I am looking to build a home lab. I actually already have one made of consumer hardware, but it's just not cutting it anymore and I would like to move on to a serious setup and virtualize my existing PC(s).
I saw various threads/posts on this website about great deals for used server equipment, but I live in Europe and these deals are typically not very convenient ($700+ in shipping..).
These are my requirements:
- a cluster of at least 2 identical nodes (3x 1U rack servers or 1x multinode 2U server? which is better?)
- low power consumption, as low as possible
- good scalability in terms of compute resources: I don't need machines with many cores or GBs of RAM out of the box, but I would like to be able to install at least 128GB per node in the long run
- preferably 10G Ethernet, integrated or through daughter cards if costs are lower
- 2, preferably more PCI-E slots per node to accomodate cards that will be presented to VMs via DirectPath I/O
Also...
- how do you guys deal with the noise at home? any tips for reducing it or cooling the machines through alternative methods?
- what is the most convenient solution in terms of storage for a home lab? an external NAS? VSAN?
Can anyone give me some pointers for what would work best at home?
Thanks.
I saw various threads/posts on this website about great deals for used server equipment, but I live in Europe and these deals are typically not very convenient ($700+ in shipping..).
These are my requirements:
- a cluster of at least 2 identical nodes (3x 1U rack servers or 1x multinode 2U server? which is better?)
- low power consumption, as low as possible
- good scalability in terms of compute resources: I don't need machines with many cores or GBs of RAM out of the box, but I would like to be able to install at least 128GB per node in the long run
- preferably 10G Ethernet, integrated or through daughter cards if costs are lower
- 2, preferably more PCI-E slots per node to accomodate cards that will be presented to VMs via DirectPath I/O
Also...
- how do you guys deal with the noise at home? any tips for reducing it or cooling the machines through alternative methods?
- what is the most convenient solution in terms of storage for a home lab? an external NAS? VSAN?
Can anyone give me some pointers for what would work best at home?
Thanks.
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