• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

new lab rig

J-Will

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jan 10, 2009
Messages
1,728
In reference to this thread. I am looking to buy (might have to end up building) a rig for lab type purposes.

I plan on running Server 2008 with AD and Hyper-V
VM 1- Exchange
VM 2- Server 2008 IIS
VM 3- Sharepoint
VM 4- MS Search Server (I realize the resources required would allow this to be installed on one of the other VMs however for testing purposes this needs to be on its own server)
**VM 5 (if resources permit)- win 7 client

I am pretty sure any quad core CPU will do the trick, either Intel or AMD flavor. I am however asking which model would be the best bang for my buck. And a motherboard that will support this chip. From the motherboard I would like dual 10/100/1000 NICs and onboard videa and RAID. I am planning on getting 8gb RAM min, with the option to upgrade later.

So far I have only been specing out a system with desktop class CPUs. However is a server class chip my best bet? This will be running 24/7, so while power usage is not a primary concern, I do not want to go overboard with the power consumption. So which CPU and motherboard would you guys recommend while still keeping it somewhat budget friendly?
 
why would you run a VM JUST for IIS and another one for sharepoint.. i don't see the point is reproducing the overhead that is running a seperate OS
 
why would you run a VM JUST for IIS and another one for sharepoint.. i don't see the point is reproducing the overhead that is running a seperate OS

Understood, this lab is being setup to mimic a particular client's setup in which they are indepent servers.
 
fair enough. I would go i5/i7, 8-12GB ram so each machine can have at least 1-2GB
dual gigabit nics would be nice if you're using it as a gateway or dhcp server

i've never been a fan of self-built servers, i'd honestly go with a pre-build dell/hp and just add some more ram to it. if this is just going to be a test server for home use, you could build your own desktop. honestly ive always run home servers on just desktop grade motherboards and never had a problem.
 
Thanks for the reply. I'm with you're line of thinking as well. I was leaning toward an i5 chip with 8 GB RAM to start off with.

Reason I want dual NICs is to help separate the traffic, and I plan on controlling the main Server install through RDP while hitting the VM's services. I just want to make sure I have a stable connection.

Just seeing if I was thinking properly, or if that whole "gotta have the latest and greatest" mind set was kicking in.
 
Are there any i5 boards with onboard video? I do not really need an enthusiast style board.
 
Back
Top