Looking for low power 24/7 virtualization&Nas platform.

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Shadowtm

New Member
Apr 1, 2020
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Hey guys,
I was looking through some Reviews on STH while looking for a new CPU and Board for a low power virtualization system.

Trigger Warning: I am new to Servers and Low Power Parts !

I require some LXC Containers and some Vms on a Proxmox host that can run a Samba, Nextcloud and other small lxc containers. (All Linux)
In an optimal Scenario, the Server should also be able to run a Gameserver like Minecraft.

Build should not be too expensive overall.

So essentially what I am looking for is a mb/CPU Combo with a low Idle usage [<30W including everything], that can raise a little bit of power if necessary. But it should still not exceed ~75 Watt at load.
- Needs to be able to do virtualization.
- Should have at least 4 Sata Ports.
- Should have at least 1x1GBe, better would be 1x10GBe.
- Should offer at least 1 PCIe Slot to enable Upgrades(10GBe Networking, more Sata Ports)
- Should boot without an external GPU

Like I said the main usage is 24/7 NAS/DC for my home, so no heavy user numbers.

I want to use a minimum of 3x2tb WDRED and 1 Samsung EVO for Proxmox and LXCs/Vms.

For PSU I wanted to go with Bequiet, since from my experience they produce good PSUs with a good efficency for a good price.

For a Server Case, I am still searching. Should be 19", 2-4 HE with Hotswap Bays.
- Does not need over 8 Bays though, 4 would do.
- Should take ATX Mbs and PSU.
- Should not cost alot.

I was taking a look at the AsRock J5005. With 110€ cost, it is very cheap. It does not have ton of power, but should do at least for a few LXCs and 1-2 Vms. But I doubt I will be able to run any Gameservers on there.

Next I was looking at the M11SDV lineup from Supermicro. The embedded EPYC Cpus are looking good, and Power Usage is acceptable, but sadly those boards start from 500€, not including Ram and everything else.

So I am guessing I am looking for something in between ? Or maybe if you can recommend the J5005 I will go with that.

Looking forward for any tips and ideas
 

BoredSysadmin

Not affiliated with Maxell
Mar 2, 2019
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OP mentioned wanting hotswap bays...
OP has a very long list of wants, some may be more optional than others. I've been in similar situations.
I like hot-swap drives, but for a home lab, it's OK not to have them. REDs aren't known to fail often.
I'd personally rather have out of band management higher on my list of wants than hot-swap drives.
 

Shadowtm

New Member
Apr 1, 2020
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have you looked at this? QUANTA SD1Q-1ULH 1U 12X3.5 D-1541 DUAL PSU SERVER | eBay

or:

QUANTA S210-X22RQ 2U 24X SFF SERVER 10G MEZZ 2X PSU | eBay

or:

QUANTA D51B-2U 2U 24XSFF SERVER 10G MEZZ 2X PSU | eBay

The later 2 are not as "low power" depending on number of CPUs and model of CPU you use...
First of all, thanks for the reply.
When I think about old Server Hardware I always think of high power usage. Am I wrong about that ?
The cases seem nice enough. How much Watts do those Servers use, excluding the CPU ?
Additionally, since I am from Germany buying from US eBay is also not possible.

What do you think about the J5005 ? How does it compare ? Will it run a few basic things ?
 
Last edited:

BLinux

cat lover server enthusiast
Jul 7, 2016
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artofserver.com
First of all, thanks for the reply.
When I think about old Server Hardware I always think of high power usage. Am I wrong about that ?
The cases seem nice enough. How much Watts do those Servers use, excluding the CPU ?
It depends on how old you're talking about. The Xeon D-1541 isn't that old and was highly regarded for low power virtualization/storage platform builds when it was first released.

The Haswell-E and IvyBridge-EP platforms can be pretty efficient if you choose the right CPUs. They idle very similarly, but the high performance CPUs can consume a lot of power under load. Example: I'm currently messing around with a 4-socket E5-4627v2 server and it idles around 90W with 4x CPUs, but under load will hit 500W easily. Choose CPUs to limit the top end, and you can have decent efficiency. Of course, the Xeon D above will do even better, but cost a little more.

Additionally, since I am from Germany buying from US eBay is also not possible.
What do you think about the J5005 ? How does it compare ? Will it run a few basic things ?
Can't really help with that.... but I've heard about the UK site: Refurbished Servers, PCs, Workstations & Parts | Bargain Hardware maybe they have something that will work for you?

Don't know about J5005.
 

Shadowtm

New Member
Apr 1, 2020
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1
It depends on how old you're talking about. The Xeon D-1541 isn't that old and was highly regarded for low power virtualization/storage platform builds when it was first released.

The Haswell-E and IvyBridge-EP platforms can be pretty efficient if you choose the right CPUs. They idle very similarly, but the high performance CPUs can consume a lot of power under load. Example: I'm currently messing around with a 4-socket E5-4627v2 server and it idles around 90W with 4x CPUs, but under load will hit 500W easily. Choose CPUs to limit the top end, and you can have decent efficiency. Of course, the Xeon D above will do even better, but cost a little more.


Can't really help with that.... but I've heard about the UK site: Refurbished Servers, PCs, Workstations & Parts | Bargain Hardware maybe they have something that will work for you?

Don't know about J5005.
mhh, I can see where you are saying.

I have another Question that might sound a bit stupid.

If we take a look at Laptop CPUs like the Ryzen 5 3500U with 15W TDP, or also the new Ryzen 4000 mobile CPUs, how are those so efficient ? The 3500U has a 7000 Rating on Cpubenchmark, despite the low power draw. PassMark - AMD Ryzen 5 3500U - Price performance comparison

What am I missing ? What is holding me back from making a custom mounting System in a Case and just using one of those ?
Seems like a superb power efficiency.

I own a Laptop with a 3500U, but due to the battery I can't realy measure power.

Otherwise, I would look at the J5005 since it probably satisfies my needs.
 

iriscloud

SADTech
Jan 13, 2015
37
0
6
33
ID, USA
have you looked at this? QUANTA SD1Q-1ULH 1U 12X3.5 D-1541 DUAL PSU SERVER | eBay

or:

QUANTA S210-X22RQ 2U 24X SFF SERVER 10G MEZZ 2X PSU | eBay

or:

QUANTA D51B-2U 2U 24XSFF SERVER 10G MEZZ 2X PSU | eBay

The later 2 are not as "low power" depending on number of CPUs and model of CPU you use...
What kind of noise levels do these put out. Interested in using either of the 2u for homelab that runs in the kitchen. Some noise is just fine, i have an Dell r420 and some 4u supermicro's, but i can't have a screamer running.
 

nonyhaha

Member
Nov 18, 2018
50
12
8
Hey there. Just like people said, what do you want for low power?
I have been using an asrock j3455 motherboard with 2way mirror. I moved to a supermicro Atom c2750, 4 disk 3 column parity. NOw I am waiting for a dual e5-2630Lv2 server. For me , all of these are low power, serving my needs.

Difference in passmark score comes from things like different cpu cores/threads, CPU instruction sets. This is most important for virtualization, like vtx, vtd, AES-NI, and others. Litography, and different generation have a big impact on performance per watt also.