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Need recommendation on ESXi 5 hardware

J

josephdyland

n00b
Joined
May 3, 2012
Messages
10
I have been looking for over four weeks for which hardware to purchase for a home lab.
I am having a tough time deciding on hardware@!

I am looking for a ESXi 5.0 home lab, I would like more than 1 NIC, 2 or 3 would be ideal.

also wanting to have VT-D capability.

My plans are to have my ESXi box run;
-Pfsense
-Zoneminder (security cameras) VT-D to pass USB web cam's to zoneminder
-Freenas
-Server 2008 - Terminal server / domain controller / possibly exchange
-Linux - general use

I would like to throw either 16 or 32 GB of RAM in.

For the life of me I cannot decide on the hardware to go with. I keep reading reviews / comments that push me away for one reason or another.

-been looking at Supermicro/Tyan Server motherboards, also z77/ivybridge, but haven't seen enough reviews to know that the system will work properly for me.

I really like the idea of having multiple onboard NIC's and IP kvm built in.

Could someone make my life easier and recommend me a ATX/mATX Motherboard / RAM to purchase, that has multiple compatible NIC's and able to do VT-D.
 
If you want 32gb ram for cheap, go with socket 1156 Supermicro, if 16GB is enough, go with socket 1155 Supermicro. Get the cheapest one you can that supports the features you want, just filter server motherboards on Newegg by socket and sort by price, and keep an eye for the end of the list where the really cheap open box models are :)

For VT-d you need a Xeon, it's disabled on the i3. And imho, the benefits of ip kvm on a home server are overstated, once you install esxi you are good to go. In a datacenter, different story.
 
To add on to what shiznit suggested, check my blog for my recent 1156 build for another ESXi host.

Yes, it is older 1st Gen Sandy Bridge, however, that board I chose has a awesome hardware controller, and LSI 9211-8i, that works very well, 6GB SAS. If you factor in a board and a comparable controller it would cost you a lot more...and it's perfectly suited for your plans.

My blog is in my sig.

BTW, I don't agree with his take on IPMI, however. It really depends on the situation. I have a small DC room I built in the basement where my rack is so you can imagine how useful IPMI is for me.
 
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shiznit said:
If you want 32gb ram for cheap, go with socket 1156 Supermicro, if 16GB is enough, go with socket 1155 Supermicro. Get the cheapest one you can that supports the features you want, just filter server motherboards on Newegg by socket and sort by price, and keep an eye for the end of the list where the really cheap open box models are :)

For VT-d you need a Xeon, it's disabled on the i3. And imho, the benefits of ip kvm on a home server are overstated, once you install esxi you are good to go. In a datacenter, different story.
Click to expand...

The i5-2400 variants and i5-2500 variants support VT-d on the cheap but they don't have any support for ECC RAM.
 
peanuthead said:
The i5-2400 variants and i5-2500 variants support VT-d on the cheap but they don't have any support for ECC RAM.
Click to expand...
I don't think you can use non-ECC ram on Supermicro server boards.

Vader said:
BTW, I don't agree with his take on IPMI, however. It really depends on the situation. I have a small DC room I built in the basement where my rack is so you can imagine how useful IPMI is for me.
Click to expand...
I should have been more clear. For sure it's great, however if you can get a $80 open box motherboard without IPMI vs a $170 new board with it, for me it's a hard sell.
 
I went with an Intel DQ67SW desktop board for my build, got an i7 2600 CPU, 32GB of RAM, used onboard video, couple of intel Nic's and a small SSD for boot, eSATA for datastore and I'm done. Only thing about this board is the onboard NIC's are not supported currently under ESXi, no biggie for me though.
 
ashman said:
I went with an Intel DQ67SW desktop board for my build, got an i7 2600 CPU, 32GB of RAM, used onboard video, couple of intel Nic's and a small SSD for boot, eSATA for datastore and I'm done. Only thing about this board is the onboard NIC's are not supported currently under ESXi, no biggie for me though.
Click to expand...

Hmm

How are you using eSata for data store? I thought they used the same controller?
 
The 2 OP are correct with Supermicro boards. I totally overlooked the Supermicro/Tyan line. Thanks for catching that.
 
DlStreamnet said:
Hmm

How are you using eSata for data store? I thought they used the same controller?
Click to expand...

This Intel board has two external eSata ports, I am using one with an external enclosure for my main datastore, and the other to do backups to using Backup Exec from one of the VM's, works great.
 
I have decided to go with;

SUPERMICRO X9SCI-LN4F-O, LGA 1155 Intel C204 ATX Intel Xeon E3 Server Motherboard

Intel Xeon E3-1230

The board looks pretty appealing to me as it has 4x 82574L Intel NICs which look to be all supported. and also supports VT-D

Looking in the manual this board only supports Unbuffered memory, the manual calls for:

Unbuffered (UDIMM) DDR3 ECC 1333/1066 MHz

Which memory should I go with? If affordable 2x8 GB modules would be ideal for a future memory upgrade. But to keep costs down I may have to go with 4x4 GB modules.
 
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This RAM looks like it should work for me, Does any one see any issues on this system? I may like to add a SAS/SATA card as well.

Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Unbuffered DDR3

SUPERMICRO X9SCI-LN4F-O, LGA 1155 Intel C204 ATX Intel Xeon E3 Server Motherboard

Intel Xeon E3-1230

One thing I read was;

To support the new generation Intel® Xeon® processor-based motherboards, a Revision K chassis is recommended for most models.

I already have this Desktop ATX Case;
Azza Helios 910 Black ATX Mid Tower Case, and plan on using it for my ESXi box. Would this Revision K chassis requirement cause me issues?
 
I know this!

You want a board with one of these chipsets for VT-D:

Chipset Desktop Board
Q77 DQ77KB, DQ77MK
B75 DB75EN
Q67 DQ67EP; DQ67OW; DQ67SW
Q57 DQ57TM; DQ57TML
Q45 DQ45CB; DQ45EK
Q35 DQ35JO; DQ35MP
 
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