3D Acceleration within VMWare ESXi is available on supported hardware. The Microserver is NOT a platform for 3D acceleration under ESXi though.
***The Official Windows Home Server 2011 Thread***
- Thread starter easyrider
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3D Acceleration within VMWare ESXi is available on supported hardware. The Microserver is NOT a platform for 3D acceleration under ESXi though.
You should have no issues playing full bluray ISOs over a network with a vSphere based server using reasonable drives. My WHS 2011 VM on a desktop board coped fine to multiple players from green drives. Transcoding and playing rather than just streaming the media file will add more load on the processor and I have no experience doing that as my HTPC or AC Ryan / WD Live TV boxes do the playing. Other will be better places to advise on that side of things if that is what you are looking to do.
RB
Make sure to check out the power profiles on any servers you are looking at from the second hand market though as they can be quite thirsty and loud.
New units like the much talked about HP Microserver or ML110 G7 are also good bets, likely to have much lower power usage and enough grunt for most peoples home lab type set-ups (depending on the CPU in the ML110 you choose).
Ok, a quick overview to make suggestions below easier.
SATA drives are what most people have, SAS are mainly used for business. You can put SATA drives on a SAS controller (with the correct cables) but cannot put SAS drives on a SATA controller.
Current SAS controllers usually use SFF-8087 internal connections which have 4 lanes and can then break out to 4xSATA, 4x SAS or SFF-8087 for attaching to a backplane. The cables are directional so you need to make sure you get the right ones (forward or reverse). SOme older SAS controllers us SFF-8484 connectors (older Dell PERCs and HP models for example).
SAS expanders are like switches for multi-drive storage connectivity. They allow you to connect a controller with 2x SFF-8087 (i.e. 8 lanes so 8 drives) to more drives and the expander handles the traffic routing.
Connecting externally is usually via SFF-8088 connectors although there are others.
SAS chipsets are wide and varied but try to go for LSI 2008 or higher. The older models can be problematic in newer motherboards. LSi 1078 based controllers are PCIe 1.0a x8 and will only work in PCIe 2.0 x4 slots (which have to be x8 in size to take the card).
HBAs are Host Bus Adaptors and have no functionality other than to connect drives to the PCIe bus. The other option is Raid cards which provide different levels of speed / redundancy depending on the raid level used. For LSi cards, the -Xi/Xe on the end of the name denotes the number of lanes internal (Xi) or external (Xe) so -8i has 8 internal lanes.
Bandwidth bottlenecks are also worth considering. SAS2 / SATA III enable around 600MB/s per lane. The PCIe 2.0 will allow around 500MB/s (per x1 so for x8 = 4,000MB/s). Mechanical hard drives usually top out around 150MB/s burst but SSDs can go to around 600MB/s. Note these numbers are rough averages. Some drives are slower and some may be a little faster but they give a starting point in order to calculate whether the drive you are adding are likely to saturate your bandwidth wither on the PCIe bus, SAS expander or SAS controller. Some controllers are SAS2 but only SATA II so SATA drives will run at a max of 300MB/s per lane.
Ok, enough of that very simple, quick primer.
Entry level models to look for (vSphere compatible);
LSi 9211-8i (HBA - no raid)
LSi 9240-8i (very basic raid - 0, 1, 10. Can do raid 5 with feature key added but not advisable).
LSi 9260-8i (better raid and can add a batter backup unit to prevent corruption in the event of a power failure).
There are also rebadged versions of the above that can be cross flashed back to the LSi firmware. These can usually be found on the second hand market cheaper than buying the LSI versions.
IBM M1015 - LSi 9211-8i / LSI 9240-8i (depending on the firmware you flash with).
IBM M5014 (256M cache) / M5015 (500M Cache) - LSi 9260-8i
Intel also rebadge LSi controllers.
A full list can be found on Serve the Home here (Thanks to Mobilenvidia for his hard work putting it together).
Note: Cross flashing can be picky about motherboard. I use an old MSI LGA775 board but a number of other boards I tried (Sandy Bridge) would not work. I have been reading that the newer Ivy Bridge boards are more likely to work and there is an EFi based process floating around out there somewhere.
For SAS expanders, the Intel RES2SV240 is a current favourite with either 1 or 2 connections in (4 or 8 lanes) and 4 or 5 connections out. With one connection in from the controller you can connect up to 20 drives. Expanders can also be chained up to certain limits but be mindful of bandwidth which will be shared between all active devices at any point of time.
Lots to digest but not so bad to have it here as a point of reference anyway.
