Machine choice for ESXi/Media

Edvard_Grieg

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 9, 2002
Messages
217
Hi all,

I'm embarking down the road of media serving/distribution and ESXi. My basic vision is to build a private cloud at home for access to all my media/docs etc. I'm currently using an old dell 755 as an unraid server with plex, sabnzbd etc set up. With more apps that I'm adding I've been running into memory limitations and just some general concerns with transcoding HD content to my plex clients.

I'd like to set up ESXi with Unraid running as a guest, and separate VMs for Plex/SAB etc. I'd also like to improve reliability and uptime as my intent is to leave this on 24x7. For that reason I've been looking at server hardware and most likely OEM ( I've had my fun building computers, now I'd rather let the hardware run and focus on the software). I'm trying to stay <$500 and have largely been looking at refurbished on eBay/CL. I've gravitated to the Dell 2900 and what appears to be the workstation equivalent of the T7400.

What are the thoughts between the two? Is the 2900 overkill? What should I be expecting for energy usage/noise/heat etc ( this will get tucked in a spare bedroom/closet so noise is not a huge concern, but at least some concern)

I've also looked at some of the 'Rackable' servers, but I've been a little wary of either/both the overall speed of the opterons relative to the xeons as well as full ESXi compatibility. (vt-d)

From what I've read, it seems like I would most likely need vt-d support by the hardware to make everything function smoothly and easily- is this correct?


Thanks!
 
Can you elaborate on why you want to build a 'cloud' for home use?
The 2900 is a beast, the tower has dual 900w power supplies, there are lots of internal fans, its loud unless kept in a cool environment, can hold up to 10 drives that are SAS or SATA. I ran two 2900's at home for almost two years and got sick of the power bills every month, so I downsized to an ESXi white box that serves my purposes. Why not consider a NAS for your media and docs? They are cheaper, have a smaller foot print and draw way less power.
 
Sure-
I know the term 'cloud' gets thrown around a lot, but basically I want control over my data/media and have it accessible where ever I'm at.

I effectively already have a NAS right now with Unraid installed on a Dell 755. I did the FreeNAS thing awhile ago and after a corrupt RAID 5 array I've sworn off it for anything of any importance. My general implementation strategy is to continue using Unraid, but install it inside an ESXi VM and then utilize CrashPlan for true backup/redundancy of that data.

The purpose of having ESX and building other VMs is to create additional VMs for Plex, Sabnzbd, Sickbeard, CouchPotato, Logitech Media Server and Subsonic. I'm running most of these currently off the 755, but I've been running low on memory, and know that it is not the optimal setup for everything I'm trying to run off of it.

From what I can tell the CPU in the 755 does a decent job, so even though the tech would be 4-6 years old, a quad-core xeon seems like it would be more than adequate to plow through transcoding 1080p MKVs.

Let me know if this helps, or if there is a facet I'm overlooking.

I've somewhat backed down off the 2900 idea, but still looking into the 7400 or maybe one of the Rackables setup. My concern overall (more so with the Rackable) is ESXi compatibility.
 
I have no experience using unraid so I can't speak to its interoperability with Esxi. I can't see why you think you would need separate VM's just to run a single application like Sabnzbd or sickbeard, you ought to be able to run most if not all of them in a VM's that has enough vCPU and vRAM. You would be spending a small fortune just on OS' licences to have four or five VM's for each application. A simple whitebox with a quad core i7 and 32GB of RAM should be more then enough for what you need.
 
Thanks asman...I don't understand the VM cost you refer to as all the apps would be *nix and most likely run in Ubuntu. You are correct though that most could coexist just fine in a single VM. I am trying to keep Unraid in a separate VM though just so that it can do its thing and not have to worry about any resource contention with other things running with it.

At this point I'm leaning towards either a Rackable server or a T7400....both are substantially smaller than the 2900, but I believe should be more than adequate.
 
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