Replacing a rack mounted server

[SimonMac]

At the moment I have a Dell R720, not fantastic spec but does the job (16 core CPU, 64gb ram and 32 TB usable storage (6x8TB drives in RAID50). It’s got ESXi installed and runs 4-5 low usage VMs and one that’s a bit more beefy as it runs a plex server. It sounds like a jumbo jet and this lives in the garage.

However we are converting the garage into a bedroom for my daughter so ideally this needs to live somewhere else, and as “cool” as it is to have a homelab I’m pretty sure the VMs could run on a mid powered modern workstation which I could move to the office as it would be quieter.

so that brings me to my question, what’s the best approach to achieve this? Off the shelf or self build, I don’t mind a self build but would prefer to outsource to someone who knows what they are doing. Are high storage workstations in vogue at the moment, or is it more local grunt and remote storage? Most workstations I’ve seen only support a max of four drives not six.

Any advice or recommendations for suppliers of ore built systems or parts required for a self build?

[malvolio]

Got my PC built by PC Specialist who have a very useful configuration system that adds up the prices as you go (as do others, but I like theirs). Don't know if they will stretch to your specific needs, but they will get close, and do everything from mickey laptop to major servers. Well worth giving them a look.

[eek]

At the moment I have a Dell R720, not fantastic spec but does the job (16 core CPU, 64gb ram and 32 TB usable storage (6x8TB drives in RAID50). It’s got ESXi installed and runs 4-5 low usage VMs and one that’s a bit more beefy as it runs a plex server. It sounds like a jumbo jet and this lives in the garage.

However we are converting the garage into a bedroom for my daughter so ideally this needs to live somewhere else, and as “cool” as it is to have a homelab I’m pretty sure the VMs could run on a mid powered modern workstation which I could move to the office as it would be quieter.

so that brings me to my question, what’s the best approach to achieve this? Off the shelf or self build, I don’t mind a self build but would prefer to outsource to someone who knows what they are doing. Are high storage workstations in vogue at the moment, or is it more local grunt and remote storage? Most workstations I’ve seen only support a max of four drives not six.

Any advice or recommendations for suppliers of ore built systems or parts required for a self build?

The final part of my server rebuild will be into a Node 804 case with an matx board and a 3950x running in eco 65w mode.

I suspect there is nothing else that will support 8 drives silently in about 1 cubic foot of space.

Oh and the age of cases with plenty of space for hard disks has almost past - it's one reason why I'm upgrading things at the moment as more and more cases seem to be removing space for 3.5inch drives.

[ladymuck]

Huge cases still exist! I accidentally bought a mahoosive one off Quiet PC when doing my recent build. The perils of ordering in a hurry to catch the next day delivery cut off time...

The case is lovely and really easy to work in with plenty of space for drives. Wasted on me as I'm on a M.2 SSD tucked into the mobo

[jamesbrown]

I use Scan for all my builds (probably 10 or so over the years). Always been very happy, fwiw.

[LondonManc]

I use Scan for all my builds (probably 10 or so over the years). Always been very happy, fwiw.

+1 for Scan. Their click and collect service is great too, if you're near enough to the Horwich junction on the M61. By the time you've driven the 20 minutes to get there, it's usually ready. Cables are cheap as chips here too.

[eek]

+2 for scan - never had a problem with them and they even offer cheap GPUs if you are buying a full machine.

[courtg9000]

If you are self hosting web apps such as Nextcloud, Roundcube, Zabbix, Home Assistant, Suitecrm, WordPress etc etc A few Raspberry Pi's will be very quiet and low power draw. I have half a dozen in a very well-ventilated drawer each runs something or other and more than one app well and one is dedicated to me learning python (don't ask its going much slower than expected!). Oh and plex can apparently run on a Pi too! For the ESXi stuff - one of the new HP's perhaps?

[_V_]

For my own company server, I went with a rented dedicated server in a data center. No capital outlay, massive Internet pipe and no noise issues.

I went with these people https://www.ovhcloud.com/en-gb/bare-...icated-server/

[Lance]

I would recommend that you focus on disk speed and memory.

VMs on SATA disks are terrible. SAS disks are expensive and SAS controllers also.
So go with a modern motherboard and SSD disks. If you can get enough TB on an m.2 SSD then you're laughing as they are blindingly fast as they don't have a PCI bottleneck.

Other than than any modern i5/i7 will do the job.