Hi All,

 

After having run a HP Microserver happily with unraid over the last couple of years, the time has come to upgrade and prepare for the new 6.0 and virtualisation/Docker.

 

I need to make some quick decisions with the End of financial year coming upon us so I would like some advise on mainly a new MB and Case, or even if getting a hold of the new Microserver.

 

My use case will be to hold All my media as i assume most of you do, as well as run sickbeard/sabnzb/plexmedia server.  I currently run a separate linux server for these apps, as well as various others.  I would like to eventually move to a single device that will run all via either Docker or VMs.

 

Firstly around cases, I like the idea of a NAS style case, what are people using / recommend.

 

With the Motherboard, I am thinking a server class motherboard is the way to go, I am seeing lots of threads that mention Supermicro, is this what most people use?  I have no need to any video/sound output devices.  Some remote management would be nice.

 

I will be begining with 4 drives, but would like to be able to expand to more if needed.

 

Budget is not really an issue, as I want to make sure I am getting good parts that will do the job, and willing to spend a bit more if necessary.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Frank

Hi Frank

 

I can't speak to the HP Microserver as I've never used one and always build my own computers.

 

If you are looking to build an Intel based server, with no onboard graphics, but with remote management capabilities, then the SuperMicro line is a great choice. If you pair it with a Haswell processor you are going to be in good shape. Since money is not a major concern you may want to look at one of the Xeon processors as they usually have the full gamut of virtualization features which you may or may not need down the road.

 

The only concern with this setup is you will require ECC memory (which is always a good idea anyways), but I found the SuperMicro board I have (see my signature) was very picky on memory that would work. I had to make sure I bought from the supported/tested list as I had bad results with other ECC ram I tried.

 

At a suggestion, since most current motherboards will support 32GB ram I would suggest you start with 2x8GB so you are filling 1/2 the memory slots, and can easily expand if you need down the road.

 

For Power Supply you will want to make sure it's a single rail power supply (Corsair has a number of these).

 

For case, this is going to depend on what you think you will grow to. Most standard tower cases will support 5-6 drives natively, and with a 4-in-3 or 5-in-3 cage you can get 10-11 drives. I started with one of these, and then eventually moved to a Norco 4224 which has 24 bays. It's an awesome case, but at $400 it may not make sense short term (and by the time you need it something better may have come along).

 

For hard drives, it's recommended to go with WD Reds as they are NAS quality drives and the 4TB models are not too bad price wise. There are 5/6TB drives on the market, but they are just starting to trickle in and are rather pricy at the moment.

 

Not sure what else to suggest off the top. Feel free to follow up with any additional questions.

 

Thanks BK,

 

Good information, and what I was thinking myself.  My only issue is the case, I really like the look and configuration of the SIlverstone DS380, but the fact that it only takes MiniITX boards is a real pain, and I think at this stage that its more important to have a good MB, than a nice case.

 

Do you have any recommendations on a good case?

 

Cheers

Thanks BK,

 

Good information, and what I was thinking myself.  My only issue is the case, I really like the look and configuration of the SIlverstone DS380, but the fact that it only takes MiniITX boards is a real pain, and I think at this stage that its more important to have a good MB, than a nice case.

 

Do you have any recommendations on a good case?

 

Cheers

 

Unfortunately you are likely better off getting opinions other than mine in this regard. I've always been a fan of Antec cases and use them pretty much exclusively (other than moving up to the Norco). I am a fan of Antec design and features (like rubber grommets to keep down noise/vibration). The Eleven Hundred, for example, is a great case I've used a couple of times.

 

However, having only used Antec cases I don't know how they compare to others on the market, so if someone with varied experience can chime in and may have some better recommendations.