is it too boring (for all you gamerz ) and I should slip off over to the Servers and Systems forum for specs and prices???

I like ye're advice - it's good and constructive!!!

All depends on your scope the sky is the limit

ItHurtsWhenIP

durtybit wrote: »

All depends on your scope the sky is the limit

I'm just determining if I'll be accommodated here first. I don't want to annoy people. There won't be a GPU in this thing after all!!! :eek: Well I wouldn't have thought so anyway.

I'll fill in the appropriate template if this is the place to be.

dunworth1

MMFITWGDV wrote:

I'll fill in the appropriate template if this is the place to be.

I don't see why not it all comes down to cost and how many vms and what they are doing

Digital Solitude

Throw a build up we don't give a **** grandad, we'll get you sorted

K.O.Kiki

You could look into a 2nd hand Xeon build, though it would require a bit of research.

justsomebloke

read the first post here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=74542374

ItHurtsWhenIP

I shall get to it after I try to send this letter to the Prussian consulate in Siam by aeromail. Am I too late for the 4:30 autogyro?

ItHurtsWhenIP

1. What is your budget?

€800-€1,000

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer?

VM Server. The host OS will be Debian 8.5 (with Xfce desktop) and will be running VirtualBox as the hypervisor.

I will be having two VMs active the whole time.

1. Windows 7 Ent 3GB RAM, 30GB HDD, 2 CPU

2. Ubuntu 16.04 1GB RAM, 30GB HDD, 1 CPU

I will then be looking to occasionally fire up various VMs, from WinXP, Win10, Mint, Tails, Fedora Workstation, CentOS, Kali & Metasploitable. I wouldn't expect more than 3 or 4 active at a time, with 1 CPU each, except Win10 I'd give 2 to. Minimum HDD & RAM sizes.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows?

No - she'll be running Debian 8.5

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer?

No.

5. Do you need a monitor?

No.

5a. If yes, what size do you need.

N/A

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future?

1280x720 and No

6. Do you need any of these peripherals?

Cheap Keyboard and Mouse (all my spares are dead)

7. Are you willing to try overclocking?

No.

8. How can you pay?

Paypal or Credit Card

9. When are you purchasing?

1-2 Weeks

10. If you need help building it, where are you based?

Very Rural Tipperary, but I know how to work a slide rule, so I should be OK ... <waits while the kiddies looks up what the hell a slide rule is> ... Grand Dad ... ya cheeky pup ya!

I'd like an SSD for the host and to hold the 2 permanent VMs (would 250GB be enough?) and perhaps a fast 1TB HDD for the others. I'd like a few spare slots to be able to add more. Same with the RAM - slots to add more in the future.

mass_debater

Just get a second hand Dell R710 on eBay with 16-32gb ram. You'll get one for about 300-400 quid. These are dual cpu, just find one with two decent quad core xeons

K.O.Kiki

mass_debater wrote: »

Just get a second hand Dell R710 on eBay with 16-32gb ram. You'll get one for about 300-400 quid. These are dual cpu, just find one with two decent quad core xeons

(Cat not included)

mass_debater

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

(Cat not included)

Exactly, just note, the Dell Perc 6 series doesn't support SATA drives bigger than 2Tb. There are used Dell resellers based in the UK too. I bought an R210 a few weeks ago for the house.

Cuddlesworth

Would that not sound like a plane taking off?

Something like this would be more preferable. Drop a decent 512gb SSD in and it will run VM's for days with 24 logical cores and 32gb of ram.

ItHurtsWhenIP

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

(Cat not included)

My dogs don't like cats. :rolleyes:

ItHurtsWhenIP

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Would that not sound like a plane taking off?

Something like this would be more preferable. Drop a decent 512gb SSD in and it will run VM's for days with 24 logical cores and 32gb of ram.

That looks much pretty like it would do nicely (never thought about buying a server off e-bay). Is there not a general consensus though that buying whole builds from on-line non-Manufacturer retailer types is a risky business. OK This guy has only 4 negative feedback in the last 12 months, so he must be good, but still there's a risk - right?

I also suppose I kinda wanted to look forward towards building it myself, but I might just save that for when my current 6 year old desktop dies.

durtybit

MMFITWGDV wrote: »

That looks much pretty like it would do nicely (never thought about buying a server off e-bay). Is there not a general consensus though that buying whole builds from on-line non-Manufacturer retailer types is a risky business. OK This guy has only 4 negative feedback in the last 12 months, so he must be good, but still there's a risk - right?

I also suppose I kinda wanted to look forward towards building it myself, but I might just save that for when my current 6 year old desktop dies.

