fresh build: 2 gaming VMs + docker + NAS

[epp]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm planning to upgrade my whole pc/server home system and condense everything in one big machine. I will be buying everything new, the only things that will be migrated are my 2 WD Gold WD4002FYYZ drives. My budget is capped at around 1200 € or $1300.

 

The setup should support the following:

 

• 2 Windows gaming VMs, no crazy requirements, one purely for streaming, the other with output to periphery connected to the server
• docker containers running: keyvault, nextcloud, http/ftp server, ...
• around 8 drives, pure data storage capacity of 8-12 TB
• expandibility should be possible but not in a crazy way
• plugins / add ons: I guess so yes, but since I haven't worked with unRaid yet, I cannot really say which.
• drives: 2-3 data hdds, 1 parity hdd, 1 cache ssd, 1 docker ssd, 2 dedicated windows vm ssds
• spare parts: 2x WD Gold WD4002FYYZ drives: https://www.cnet.com/products/wd-gold-datacenter-hard-drive-wd4002fyyz-hard-drive-4-tb-sata-6gb-s/

 

I may be willing to cut back to 1 gaming VM if it get too expensive or problems arise that cannot be handled. I also want my new screen to function properly with that gaming VM - I have everything connected via USB-C, see here: https://www.philips.co.uk/c-p/346P1CRH_00/brilliance-curved-ultrawide-lcd-monitor-with-usb-c

 

So basicly I want my NAS that runs some docker containers to continue working and expand its capabilities a bit and move my gaming pc into a VM and offer my girlfriend a way to stream games to her macbook.

I'm sorry if I'm too vague, I'm just starting to plan that whole journey. Hope you have some recommendations and can point me in the right direction for the next steps.

 

Thanks alot and best regards,

epp

 

PS: I'm from germany if that's important for setup recommendations.

[epp]

A bump from me, maybe someone would like to help

[meep]

Hi, welcome to the forums, and unRAID. It’s nice to see prices in €€€ for a change!!!

 

your use case is quite common, but without more specifics, it’s a bit of a challenge to help.

 

one good place to start would be the gaming VMs as these will dictate a lot. How would you like to spec these out? Let’s say you’d like 16gGB RAM, 8 CPU cores and a decent GPU. Assuming both VMs will be in simultaneous use (?) you’ll need to budget for at least a 16 core, 32GB base system, but that doesn’t leave any headroom for unRAID itself, your dockers etc. while all need memory and CPUs.

 

so, a more reasonable VM config might be 6 cores, 12GB, leaving plenty of headroom in that 16 core 32GB system.

 

of course, you could scale this back even further, Windows will run quite happily in 8GB on 4 cores. Would that be sufficient for you? Or maybe you don’t envisage running the VMs simultaneously, in which case you could share all the resources, including GPU.

 

in any case, your VMs will work best if you can dedicate GPU cores to them by pinning them so the vm has exclusive use. 

 

you also don’t mention if you have a preference for an Intel or AMD based system? AMD seems to be where the price/performance is these days. 

 

When speccing your system, I would suggest planning for growth. Make sure you can expand memory, upgrade the cpu and have a few spare PCIe slots.

 

consider NVMe storage, especially for the dedicated VM drives. These are blazing fast, and easy to passthrough. You’ll benefit from the performance, and save a few SATA connectors for your other drives!

 

when you make a decision on intel vs AMD and narrow down your specs, cast around here for people with similar setups. You’re looking for a MB that is easy to work with in terms of IOMMU grouping. You want to be able to get your passthrough devices into discrete groups as easily as possible. Some setups cooperate better than others.

 

thats all I have for the moment, come back with more details and someone might give more specific advice.

 

good luck!

[meep]

And why you might want to wait a couple of weeks to make a decision;