I need help building a server

[dbocce3]

Hi everyone. Let me begin by thanking anyone who reads and responds to this topic. I really need your help building a server. I have done a lot of research and am ready to pull the trigger. I need help with the hardware and the software. 

I want to accomplish several things and have split them up below:

General

• I want to server to act like Dropbox 
  • What I mean is that I want the server to back up files from my wife’s laptop and my laptop
• The ability to access/stream music/photos/documents on server from our laptops
• The ability to upload music/photos/documents from laptop onto server
• The ability to access files from server in our laptops remotely
  • Example: Access or upload photos while at parents house in Ohio, while server is in Colorado .. i believe this is known as Placeshifting
• It would be REALLY nice to be able to control and mess with server from within laptop, instead of having to go into the basement and mess with it (this is not a killer though)

Media

• Back-up blu-ray and DVD movies
  • Server will have blu-ray drive installed
• Stream movies over home network to extenders (SageTV HD300)
• EVENTUALLY stream recorded TV to said extenders
  • I would eventually install a Ceton InfiniTV to record shows into the server itself

I anticipate having the Server HDD’s set up as follows:

• HDD A: Small 250G HDD for OS
• HDD B: 1TB HDD for photos/music/documents
• HDD C: 1TB HDD that would be a DIRECT copy of HDD B – for redundancy
• HDD D: 2TB HDD for BR/DVD back-ups
• HDD E: 2TB HDD for BR/DVD back-ups
• HDD F: 2TB HDD for BR/DVD back-ups

Software

• Should I use Windows 7 Professional (I have disc and ability to use on 3 computers) or WHS 2011?
• What about FreeNAS?
• I will use SageTV Media Center (to better communicate with HD300)

Hardware

• Case: NORCO RPC-450B Black 4U Server Rackmount Chassis
  • The cage holds 5 HDDs. The case comes with 2 of them
• PSU: Corsair TX650W CMPSU-650TX 650W
• CPU: ?
• CPU Cooler: Stock Cooler
• Motherboard: ?
•  Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ DDR3-1600 CL9 2 x 2GB Kit
• HBA: HighPoint Rocket 620 2-port SATA 6.0Gb/s Controller PCI Express x1 Card
• HBA: Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 8-port SAS/SATA 3.0Gb/s Controller PCI Express x4 Card
• Cable: 0.5m SFF-8087 to Four SATA Forward Breakout Cable (e.g. 3ware CBL-SFF8087OCF-05M)
• Cable: 0.5m SFF-8087 to Four SATA Forward Breakout Cable (e.g. 3ware CBL-SFF8087OCF-05M)
• Mounter: SYBA SY-MRA25018 2.5??SATA HDD Tray Less Mobile Rack for PCI Slot (attaching the 2.5″ HDD (HDD A) for OS to an empty expansion slot).
• HDD for OS: Seagate Momentus 7200.4 ST9250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s mobile

CPU: Suggestions? I figure that a dual-core processor would be enough since i wont be transcoding video (since the SageTV HD300 can handle pretty much anything.) I just want to make sure that there is never any slow-down or stuttering. If I am wrong, please let me know.

Motherboard: Suggestions? I want something that has onboard graphics, Gb LAN that provides enough bandwidth for streaming HD content to several SageTV HD300’s, WOL (wake-on-LAN), enough number of onboard SATA 3.0Gb/s ports, and enough expansion slots for SAS/SATA controller cards

Graphics: See above

So, after all of that … what do you guys think? As I mentioned before, any recommendations that you can make will be greatly appreciated. I am excited to read your responses.

John

[mikinho]

Based on your feedback I would go w/ WHS 2011.

In terms of your motherboard…do you want low power consumption?  My current home server is a dual CPU AMD Opteron (G34) Supermicro system.  That is overkill for most people but I really like the system and they have a good single CPU board: H8SCM-F.

What I like about it…1- six cores at an affordable price; 2- dual Intel network cards; 3- PCIe x4 slots…hate not having anything but a single x16 and x1 slots; 4- IPMI 2.0….being able to connect to the console and turn it onoff over TCPIP has saved my butt a few times.

If you want low power than an Intel Core i3 makes for a good home server.  Just make sure to get a board with an Intel network card.  See Andrew’s guide, Installing a Server OS in Intel Media Series Motherboards, for more information using an Intel Media Series board.

[dbocce3]

Hi Michael, and thank you for replying. I would prefer a low power consumption if possible. No need to waste money or energy if I don’t need to.

[swoon]

For a server motherboard like you are planning, take a look at the Intel BOXDH61BEB3. I’m planning to use this board myself for WHS 2011 build. It should offer low power usage (as Intel-branded are generally great for this), it has 6 on-board SATA (2 SATA III), Intel NIC, 16x PCIe and 2x 1x PCIe, 2x USB3 and 2x USB2.