Yes word of care when buying old hardware to do a build (things I came across)
1. Compatibility issues (One mentioned above about limitations on drives)
2. Some of those servers are going to be noisy as hell and possibly power hungry depending on the spec.
3. Replacement parts can be abundant or quite the opposite
4. Some / a lot of parts are proprietary

For the cost of the Dell R710 you might be able to build a quiet tower with dual xeons with a quiet PSU and some nice noctua quiet fans. Supermicro have some nice boards but be careful on fitment and compatibility Those X5570 are not expensive

Cuddlesworth

MMFITWGDV wrote: »

That looks much pretty like it would do nicely (never thought about buying a server off e-bay). Is there not a general consensus though that buying whole builds from on-line non-Manufacturer retailer types is a risky business. OK This guy has only 4 negative feedback in the last 12 months, so he must be good, but still there's a risk - right?

I also suppose I kinda wanted to look forward towards building it myself, but I might just save that for when my current 6 year old desktop dies.

Dell have a equivalent, I think its the T5500. There is also the z800 and T7500, which are larger with more ram/drive options.

These systems are quiet but there are drive limitations(bypassed by ssd's and duct tape), proprietary boards, heatsinks and power supply's. But you can pick up parts pretty easy, there are lots of them around.

All in all, systems with x5560's are great value for money now days for VM's.

vibe666

I have a pair of HP ML150 G6's as my home vmware lab, very happy with them.

Dual socket 1156 CPU's (lynnfield and clarkedale, from single Core i3 up to dual quad core X3480 3Ghz Xeon's, with a Passmark CPU score of almost 6,000 each). the lower end 1156 xeons can be had for pennies these days, but even the x3840's can be got for under 100 euro each if you shop around on ebay etc.
12x DIMM slots, 6x for each CPU socket (officially 48gb, unofficially 96gb *should* work if you have the cash for 8gb registered ECC DIMMS), DDR3-1333 (ebay is yer man here too)
Full tower, lots of space and standard parts, so fans can be replaced (with 8x PWM sockets on the mobo), which you'll want to do to quieten it down, as they are stock HP server fans in there by default and run at silly RPM with the accoustic profile of a boeing 747!

there's room for a redundant 2nd PSU if you need and room for 8x internal 3.5" drives (or up to 24x 2.5" drives) which can be hot swapped with an optional SAS/SATA backplane, plus 3x 5.25 drive bays which can be used for 4 or 5 more 3.5" drives if you have the need and a suitable enclosure (icydock do some nice ones), or 24x 2.5" drives. does up to 8x drives in RAID0/1/10 with the onboard controller.
they also have basic iLO functionality (onboard sensors/hardware log access, power up/down/reboot etc.) out of the box, and i believe (with a chip/dongle), for about 100 quid you can get full remote console access if you need.

basic server can be had for as little as 200 bucks on ebay these days, great value for what you get. obviously for that kind of money you'll need to spend a few quid to get them up to muster, but they will function for the intended purpose at even the most basic level and you can upgrade as you go and as your needs/budget allows.

even though they're getting a bit long in the tooth now, fully stocked, they're still a beast of a home server, even by current standards imho.

ED E

As a desktop, dual socket Xeon and ULV Avoton user I'll throw my 2c in the mix. You're known to haunt the BB forum MM so I wouldnt be surprised if you've a comms cabinet where 19"/full tower HVAC unit of a machine would be at home, but if you haven't that'd impact your choice.

A. Above suggested dual last gen Xeon for no money, workhorse

B. Xeon but quiet: 2x €70 AIOs turns your wind tunnel generator into an understated beast. Add a case with good dust filters and you've a fire and forget solution.

C. The outlier: Denverton. NB: Releasing sometime soon so it'd delay your schedule. This obv may not suit but may as well throw it out there. The reason to go there is 2x X5680s alone use 260W at load(not inc system) for 3070cb points while an Avoton C2750 uses 40-50w(for the ENTIRE system) for 285cb. Denverton will be 16 core(not 8) and more efficient. Probably not enough, but its passively cooled and can sit under your TV without anyone noticing. If your VMs are running lightweight services this might be worth a look, if its heavy transcoding or high intensity compute then its a clear no. If a 3rd gen mobile i7 can manage then who knows.

ItHurtsWhenIP

ED E wrote: »

As a desktop, dual socket Xeon and ULV Avoton user I'll throw my 2c in the mix. You're known to haunt the BB forum MM so I wouldnt be surprised if you've a comms cabinet where 19"/full tower HVAC unit of a machine would be at home, but if you haven't that'd impact your choice.

Oh if only it were true, I would be a happy geek!

My OH and I have something of a money pit of a house and several animals of the canine and equine variety (3 each). Unfortunately she likes the more expensive of the stated animals ... I like dogs and they are nice and cheap.

So I've been gradually and sneakily (when the money shows up and doesn't have to be spent on frickin horseshoes :rolleyes:) improving the tech infrastructure.

The box I get for this little project will need to be reasonably quiet, as it will be in the same room as me but I generally tune out any fan noise, as long as it's not 747 take-off loud.

Ye've all given me a lot of great pointers, which I've started looking at and will do much mulling over. Once I start to settle on something I might be back for a "are you frickin mad or what" post later.

Thanks folks.