Want to transition to a home server but need advice.

LoneTraveler · 2 Oct 2020 at 14:34

Hello all,

I have several new components enroute for my new home computer. I have also made the decision to go down the server (rack & cabinet) route. As this is the first time that I have ventured into this field, I wanted to ensure that I purchase suitable and compatible equipment. From searching the Internet however I am struggling to find what I need, I didn't think it would be this difficult to settle on the right rack & cabinet.

As this will be my home server, used for two Win10 VM's via KVM, along with dedicated media streamer, I would like a cabinet around 22U in height and it needs to come in flat pack as I will be assembling it in my attic. Furthermore, I would be interested in a case along the lines of;

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ocuk...x-3.5-hdd-3x-5.25-bays-sc-416a-sa-005-op.html
As this would offer me plenty of space for my component's and several HDD'S.

Could someone please be kind enough to offer a suggestion for a server cabinet that would house the above case, and further advise on any other accessories (rails etc) that I would need. I am happy to buy new or used, but delivery is required.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Armageus · 2 Oct 2020 at 14:43

Which part of your specifications dictates a rackmount case?

There are many decent tower cases that will host a quantity of hard drives, as well as a selection of Cube/NAS/Microserver style cases available now, that are far more appropriate for a home environment.

A 19" Rack and Rackmount cases should be a last resort for a home environment - not a first suggestion.

EDIT:
Reading your other thread https://www.overclockers.co.uk/forums/threads/kvm-advice.18900379/ I'm not really sure what you are trying to achieve?

Why do you need the 2 PCs to be remote from the monitors/keyboard/mouse?

Also - not sure how you are going to connect 2 Virtual Machines to a Physical KVM?

LoneTraveler · 2 Oct 2020 at 15:12

Armageus said:
Which part of your specifications dictates a rackmount case?

There are many decent tower cases that will host a quantity of hard drives, as well as a selection of Cube/NAS/Microserver style cases available now, that are far more appropriate for a home environment.

A 19" Rack and Rackmount cases should be a last resort for a home environment - not a first suggestion.

EDIT:
Reading your other thread https://www.overclockers.co.uk/forums/threads/kvm-advice.18900379/ I'm not really sure what you are trying to achieve?

Why do you need the 2 PCs to be remote from the monitors/keyboard/mouse?

Also - not sure how you are going to connect 2 Virtual Machines to a Physical KVM?

Hello,

To be honest I've always quite liked the idea of a "homelab" but just never managed to get around to it. Now that I've moved house, I thought this would be the perfect time. On the other hand however, if you have any Cube/NAS/Microserver style case suggestions, I 2ould love to have a look as the ones I've found up to now pushed me to take the full leap to server rack.

As for the KVM advice, I have sourced two devices which will allow two seperate Win10 instances in seperate rooms of the house, however both feed off the one server. Luckily Unraid makes the passthrough of select GPUs and CPU cores to specific virtualizations a relatively easy process.

Armageus · 2 Oct 2020 at 15:29

LoneTraveler said:
On the other hand however, if you have any Cube/NAS/Microserver style case suggestions, I 2ould love to have a look as the ones I've found up to now pushed me to take the full leap to server rack.

Silverstone DS380 or Fractal Design Node 804 are two obvious choices:
https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=452&area=en
https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/node/node-804/black/

LoneTraveler said:
To be honest I've always quite liked the idea of a "homelab" but just never managed to get around to it. Now that I've moved house, I thought this would be the perfect time.

Nothing wrong with having a homelab, but there is nothing that dictates it needs rack mount servers.
Homelabs these days are all about small form factors - Intel NUCs, Lenovo Tiny PCs, HP Microservers etc

Worth looking over at reddit for some ideas:
https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/

LoneTraveler said:
As for the KVM advice, I have sourced two devices which will allow two seperate Win10 instances in seperate rooms of the house, however both feed off the one server. Luckily Unraid makes the passthrough of select GPUs and CPU cores to specific virtualizations a relatively easy process.

I still don't understand what the purpose of it is though? It's much easier (and probably as cost effective), to just have 2 separate PCs located where you need them.

LoneTraveler · 2 Oct 2020 at 15:45

Armageus said:
Silverstone DS380 or Fractal Design Node 804 are two obvious choices:
https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=452&area=en
https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/node/node-804/black/

Nothing wrong with having a homelab, but there is nothing that dictates it needs rack mount servers.
Homelabs these days are all about small form factors - Intel NUCs, Lenovo Tiny PCs, HP Microservers etc

Worth looking over at reddit for some ideas:
https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/

I still don't understand what the purpose of it is though? It's much easier (and probably as cost effective), to just have 2 separate PCs located where you need them.

Many thanks for your advice. I'll certainly give those links and reddit a try.

The homelab I'm after is more for the rack aesthetics and ease of access than anything, I'm not a fan of small form factor, but can see the appeal.

Regarding the KVM solution, this is the cleanest way for my needs I believe. I agree, it will cost more, but I manage to keep everyone in the house happy whilst getting to play with my new server toy.

BongoHunter · 2 Oct 2020 at 17:54

One thing I would say is if you looking to provide a couple of virtual desktops - you should get a seperate box for running your homelab. It's not a lab if you need it to work all the time providing said desktops - labs are for experimenting/learning - so it's convienent to be able to blow them away with no consequence.

BongoHunter · 2 Oct 2020 at 17:59

If you want some snazzy looking stuff in your rack then InWin make some nice looking looking rack chassis (there's a selection with bezels in different styles as well): https://www.ipc.in-win.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=&all_search=1&page=2

LoneTraveler · 2 Oct 2020 at 18:14

BongoHunter said:
One thing I would say is if you looking to provide a couple of virtual desktops - you should get a seperate box for running your homelab. It's not a lab if you need it to work all the time providing said desktops - labs are for experimenting/learning - so it's convienent to be able to blow them away with no consequence.

Good point, my life wouldn't be worth living if that happened.

BongoHunter said:
If you want some snazzy looking stuff in your rack then InWin make some nice looking looking rack chassis (there's a selection with bezels in different styles as well): https://www.ipc.in-win.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=&all_search=1&page=2

Thanks, I'll give them a look.