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Thread ID: 115159 2011-01-05 03:19:00 Hardware for a home server? stuffed (1469) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1167247 2011-01-05 09:15:00 Me I had a homebuilt Quad Core with 4GB and 2x600GB drives running Vista64 with a nVidia GTX280 in it which I added 2x1TB drives, disconnected the 600GB drives and installed Windows Server 2008 R2 on. Also added Exchange Server 2010 and it is running well. Only had one hardware update from MS cause issues (had to restore from the daily backup). Have a 4TB NAS drive as a backup for all my PC's.
Had to do quite a bit of reading for a start but works well. Can fire up the Hyper-V if required but no need yet. 4GB is a bit short for memory but is okay at present.
Exchange Server 2010 is great and mail comes straight in. No waiting or polling ISP or other servers. Bit of a pain setting up with a dynamic IP but dyndns takes care of most of that.
veldthui (15543)
1167248 2011-01-05 10:09:00 I've been using a 1.6Ghz fanless Atom, with a 4GB CF card running FreeNAS and 3x external USB HDD's.

I've also used a 500Mhz Geode on a PC Engines Alix system before, they're AWESOME!

For WHS, you can install on almost anything, I've done it on a 1.6Ghz Atom just fine :)
Chilling_Silence (9)
1167249 2011-01-05 18:51:00 Well, for the wireless/wired netwroking stuff it's all off the shelf.

Wireless: www.dlink.com
Wired: www.netgear.com

Now i'm not saying you should get these ones specifically. they were just examples however all the hardware you will need can be bought in a store.
The Error Guy (14052)
1167250 2011-01-06 01:31:00 I'm running Server 2008 R2 on the following hardware:
Core 2 Quad Q6600
8GB Ram
Asus P5Q Premium (4 full length PCIe slots, 4 x 1GB NICs on board, trunked)
Dell PERC5i with BBU
8 x 1TB WD GP (RAID 5, formats to about 6.5TB)
4 x 320GB WD RE (RAID 10 for OS and VMs)
Silverstone 1200W PSU
Silverstone TJ07 case

Build your own one and you can put together something awesome.
If my business does well this year I will look at upgrading to dual xeons with at least 12GB ram.
Deimos (5715)
1167251 2011-01-06 01:39:00 I will look at upgrading to dual xeons with at least 12GB ram.

What for ?
Chilling_Silence (9)
1167252 2011-01-06 02:01:00 What for ?

Bragging rights :D
pcuser42 (130)
1167253 2011-01-06 07:16:00 Bragging rights :D

SOMEONE has to win the local dick waving contest!

Heck, I wrote up specs for something like that. Then the guy I told just laughed and took the piss every time :p not impressed :stare:

Ah well, do you NEED that much power? don't waste your money!
The Error Guy (14052)
1167254 2011-01-06 07:40:00 Am looking to setup a home server probably using Windows Home Server software. Would like about 2 TB min for a start but be able to expand easily as required. It appears that HP has dropped out of this market. Any suggestions?
Many thanks.

Depends on what you'll be serving....

If you're just doing file serving and some media streaming then an atom build or low power AMD will do fine.
e.g.
www.trademe.co.nz

But I would probably get a reputable company like CL to build it. Essentially, it would be just the same as buying it off the shelf. Might want to also choose a better quality and larger case.

At the moment there are not many (that I known of) WHS "off the shelf" servers for sale in NZ, so you'll probably have to go custom built.
Blam (54)
1167255 2011-01-06 19:01:00 FreeNAS can also re-encode things for sharing through DAAP I believe, so I suppose in such a case it might be beneficial to have something slightly more grunty. Still, it doesn't require THAT much processing power?! Chilling_Silence (9)
1167256 2011-01-07 00:55:00 Wish I could use freenas on my box I am building from scratch (including makeing a mobo try cause its not a pc case im using).
But the sata raid card I bought does not work under freenas
nedkelly (9059)
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