Hi all!
It’s been years since I built a PC / Server and I fear that I’m rather out of touch with what's what these days. I am looking to build a complete kit of parts for a suitable specification for a Windows Server (2008) Server machine.
I am wanting to build a demo / lab server so that I can make good use of my Microsoft Action Pack Subscription (loads of good stuff to play with and sell on to my customers!).
It will be running Windows Server 2008 with Hypervisor just above the BIOS level. It will then have multiple OS’s running as virtual machines, so a Quad Core and quite a bit of fast RAM are probably required. I notice from the Mircosoft web site that HyperV requires hardware support at the processor level.
It will probably act as a domain, file & print server too. For 3 users – very light usage, but primary use will be as a testing lab for MS products. For example, a deployment of MS Office Communications Server 2008.
This will be in my home office environment so a quiet machine is an absolute must. This rules out a rack mounted server (I believe).
I’m not sure whether I’m into overclocking, but if there’s more to be gleaned from a processor without impacting reliability, then I’m open to suggestions.
Here are my thoughts:
Motherboard – No Idea.
Case – No Idea, but like the Coolermaster RC-1000 (I don’t want flashy LED’s etc for security reasons – this will be running 24/7 in the home office / garage).
PSU – No Idea – but it needs to be quiet!
CPU: Intel Quad Core – but not sure which one (Q6600?)
Mobo: Argh! This is complicated – which mobo to go with which processor.
Cooling: Remember – it needs to be quiet!
RAM: 4GB – but what is good RAM these days for a server?
HDD: SATA RAID 1 mirroring for fault tolerance (Disk Space less important as it will have a Terastation NAS as the primary file store, but local fast disk access – not sure if best to go RAID for performance / fault tolerance).
NIC: Dual GB Ethernet.
Video: Not Important
Budget: ~£1500-£2000
Any advice gratefully received.
Pete.
It’s been years since I built a PC / Server and I fear that I’m rather out of touch with what's what these days. I am looking to build a complete kit of parts for a suitable specification for a Windows Server (2008) Server machine.
I am wanting to build a demo / lab server so that I can make good use of my Microsoft Action Pack Subscription (loads of good stuff to play with and sell on to my customers!).
It will be running Windows Server 2008 with Hypervisor just above the BIOS level. It will then have multiple OS’s running as virtual machines, so a Quad Core and quite a bit of fast RAM are probably required. I notice from the Mircosoft web site that HyperV requires hardware support at the processor level.
It will probably act as a domain, file & print server too. For 3 users – very light usage, but primary use will be as a testing lab for MS products. For example, a deployment of MS Office Communications Server 2008.
This will be in my home office environment so a quiet machine is an absolute must. This rules out a rack mounted server (I believe).
I’m not sure whether I’m into overclocking, but if there’s more to be gleaned from a processor without impacting reliability, then I’m open to suggestions.
Here are my thoughts:
Motherboard – No Idea.
Case – No Idea, but like the Coolermaster RC-1000 (I don’t want flashy LED’s etc for security reasons – this will be running 24/7 in the home office / garage).
PSU – No Idea – but it needs to be quiet!
CPU: Intel Quad Core – but not sure which one (Q6600?)
Mobo: Argh! This is complicated – which mobo to go with which processor.
Cooling: Remember – it needs to be quiet!
RAM: 4GB – but what is good RAM these days for a server?
HDD: SATA RAID 1 mirroring for fault tolerance (Disk Space less important as it will have a Terastation NAS as the primary file store, but local fast disk access – not sure if best to go RAID for performance / fault tolerance).
NIC: Dual GB Ethernet.
Video: Not Important
Budget: ~£1500-£2000
Any advice gratefully received.
Pete.