RB
New units like the much talked about HP Microserver or ML110 G7 are also good bets, likely to have much lower power usage and enough grunt for most peoples home lab type set-ups (depending on the CPU in the ML110 you choose).
Ok, a quick overview to make suggestions below easier.
SATA drives are what most people have, SAS are mainly used for business. You can put SATA drives on a SAS controller (with the correct cables) but cannot put SAS drives on a SATA controller.
Current SAS controllers usually use SFF-8087 internal connections which have 4 lanes and can then break out to 4xSATA, 4x SAS or SFF-8087 for attaching to a backplane. The cables are directional so you need to make sure you get the right ones (forward or reverse). SOme older SAS controllers us SFF-8484 connectors (older Dell PERCs and HP models for example).
SAS expanders are like switches for multi-drive storage connectivity. They allow you to connect a controller with 2x SFF-8087 (i.e. 8 lanes so 8 drives) to more drives and the expander handles the traffic routing.
Connecting externally is usually via SFF-8088 connectors although there are others.
SAS chipsets are wide and varied but try to go for LSI 2008 or higher. The older models can be problematic in newer motherboards. LSi 1078 based controllers are PCIe 1.0a x8 and will only work in PCIe 2.0 x4 slots (which have to be x8 in size to take the card).
HBAs are Host Bus Adaptors and have no functionality other than to connect drives to the PCIe bus. The other option is Raid cards which provide different levels of speed / redundancy depending on the raid level used. For LSi cards, the -Xi/Xe on the end of the name denotes the number of lanes internal (Xi) or external (Xe) so -8i has 8 internal lanes.
Bandwidth bottlenecks are also worth considering. SAS2 / SATA III enable around 600MB/s per lane. The PCIe 2.0 will allow around 500MB/s (per x1 so for x8 = 4,000MB/s). Mechanical hard drives usually top out around 150MB/s burst but SSDs can go to around 600MB/s. Note these numbers are rough averages. Some drives are slower and some may be a little faster but they give a starting point in order to calculate whether the drive you are adding are likely to saturate your bandwidth wither on the PCIe bus, SAS expander or SAS controller. Some controllers are SAS2 but only SATA II so SATA drives will run at a max of 300MB/s per lane.
Ok, enough of that very simple, quick primer.
Entry level models to look for (vSphere compatible);
LSi 9211-8i (HBA - no raid)
LSi 9240-8i (very basic raid - 0, 1, 10. Can do raid 5 with feature key added but not advisable).
LSi 9260-8i (better raid and can add a batter backup unit to prevent corruption in the event of a power failure).
There are also rebadged versions of the above that can be cross flashed back to the LSi firmware. These can usually be found on the second hand market cheaper than buying the LSI versions.
IBM M1015 - LSi 9211-8i / LSI 9240-8i (depending on the firmware you flash with).
IBM M5014 (256M cache) / M5015 (500M Cache) - LSi 9260-8i
Intel also rebadge LSi controllers.
A full list can be found on Serve the Home here (Thanks to Mobilenvidia for his hard work putting it together).
Note: Cross flashing can be picky about motherboard. I use an old MSI LGA775 board but a number of other boards I tried (Sandy Bridge) would not work. I have been reading that the newer Ivy Bridge boards are more likely to work and there is an EFi based process floating around out there somewhere.
For SAS expanders, the Intel RES2SV240 is a current favourite with either 1 or 2 connections in (4 or 8 lanes) and 4 or 5 connections out. With one connection in from the controller you can connect up to 20 drives. Expanders can also be chained up to certain limits but be mindful of bandwidth which will be shared between all active devices at any point of time.
Lots to digest but not so bad to have it here as a point of reference anyway.
RB
Soldato
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ok, so I have gone back to WHS2011 and have forgotten most of what I did before but I am getting there.
the only issue I sort of have now, which im not sure is going to be possible to do, is mapping drives.
is it possible to map a shared folder (say music) to z: that will be IP assigned not computer name assigned, so even when im not at home it knows its there and connects?
the only issue I sort of have now, which im not sure is going to be possible to do, is mapping drives.
is it possible to map a shared folder (say music) to z: that will be IP assigned not computer name assigned, so even when im not at home it knows its there and connects?
Thanks mate, happy to share.
Not quite sure what you are after.
You want to map a shared folder on the WHS to a local machine. Why do you believe that it would not be accessable if you are using the WHS hostname rather than IP address ?. Is the desktop machine not local / on the same subnet or something ?.
RB
If you are wanting to map a shared folder on the WHS to a drive mapping on a client machine then of course its possible (providing the permissions are correct).
