Server Build for Free VMware vSphere Hypervisor ESXi

E

enuro12

Gawd
Joined
Jan 25, 2004
Messages
781
So, what do you think of the build below? Anything you might change to either save money or get more performance for a VM server?
This will be my first ESXi server. I've had plent of experience with Hyper-V, Vmware Workstation, VirtualBox ect. But the requirements for ESXi is kicking my arse!

I really want to utilize SATA 3.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? VMware ESXi (2VM's)
2) What's your budget? ~5,000
3) Where do you live? MO
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, Memory, Motherboard, Hard Drives, RAID Card, Case, PSU (Raid 1 SSD, Raid 5 platters)
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? New Build
6) Will you be overclocking? No
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have? N/A
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Two Weeks
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? Dual gigabit LAN, VGA
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? ESXi, NEW SBS 2011, NEW 30 Terminal Services Licenses



3x Western Digital Caviar Black WD1502FAEX 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
1x COOLER MASTER Silent Pro RSA00-AMBAJ3-US 1000W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.92
2x CORSAIR DOMINATOR GT 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Desktop Memory with Airflow Fan Model CMT8GX3M2A2000C9
1x ASRock P67 EXTREME6 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel
1x Intel Core i7-970 Gulftown 3.2GHz LGA 1366 130W Six-Core Desktop Processor
2x HighPoint RocketRAID 640 PCI-Express 2.0 x4 SATA III (6.0Gb/s) Controller Card
1x Intel SC5600BRPNA Black Pedestal 9-Bay Server Case with 3 Fans
2x OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-480G 2.5" 480GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive
 
I also just randomly selected that Server Case, i'll likely go with a nice cool master case. Which will save a few $
 
Make sure that you get a motherboard with an Intel LAN chip, or else get an Intel NIC. Broadcom may also work, but I'd play it safe and stick to Intel only. And make sure that RAID card is on VMWare's supported hardware list. And I'm not sure I'd want a Cooler Master PSU in a server... I'd at least go for a Seasonic if you want a desktop-class PSU. Additionally, I would probably pony up for enterprise-class SATA drives.
 
dandragonrage said:
Make sure that you get a motherboard with an Intel LAN chip, or else get an Intel NIC. Broadcom may also work, but I'd play it safe and stick to Intel only. And make sure that RAID card is on VMWare's supported hardware list. And I'm not sure I'd want a Cooler Master PSU in a server... I'd at least go for a Seasonic if you want a desktop-class PSU. Additionally, I would probably pony up for enterprise-class SATA drives.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up on the LAN. It looks like i'm almost as well off using a cheaper board and lots of addon cards.

I've verified that that controler is not ESXi ready... :( Havent found a SATA 3 RAID controller that is yet...

PSU Check

Enterprise Class SATA drives got me tho. I've read a dozen articles in the past couple days stating there really is no different anymore in reliability between enterprise and consumer grade SATA. Its more manufacturer than anything else anymore.

Obviously if i wanted 10k or 15k that'd be the route to go, but why do you say go for enterprise?
 
enuro12 said:
2x CORSAIR DOMINATOR GT 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Desktop Memory with Airflow Fan Model CMT8GX3M2A2000C9
Click to expand...
Not a good choice at all: You won't notice an iota of real world performance difference between DDR3 2000 and DDR3 1333 RAM. So this is a waste of money for only synthetic benchmark increases. As such, you could go with this RAM and you would be fine:
$50 - G.Skill Value Series F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM

enuro12 said:
1x ASRock P67 EXTREME6 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel
1x Intel Core i7-970 Gulftown 3.2GHz LGA 1366 130W Six-Core Desktop Processor
Click to expand...

A couple problems with this:
1) That CPU is completely incompatible with that motherboard. Different sockets. That CPU is LGA 1366 socket CPU and the motherboard is a LGA 1155 socket motherboard.

2) I would not go with an AsRock mobo considering that they only have a one year warranty. Stick with Asus, MSI, or Gigabyte for your motherboard on account of them having a three year warranty.

enuro12 said:
Enterprise Class SATA drives got me tho. I've read a dozen articles in the past couple days stating there really is no different anymore in reliability between enterprise and consumer grade SATA. Its more manufacturer than anything else anymore.

Obviously if i wanted 10k or 15k that'd be the route to go, but why do you say go for enterprise?
Click to expand...
There's actually a thread on that very topic over in the Networking & Security subforum:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1621700

However the main reason for enterprise grade drives would be hardware RAID support IMO. The problem is that many hardware RAID controllers these days do not work that well with consumer grade drives. With that said, if you're using software or OS based (not Windows) RAID, then the choice of drives isn't that big of an issue from a compatibility aspect.

However if you're still gonna insist on consumer grade drives after reading the above thread and my post on it, then I recommend at least going with Hitachi hard drives as their consumer grade drives tends to work rather well with hardware RAID controllers.

Also, have you thought about going with a prebuilt PC that's been certified for ESXi usage? It would simplify things a lot.
 
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Thanks for your recommendations.

I built and rebuilt that silly build a dozen times. Looking back i'm surprised the ram was even the right form factor as well. I think i'll go back to a super micro dual board and call it quits.
 
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