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Virtualization build

S

Shorehn

Gawd
Joined
Sep 28, 2005
Messages
715
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
I just started my first job as a system administrator. We've got Linux servers and Macs in computer labs. I'd like to use this machine to try out KVM virtual machines for our servers, any CPU-intensive tasks I may eventually put on the servers, and possibly video editing software. (We're looking at Linux and open source equivalents to stuff like Adobe due to budget cutbacks)


2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
The person I'm replacing claims that they'll pay for anything "within reason" since they're used to paying crazy prices for Macs. He said that I should have no trouble at all getting something around $800-1000. I'd like to keep it around that price so there's enough money in the IT budget for other stuff.


3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Pittsburgh, PA. No Microcenter nearby :(

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU, quiet HSF, motherboard, RAM, case, PSU, optical drive, hard disk (and/or SSD), hot swap bay, thermal paste.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Keyboard, mouse, monitor, and speakers.

6) Will you be overclocking?
Possibly. Nothing hardcore, though; I don't want to risk frying a work computer.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Can't remember the size, and didn't bother looking at the resolution. It's probably about 23" and 1080p.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
I need to purchase these parts immediately. The computer I'm supposed to be using is falling apart because it uses dirt cheap components.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
IOMMU, obviously, and AHCI for hotswap.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Will be using Linux.

Here's my tentative build so far:

CPU/Motherboard: AMD FX-8320 w/ Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 combo $250 AR
RAM: G.Skill Sniper DDR3-1866 2x4GB[/URL] $68
Case: NZXT H2 $80
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST $20
PSU: Rosewill Capstone 450w $60
Video Card: XFX HD 5450 $30
TOTAL SO FAR: $508

  • Since I'll be focusing mainly on multithreaded applications, AMD seems like a good choice.
  • Our servers each have 8GB RAM currently, although I could probably put 16GB in this anyway.
  • I'm VERY particular about quiet computing and I want a hotswap bay, so the H2 seems like an ideal case.
  • According to Slickdeals, the Crucial M500 240GB will be on sale for $120 today at Newegg. I could get that and a small hard drive...or would I simply be better going with a hard drive by its lonesome?
  • Would a Hyper 212+ suffice for cooling?
  • How about MX-4 or PK-1 for the thermal paste? There are a few other computers that could use fresh TIM.
 
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Couple thoughts on this topic...

1) Video editing is typically a very resource-intensive task. Doing this on a VM host machine can have an immediate impact on the responsiveness of the hosted VMs. I strongly urge you to consider moving the video editing to a standalone physical machine.

2) I can understand noise being a concern. However, do you have a network/server closet nearby? Even many 1-2U machines can be very reasonable in volume. At my employer, we primarily use Dell servers, and they do not have an annoying sound. Obviously everyone has their own preference for sound, but relocating the equipment may be an easier solution.

3) How many hosted VMs are you talking about? What will each VM be doing? What resource allocation are you planning on for each VM?

4) I can understand software costs going into budgeting. However, will the end users be familiar with the alternative software choices that you are imagining? (e.g. whatever alternative to Adobe that you choose) If not, then expect to budget dollars for user training to make the on-site staff familiar with the tools; though that is no guarantee that the end users will actually want to use the tools you select.

5) Have you spoken with your actual bosses yet about the budget? What research have you done to show them that you share their concerns on getting the best ROI and selection that will make the end users happy?

6) If this was your own home/sandbox server, then OC'ing is fine since you're the primary person affected if it gets wonky. In a business environment, I strongly urge you to avoid OC'ing.


Edit:
7) Does your employer have a business contract with a Tier-1 hardware vendor, such as Dell, IBM, HP, etc? If so, why not go with an pre-built and tested system? You can also get on-site warranty repair options, SLAs, etc.
 
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A lot of the questions you raised might be applicable to a standard business, but the place I'm working is quite different. It's a small arts school, and everything here is as informal as if you were working around a group of friends. Business contracts? Training? Not part of their culture. The teachers are just expected to learn what they need to teach.