Easiest way is to fire up the WHS launchpad, open shared folders, right click the one you want to map and click "Map Network Drive", then give it a letter and badda bing. Done!
Have you guys figured out how to do a PPTP VPN connection to WHS 2011 yet? It's dead easy. Shout if you want instructions and I'll do a quick article. That will give you the ability to use those same drive mappings from your client PC, even when you take it out and about with you (providing you can access the Internet)
I use it with my laptop, and sometimes tethered through my Android phone.
Soldato
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sorry, will try to explain. basically I have my server at home and a desktop, they are simple just map the drives and all works good. thing is I have a laptop that I would like to map the drives to, so that they remain working at home and when I leave the house. I have ***.homeserver.com setup so I can connect to that fine via a web browsers and access the files when not at home. but how do I set up a mapped drive that will work anywhere as long as there is an internet connection?
PPTP VPN
Dead easy on WHS 2011 as its the same as on Windows 2008 R2
Do you want a how to??
In fact I'll be setting up another one tomorrow so I'll grab screens etc then if you can wait.
If not:
You can use this article as a basis.
Windows 2008 R2 PPTP VPN
Main differences are that WHS 2011 doesn't have Active Directory installed so you create a local group and add the users you want to give VPN permission to into that. Then you assign the group permissions in the NPS connection policy.
Last edited:
Soldato
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Soldato
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is there any way to access ****.homeserver.com through the local network?
Associate
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Hi guys,
I have AWIECO WakeonLAN installed, and I've set it to install on the server plus all client computers. It works OK on the server, but it's not getting distributed to the client computers. Any ideas why?
This page (step 3) claims that there's an hourly task (InstallAddIns) to push add-ins out to client computers, but I don't have that in Task Scheduler. Can anyone else confirm either the presence or the absence of this task?
Thanks,
Simon
I have AWIECO WakeonLAN installed, and I've set it to install on the server plus all client computers. It works OK on the server, but it's not getting distributed to the client computers. Any ideas why?
This page (step 3) claims that there's an hourly task (InstallAddIns) to push add-ins out to client computers, but I don't have that in Task Scheduler. Can anyone else confirm either the presence or the absence of this task?
Thanks,
Simon
Hi
Finally got round to putting whs on the Microserver.
Have put my media hdds in it
Have managed to get my Htpc to talk to it
I can access the shared folders, perform backups and access the dashboard.
What I want is an easy way access my media hdds. What method do you guys use?
I think the easiest way is to see all the drives in windows explorer just like if they were on the Htpc.
Maybe I'm stuck in my old non server ways and there is a better way.
I need to be able to access the files to stream videos etc. Atm I'm stilll using media centre media browser addons.
Also..
Whs dashboard will not allow me to backup the Htpc in the backup tab. There is simply no entry for the pc. (it is present however just not in backup)
Finally got round to putting whs on the Microserver.
Have put my media hdds in it
Have managed to get my Htpc to talk to it
I can access the shared folders, perform backups and access the dashboard.
What I want is an easy way access my media hdds. What method do you guys use?
I think the easiest way is to see all the drives in windows explorer just like if they were on the Htpc.
Maybe I'm stuck in my old non server ways and there is a better way.
I need to be able to access the files to stream videos etc. Atm I'm stilll using media centre media browser addons.
Also..
Whs dashboard will not allow me to backup the Htpc in the backup tab. There is simply no entry for the pc. (it is present however just not in backup)
Soldato
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- There's a voice that keeps on calling me.
Hi folks im a bit of noob to all this server stuff so forgive me for the silly qs!
Basically i have a hp n40l with 2 3tb drives in raid one. These have all my films,music etc etc. I travel a bit for work so it would be nice to access a tv show or dump photos to the server or what not in a hotel, how could i do this, what ports would need to be open?
Also, my back up strategy is to back up the os drive to a usb stick and a usb drive, and i would like to back up the raid setup to another 3tb drive hooked up to the microserver, is this a sensible move?
Lastly im currently running the trial of whs2011 ive seen it advertised for £40 is that a good price for it?
Thanks guys.
Basically i have a hp n40l with 2 3tb drives in raid one. These have all my films,music etc etc. I travel a bit for work so it would be nice to access a tv show or dump photos to the server or what not in a hotel, how could i do this, what ports would need to be open?
Also, my back up strategy is to back up the os drive to a usb stick and a usb drive, and i would like to back up the raid setup to another 3tb drive hooked up to the microserver, is this a sensible move?
Lastly im currently running the trial of whs2011 ive seen it advertised for £40 is that a good price for it?
Thanks guys.
