could i get your opinion about a vm server build please

inscom.brigade

Hi guys thanks for looking, these are what I am thinking of working with. please feel free to comment or critique . Intel xeon e3-1245 v5 Intel Intel Xeon E3-1245V3 Haswell 3.4GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Server Processor BX80646E31245V3 - Newegg.com , mobo I have 2 listed. NeweggBusiness - ASUS P9D-V ATX Server Motherboard LGA 1150 DDR3 1600/1333 2nd mobo, ASRock Z87 Extreme4/TB4 LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com ,,, 4 sticks of 8gb = 32gb mem, NeweggBusiness - G.SKILL AEGIS 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model F3-1333C9S-8GIS ,,, I am using for VM's I am trying to keep a tight budget, I will be using my old lian li PC case, and my 750 watt corsair PSU.

seittit

why not save some money and deploy Mac Mini ESXi servers? Not only are they silent, they're affordable (and can you can create OSX VMs)

inscom.brigade

I could use Linux, unix, or windows server 2003, 2008, XP64, or w7x64. I am sure that MAC mini is fine but I don't now much about them. The Cisco IOSxr vm's are tough to get working on PC's, I not really up for an additional challenge of MAC.

MickQ

Depending on your needs (you know best) should you not increase the RAM?

inscom.brigade

I need 24gb mem for the cert I am doing, I could leave it at 24 but like to not max things out so 32gb mem should carry me through this cert. I have already rented cloud server space but want more control.

N2IT

This is for a lab, I thought it was production.

inscom.brigade

just for home lab work

seittit

do you have any experience with ESXi, the free hypervisor from VMware? it takes all of thirty minutes to take a fully functional mac mini and have it running ESXi; running IOSxr VMs take less than five minutes to deploy on it.

Running ESXi 5.5/5.5u1 on Apple Mac Mini + Thunderbolt Ethernet Adapter Caveat | virtuallyGhetto

Trashman

Try CentOS Linux with KVM/QEMU as hypervisor.
Using it on a i5 with 16 GB RAM (expandable to 32 GB) and it has been very stable and easy to manage VMs in Virtual Machine Manager in GNOME.

JeanM

Make sure you pick the right ram, some boards/cpu combos only accept ECC Ram. Otherwise, go for it.

I am in the middle of building a second esxi host for lab (first host I build using some spare parts with older supermicro 775lga server board, but it's maxed out at 8gb), went with another supermicro board but this time for dual xeons, you can build one of these cheaper than using new i7 cpu alone.

example $50 on ebay for this board
http://www.ebay.com/itm/231185281112?_trksid=p2060778.m2750.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Super Micro Computer, Inc. - Products | Motherboards | Xeon Boards | X7DCL-i

pair of xeon 5440 12mb cache quad core cpus for another $50
Pair Intel Quad Core Xeon E5440 CPU 2 83GHz 12M 1333MHz 771 Slans | eBay

stuff it with ECC ddr2 $75 for 16gb, or find 8gb sticks to max out the board to 48gb.
16GB 4x4GB Memory RAM 4 Supermicro X7DCA 3 X7DCA I X7DCA L X7DCL 3 | eBay

You'll have 8core dual xeon board for less than the cost of just one i7 cpu

Or, step up to 1366 lga board and that gives you option to have even more RAM. Still not as expensive as going with latest and greatest i7 4th gen..

up to 192gb ecc ddr3
Supermicro X8DTI Dual Socket LGA1366 5500 5600 Xeon DDR3 Server Motherboard IO 672042043453 | eBay

pair of 55xx series xeon cpu's
Matching Pair Intel Xeon E5530 2 40GHz 8MB 5 86 GT s Quad Core 64bit Processors | eBay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MATCHED-PAIR-INTEL-XEON-E5540-QUAD-CORE-CPU-SLBF6-2-53GHz-PROCESSOR-CPU-/301222354700?pt=CPUs&hash=item4622405f0c

then add DDR3 ecc ram, and you can easily add 2-4 port nic cards if you want to have vswitches linked to dedicated nic ports etc.

OR you can pick up a Dell poweredge 2950 with dual xeon with 32gb and couple drives for about $300 all day long, but these are FULL depth / loud rack mount servers.

Example full ready to go server, you can get these for under 400 easy-
http://www.ebay.com/itm/141302853611?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Anyway, just thought you'd be interested in this, gives you more options.

Deathmage

inscom.brigade wrote: »

Hi guys thanks for looking, these are what I am thinking of working with. please feel free to comment or critique . Intel xeon e3-1245 v5 Intel Intel Xeon E3-1245V3 Haswell 3.4GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Server Processor BX80646E31245V3 - Newegg.com , mobo I have 2 listed. NeweggBusiness - ASUS P9D-V ATX Server Motherboard LGA 1150 DDR3 1600/1333 2nd mobo, ASRock Z87 Extreme4/TB4 LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com ,,, 4 sticks of 8gb = 32gb mem, NeweggBusiness - G.SKILL AEGIS 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model F3-1333C9S-8GIS ,,, I am using for VM's I am trying to keep a tight budget, I will be using my old lian li PC case, and my 750 watt corsair PSU.

This seems pricey.

Suggestions:

1. A decent Dell poweredge 2950 GEN III with dual nonzthreaded exons goes for $180 plus $50 shipping on eBay.
2. A Dell R610 dual Xeon multithreaded server with a max of 192 for ram goes for $300 on eBay.

If the above specs cost more than that it's way to pricey...

JeanM

I've looked at R610s before, couldn't find any for less than 500 with 32gb.

jibbajabba

If its on a tight budget, get a T5500 on ebay ... can be upgraded with a raiser card to have a second 5500/5600 series Xeon and additional 3 RAM slots (6 default) ..

Deathmage

JeanM wrote: »

I've looked at R610s before, couldn't find any for less than 500 with 32gb.

I just bought a 3rd this morning for $280 - bought (3) 300GB WD Velocoraptor Enterprise-grade drive last week. - and I have 64 GB of DDR3 laying around in my closet.

Dell PowerEdge R610 Server 2X QC E5520 2 26GHz 6GB PERC6I Int No HDD | eBay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201048650325?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

inscom.brigade

I have a few, SO I thought I would report my server build to the team. First I did not want the noise of any 1u, 2u rack mount, so I bought the Xeon E3-1245 v3 LGA 1150. Intel Intel Xeon E3-1245V3 Haswell 3.4GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1150 84W Server Processor BX80646E31245V3 - Newegg.com the mother board is a bit old school but it is cheep and has lots of PCI bus slots for multi port nic's, plus it has an onboard serial rs232 for console cable. ASRock > Z97 Extreme3 you have to did deep to read that it supports xeon, also download the pdf manual tells no mounting hardware is included. ASRock Z97 Extreme3 LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com I bought the cheapest/fastest, ddr3 8g mem sticks 4 of them. I completely stripped, & cleaned my Lian Li chassis/case I reused my psu/power supply, 750watt corsair; (I did not buy any after market cooler), I am using core temp software and all cores are well below limits. The BIOS is wow, I mean I go back to DOS 3.1 days and jezus the BIOS now is so cool! My system is (so quiet) and I have 3 120mm chassis fans plus the cpu fand & psu fan. I am still learning if it has limits but so far I am running 3 separate VM's, as follows all 3 are same but different, each runs 24 CISCO devises 20 7200 routers 4 iosxr routers. Totally I spent less than $650.00

volume

Why not use your existing desktop/laptop, and run ESXi under VMware Workstation? No additional heat or noise, minimal cost from possibly upgrading your RAM.