This isn't intended to act as a server; this is just a desktop PC that I'll keep in my office. The one I'm supposed to be using is falling apart, and it needs replaced. I've been experimenting with the VMs at Turnkey Linux, and I'd like to test out some of them, like ejabberd and etherpad...possibly concurrently. I'd like to do what I can on the desktop before moving anything to an actual server. I can't really give you more information than that because I'm very new to this. The art school couldn't afford to hire someone experienced, so they hired me. I decided to make a career switch away from technical writing over the summer, and I'm still getting my bearings.

Have I actually spoken with the boss yet about the budget? No. But talking with the guy I'm replacing, who has been working on hardware here for years, $800 is nothing he hasn't done before.

And yeah, I guess it's probably not the best idea to overclock :cool:

Can we...stick to comments about the build, and less about my employment situation? I know you're trying to help, but I'm looking for advice on parts, not my career.
 
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Shorehn said:
A lot of the questions you raised might be applicable to a standard business, but the place I'm working is quite different. It's a small arts school, and everything here is as informal as if you were working around a group of friends. Business contracts? Training? Not part of their culture. The teachers are just expected to learn what they need to teach.

This isn't intended to act as a server; this is just a desktop PC that I'll keep in my office. The one I'm supposed to be using is falling apart, and it needs replaced. I've been experimenting with the VMs at Turnkey Linux, and I'd like to test out some of them, like ejabberd and etherpad...possibly concurrently. I'd like to do what I can on the desktop before moving anything to an actual server. I can't really give you more information than that because I'm very new to this. The art school couldn't afford to hire someone experienced, so they hired me. I decided to make a career switch away from technical writing over the summer, and I'm still getting my bearings.

Have I actually spoken with the boss yet about the budget? No. But talking with the guy I'm replacing, who has been working on hardware here for years, $800 is nothing he hasn't done before.

And yeah, I guess it's probably not the best idea to overclock :cool:
Click to expand...
All of this certainly adds some necessary context to what is going on. Thank you.

Shorehn said:
Can we...stick to comments about the build, and less about my employment situation? I know you're trying to help, but I'm looking for advice on parts, not my career.
Click to expand...
My questions are absolutely directed to the thread's topic; though I can certainly see where you may have made an assumption about questioning your employment/qualifications/etc.

My questions that did not involve a "budget" concept are directly related to whether or not the hardware you have chosen is sufficient or not. VMs would need resource provisioning, and extra thought to ensure that one VM would not bring all others to a crawl. Though some of your comments did direct a line of thinking down the "build versus buy" debate, especially given the target environment. It sounds like things are currently haphazard (to some unknown degree), but standardization and reduced maintenance time is certainly a goal of anyone in your role.

Regarding the budget-related questions... It was toward making sure that the information you are acting on was accurate and verifiable by a superior. Without knowing the individual you are replacing, or even the terms or "friendliness" of the departure, my concerns for the role you are stepping into are valid. This was never written to be a "dig" at you personally or professionally, but rather quite the opposite.
 
Case wise, I'd go for the Fractal Design Define R4 case instead since it's just as quiet as the H2 but provides significantly better cooling.

RAM wise, get more RAM. Not only is RAM going to go up in the future, it's also going to benefit you right now if you actually run VMs or do an extensive amount of video editing. I recommend this RAM since it allows you to upgrade to 32GB of RAM later on without having to replace any RAM at all:
$135 - Crucial BLS2CP8G3D1609DS1S00 Ballistix Sport 2 x 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM

As for the HSF, get the Hyper 212+ or Hyper 212 Evo as either will provide more than sufficient cooling yet remaining relatively quiet. AS for the thermal paste, if there are indeed other PCs that need a new coat of TIM, then get MX-4. Otherwise, the TIM that comes with the Hyper 212+ is more than enough.

IN regards to storage, get this SSD (if you didn't jump on that Crucial M500 deal) and HDD:
$90 - Samsung 840 Evo 120GB SSD
$80 - Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive

THat should provide you with more than enough storage to start.
 
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