Home server for multiple VM's

Boxfreshchris · 22 Mar 2019 at 07:32

Quick question chaps.

Say I wanted to build a home server for running multiple Virtual Machines using VMware, the plan would be to have this running 10 simultaneous VM's and I would remote connect from my main machine. With the VMs I'd need lots of threads/cores, big ram and a couple of SSD's, with a pov spec GPU. Initially I was looking to build a Threadripper rig, however, would something like a 2nd hand Dell workstation work just as well?

*** no ebay computer equipment links please ***

A custom threadripper build would set me back £2k-£3k, it seems I could pick up something like the above for much less, but would it suit my needs just as well?

Cheers for any help.

Boxfreshchris · 22 Mar 2019 at 09:01

The increased power consumption will be fine, and if its too noisy/runs too hot it can be relegated to the garage.

I guess my main concern with a system like this would be maintenance/diagnostics/upgrades. A custom build with consumer level parts I'd be happy with diving into, but I wouldn't be comfortable doing the same with this system. Simple things like installing a few SSD's looks a lot more complicated than with consumer grade kit.

Boxfreshchris · 22 Mar 2019 at 09:44

Just stumbled across *** don't link competitors ***

I can get a T7500 running 2x Xeon X5675 (12 cores, 24 threads), 128GB ram and 2x 256GB SSD'd for £650, I'll also have a look on ebay for rack style systems, I have no issues sitting it in the garage on a shelf

Boxfreshchris · 22 Mar 2019 at 10:27

Thankyou. See this is what I meant when I said I wasn't comfortable with enterprise grade equipment, I've never used it before, but I'm comfortable with consumer grade kit. I was originally recommended a Threadripper based build, but consumer level CPU's like this, and the motherboards & Ram that go with them, seem overly expensive when compared to their enterprise counter parts. However, there's obviously more to it than that, which I'm unaware of due to my very limited experience.

Perhaps I should have tried a different approach. Can I build a home server, capable of running 10+ VMware machines simultaneously, for around (or less than) £1000?

Boxfreshchris · 22 Mar 2019 at 22:07

Avalon said:
What are the VM workloads anticipated to be? Any specific usage/requirements we need to know about?

I thought I posted this reply early, but forgot to actual click 'post reply'.

Flash and HTML5, they'll be running webpage bots. Its probably unlikely all 10 will be going balls out at once, and I'll only be running 5 for a while yet, but I want the ability to run all 10 if needs be.

Boxfreshchris · 23 Mar 2019 at 10:29

At the moment I'm leaning towards a Ryzen based build. It might not offer the best value for money, but i'm just a lot more comfortable with consumer grade equipment, I know I'll have hardware/software compatibility, and it'll be a lot easier for me to build/diagnose/upgrade/sell on.

I can put together a 1700x build for around £1000, or a Threadripper 2920x build for £1600, both with 64GB ram and SSD's running the show. No ECC ram though, unfortunately its expensive and limits motherboard choice a little too much.

Boxfreshchris · 4 Apr 2019 at 14:33

Armageus said:
Does it have to be VMWare/ESXi?

Hyper-V is another option (and works quite well with Windows Admin Centre installed so you can manage it via a webpage), or worth looking at Proxmox (particularly if you end up with older enterprise kit - it's based on a Linux distro so has much wider hardware support)

I mentioned VMware as its just what I'm comfortable with and used to, but Hyper-V has been mentioned to me by someone else too. Is it possible to run Hyper-V on Windows Server 2016 on some of these older Enterprise level bits of kit? Also, since I'm just running website based applications, is it worth considering Linux VMs rather than Windows 10 ones? Lower hardware requirements etc