You could probably either go i3 or Sandy Bridge Pentium for the CPU.

Why are you going with a 650W supply? You’ll be more power-efficient with something much smaller.

[dbocce3]

Aaron,

Thank you for your reply. I checked out the MB you recommended and it seems great. What do you think of MB’s that support AMD chips? I feel like I could get one cheaper than what I could get an Intel chip/board.

 

Here is what I was thinking. Any suggestions or remarks are more than welcomed.

MB: ASRock 880GM-LE

CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 250e

[swoon]

[quote=dbocce3]

Aaron,

Thank you for your reply. I checked out the MB you recommended and it seems great. What do you think of MB’s that support AMD chips? I feel like I could get one cheaper than what I could get an Intel chip/board.

 

Here is what I was thinking. Any suggestions or remarks are more than welcomed.

MB: ASRock 880GM-LE

CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 250e

[/quote]

Well, the difference between the parts you linked and the H61 board plus a G620 is about $28. For that additional money, you get a board with much better specs. The Intel NIC alone is worth it. In addition, you’re getting most likely better power consumption, additional PCIe slot, SATA III and USB3 ports and better graphics.

[mikinho]

I agree with Aaron.  The I have with many AMD boards is the on-board Realtek network card.  I do like that the current generation AMD boards typically have 6x SATA III versus 2x on comparable Intel boards; however, I’ll pick a nice Intel network card over that any day.

There are some new AMD boards with comparable low power consumption and processing power to the Core i3 but they are still untested.

[dbocce3]

Thank you both for your help.

 

Aaron, in regards to that MB, how do I know which CPU to get and how do I know if it will fit the MB? I have never built a computer before and am going into this process blind.

 

Also, what do you guys think regarding FreeNAS?

[mikinho]

It is an Intel LGA 1155 (Socket H2) motherboard which is a socket that supports Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge processors.  Any LGA 1155 CPU is compatible.

Since you are not looking for high-performance I would look at any of the 2nd generation Intel Core i3 family of processors.  If you want low power the Core i3-2100T is a 35W Max TDP CPU but it is more expensive than its 21xx siblings.

[swoon]

Like Michael said, you could go with the Core i3. Another cheaper option if you’re on a strict budget is the new Pentium parts like the G620 I linked. You give up a little performance and some of the SandyBridge features, but it would probably work fine for your needs. There is a G620T that is also a 35W TDP part.

If you have the money, spring for the i3-2100 or i3-2100t.

I don’t have any experience with FreeNAS.

[mikinho]

The lack of Hyperthreading on the G620T leaving it with only 2 threads would make it a difficult purchase for me but it is almost $60 cheaper than the 2100T

[swoon]

Yeah, it definitely is no match for the i3, but it probably would do well pitted against that Athlon II 250e part that was suggested.

[dbocce3]

Thank you again Aaron and Michael for all of your help. I have decided to go with the Intel Core i3-2100T Sandy Bridge 2.5GHz LGA 1155 35W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I32100T and the http://www.amazon.com/Boxed-Intel-Micro-Motherboards-BOXDH61BEB3/dp/B004QDRU5K/

 

Two more quick (dumb) questions for you:

1. Is WHS 2011 an OS or an program? If it is an OS, can other programs be installed on there just like on Windows 7? My main concern is SageTV Media Center.
2. And can a blu-ray player be installed into this case? I purchased this blu-ray drive.

 

Thanks again for all of your help guys. I am getting excited to order the parts and attempt to put it all together!

[mikinho]

[quote=dbocce3]

1. Is WHS 2011 an OS or an program? If it is an OS, can other programs be installed on there just like on Windows 7? My main concern is SageTV Media Center.

[/quote]

It is an operating system.  WHS 2011 is based on Windows 2008 R2.  There are some limitations on what can be installed but SageTV Server can be installed w/o issue.

[quote=dbocce3]

2. And can a blu-ray player be installed into this case? I purchased this blu-ray drive.

[/quote]

Yes.  I suggest the top 5.25″ drive bay.  I have the same case (well branded as a different manufacturer but it is the same chassis…it is used by a couple companies) and it works fine.

[dbocce3]

Thank you Michael. You and Aaron have been a huge help. 

 

These are my last questions.

• Do I need to install a fan on top of the CPU or will the fans in the case be sufficient?
• How can I find out what type of fan fits over the CPU and on the board? Can you make any recommendations as to a type or where to look?

Thanks again guys! You have been a real help. I want to make sure I get everything down before I attempt to build this. I don’t want a lot of problems, or the wife will not be so happy she let me spend this amount of money! ha ha

[Author]

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