New server build help

[Badfish]

Hi folks!

I wonder if someone can help me with speccing up a server for home use please, its meant for Plex media server and somewhere to store movies, series, music, etc. So the main function and requirements are:

• It will run Windows server 2012R2.
• Plex media server will run on it to serve 1-3 streams at 720p and sometimes 1080p.
• Storage NAS (with redundancy like RAID 5).
• HyperV VMs may run on it.
• Low power usage if possible as it will be on 24/7

I do have an Intel i5 4690 CPU which I could use for this(its in my gaming PC but I can upgrade that to an i7 if I use this i5), but doesn't have to be if its too hot or powerhungry.

I've looked at many options already, spent a lot of time on it, but there's just soooooooo many options with onboard CPU's with heatsink, NAS cases, etc but then I worry about the cooling these when there's lots of disks in there. Basically this is what I need though:

Case (small if possible)
SSD for OS and programs (200GB+)
10TB+ of storage with redundancy
All internal component (maybe no CPU as per above): Motherboard, CPU, RAM, PSU, etc.

Thanks in advance

Edit: Budget for this including disks is max 1000.

 

[Biz.Kid09]

Would you like to build this yourself or would you consider a pre-built?

Something like the Dell T20 could be perfect, you just put your own HDD's in. A pre built means you get the warranty and support which could be a god send?

 

[Semple]

As above, you'd be better off buying HP/Dell, as much cheaper in costs and power.

I think you'll struggle to keep power reqs down by going for effectively a full scale desktop re-purposed as a media server.

I imagine the storage will be the bulk of the cost. If you're looking at RAID5 ideally you'll need a controller.

3x6Tb (12Tb useable) @ £203.99ea = £611.97
3x8Tb (16Tb useable) @ £285.95ea = £857.85

4x3Tb (9Tb useable) @ £92.99ea = £371.96
4x4Tb (12Tb useable) @ £135.95ea = £543.80
4x6Tb (18Tb useable) @ £203.99ea = £815.96


Speccing up a microserver:
Microserver = £179.99
Storage = £542.80
It looks like OCUK has the Win server 2k12 R2 Essentials up for £299.99
So that comes in at £1023.78


Do you actually need a server edition of windows?
How do you plan to run virtualisation alongside Plex?
- You have two options really, something like VMWare workstation as and when needed, or you turn the microserver into a host and have Plex run from a VM.

EDIT: Actually you may need to reconsider the RAID5 aspect, just looked at the quickspecs for the microserver and it appears that RAID5 isn't supported at the hardware level.

 

[Prophet]

Would you like to build this yourself or would you consider a pre-built?

Something like the Dell T20 could be perfect, you just put your own HDD's in. A pre built means you get the warranty and support which could be a god send?

This.

I have a T20 with a bunch of 4TB disks in and a 120GB SSD for the OS. I've ran 5 streams at the same time, low power and quiet.

 

[Badfish]

Thanks all for the replies, useful information for sure I hadnt come accross that DELL T20 so far, I'd seen the HP Microserver and other NAS's but they were all underpowered for my requirements, but this DELL server looks good! The only downside I see is that there is no hardware RAID5 support, so I would have to use software RAID5 I guess.

 

[Badfish]

As above, you'd be better off buying HP/Dell, as much cheaper in costs and power.

I think you'll struggle to keep power reqs down by going for effectively a full scale desktop re-purposed as a media server.

I imagine the storage will be the bulk of the cost. If you're looking at RAID5 ideally you'll need a controller.

3x6Tb (12Tb useable) @ £203.99ea = £611.97
3x8Tb (16Tb useable) @ £285.95ea = £857.85

4x3Tb (9Tb useable) @ £92.99ea = £371.96
4x4Tb (12Tb useable) @ £135.95ea = £543.80
4x6Tb (18Tb useable) @ £203.99ea = £815.96


Speccing up a microserver:
Microserver = £179.99
Storage = £542.80
It looks like OCUK has the Win server 2k12 R2 Essentials up for £299.99
So that comes in at £1023.78


Do you actually need a server edition of windows?
How do you plan to run virtualisation alongside Plex?
- You have two options really, something like VMWare workstation as and when needed, or you turn the microserver into a host and have Plex run from a VM.

EDIT: Actually you may need to reconsider the RAID5 aspect, just looked at the quickspecs for the microserver and it appears that RAID5 isn't supported at the hardware level.

Thanks for the explanation and information!

I was planning on using Windows server on it as I have a license for it already and figured I could use HyperV VM's on it assuming the hardware is up to it, but I see the DELL T20 has max 8GB ram and so not much use for VMs...

I was thinking of just installing Windows and then have plex server run on it, but do you think its best to run Plex inside a VM instead?

And yes, you are correct about the RAID5 part, both the HP Microserver and DELL T20 lack hardware raid 5 support, so might have to go for another option in terms of disk like raid 1 but it means losing a lot of disk space.

 

[Armageus]

[*]Storage NAS (with redundancy like RAID 5).

RAID5 is a fairly bad idea (especially if you are looking at big drives), due to the risk of a (second) drive failure during the long rebuild time. RAID6 is a better option, and RAID10 the best option, but not usually sensible for home budgets / space requirements.

RAID is also no substitute for a backup, so if you are looking at 10TB+, I hope you have some way of backing up that amount of data (even if it's replaceable data like DVD rips etc, that's still potentially a lot of your time spent doing it - so depends on what value you put on that)

If you don't actually need the option of VMs, then I would be tempted just to buy an off the shelf NAS e.g. Synology or similar as they support Plex afaik.

 

[Badfish]

Thanks for the info. I'll avoid RAID5 then!

I'm still thinking that DELL T20 is a good option, the memory can be expanded upto 16GB or 32GB pretty easy and it has a nice Xeon XPU. Max 4 disks though which is a shame.

 

[joeyjojo]

You're best asking for this thread to be moved to the Servers forum OP.

I'd personally do something similar to a recent workstation build I did for a family member. I know you said Win Server only but hear me out. I got a Dell T1600 at auction for <£200 (E3-1270, 8 GB ECC memory), put Linux on it (Ubuntu, but I'd probably use Arch for a dedicated server) which now comes with ZFS and use that for your big storage. No faffing with hardware RAID cards or anything, just add the disks to a pool and go. You'd need something with more HDD bays mind.