Build or Buy VMWare Esxi 6 Home Lab mini-ITX server

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klinks88

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Aug 29, 2015
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Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum and I am not sure if this is the right section to post questions regarding building or buying new VMware Esxi 6 Home lab Mini-ITX server.

I would like to build VMware Esxi 6 Home Lab with around 5 to 10 VMs for learning and testing. I am not sure if I should buy mini-barebone pc for example ( Intel NUC, Shuttle, Gigabyte) or should I buy the mini-ITX Case, Processer, Motherboard, Memory, Hard Drive and build it from scratch

I am currently going to college and on budget need help deciding which options to go with
1. Should I buy mini-barebone PC and install VMware Esxi 6 for Home lab. for example (Intel NUC, Shuttle, Gigabytes)
2. If I do go with building it from scratch what recommendations do you have for what processer to use what motherboard to use. I think my budget is around $500.

This is my first post sorry I made any mistake writing this.
Any Advise would help


Thank you,
KP
 
Diavuno

Diavuno

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Jan 31, 2014
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If you want something to play around with and nerd out with a NUC with an I3 (or higher) and socketed RAM would do fine.

If you want to be serious about learning this stuff and want to make it a career go find a used server.

The older the cheaper, but the slower and more power hungry.

A server with 53xx series xeon will be okay, really the sweet spot for budget minded is the 55xx series xeon
 
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klinks88

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Aug 29, 2015
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Diavuno said:
If you want something to play around with and nerd out with a NUC with an I3 (or higher) and socketed RAM would do fine.

If you want to be serious about learning this stuff and want to make it a career go find a used server.

The older the cheaper, but the slower and more power hungry.

A server with 53xx series xeon will be okay, really the sweet spot for budget minded is the 55xx series xeon
Click to expand...



Thank you for your reply. Do you suggest I should build server from scratch with xeon 53xx series processor? Can you suggest any server that I can buy?



Thank you,
KP
 
T

timothy.lazarus

Member
Mar 7, 2015
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Don't build a server with a 53xx... Honestly, I wouldn't buy one used either, but there are plenty of Dell Poweredge 1950 and 2950 on EBay if you go this route. Personally, I think the oldest Xeon you would want is the 56xx series. The older servers are loud and power hungry.

Finding a used mini-itx server will be a lot more difficult - building one might be the best option or going the NUC route.
 
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klinks88

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Aug 29, 2015
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timothy.lazarus said:
Don't build a server with a 53xx... Honestly, I wouldn't buy one used either, but there are plenty of Dell Poweredge 1950 and 2950 on EBay if you go this route. Personally, I think the oldest Xeon you would want is the 56xx defies. The older servers are loud and power hungry.

Finding a used mini-itx server will be a lot more difficult - building one might be the best option or going the NUC route.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your reply, if you have option what option would you select would you build mini-itx server or would you just buy Intel NUC or something similar and just be done.

I found this on Craiglist for Intel NUC D54250WYK - $300

Second One I found on Frys.com is MSI Cubi Intel Core-i5 Barebone for $319.00
Here is the link to that

FRYS.com | MSI page:p14_SUN date:083015

Thank you,
KP
 
T_Minus

T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
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A $500 DIY budget is going to yield way way more for you than pre-built iTX system, IMHO.

(For reference I just sold a 2P E5 mobo, cpu, 2U Case, Platinum PSU, etc.. for under $800 delivered.)

Depending on the VM requirement there's some nice low power E3 v2s that could go for your needs.

You're going to pay a lot more for mATX and mITX server stuff right now vs. older-gen ATX EATX etc
 
T

timothy.lazarus

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Mar 7, 2015
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I think the OP needs to let us know if this system is going in the corner of their college dorm room or if it is going to be living somewhere else. While I certainly agree that the system listed above is a great deal, I am pretty sure that my roommate wouldn't have appreciated it running 24/7 in our tiny little dorm room. The advantages to a small mini-itx or mini-atx system that is prebuilt is the portability and noise factor. You obviously lose in pure processing power and memory expandability. It is too bad that most of the affordable small server systems are limited to 16 or 32GB of memory.

OP - the Lenovo TS140 might work for you, although I have no experience running ESXi on it. It is very quiet, supports 32GB of memory, and is available for between $200 and $300 if you look around. You probably want the Xeon model if you go this route, not the i3.
 
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cheezehead

cheezehead

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Sep 23, 2012
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Really depends on what other requirements you have.

For building:
If you need more than 32GB ram - get a C2750-based board, there is no VT-D with these but they are silent
If you need 32GB ram or less - pickup a mini-itx board for a E3-1230 or similar proc - much higher compute than the C2750

If buying:
NUC's are good for the WAF issue, really space crammed, or you need to take it on the road
Used servers, bigger but designed for higher loads. I'd echo what others have said about the 56xx series xeons given the budget. They can be had for under budget but it really depends on what other things you want to do. For what others have said, I'd go down the route of a DL180 G6 with some ram and make sure it has the sleds...otherwise go cheap and buy a L5640 separately...this combo can be picked up for $380 (HP Proliant DL180 G6 Dual Xeon E5530 2 40GHz Quad Core CPUs 24GB Mem 8x Trays | eBay plus the proc http://www.ebay.com/itm/SLBV8-INTEL...GHz-12M-5-86GT-s-60W-PROC-/131381211683)...if you don't need the 6-core part, there are ones with dual-L5630's for a bit cheaper (HP Proliant DL180 G6 Dual Xeon L5630 2 13GHz Quad Core CPUs 24GB Mem 8x Trays | eBay for $333....for the buy it now, you can always offer something lower to bring the prices even cheaper.
 
C

CreoleLakerFan

Active Member
Oct 29, 2013
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cheezehead said:
Really depends on what other requirements you have.

For building:
If you need more than 32GB ram - get a C2750-based board, there is no VT-D with these but they are silent
If you need 32GB ram or less - pickup a mini-itx board for a E3-1230 or similar proc - much higher compute than the C2750
Click to expand...
16GB DDR3 are only available from one vendor (Intelligent Memory) and are prohibitively expensive at $325 per module for the ECC versions that are required for these boards. By contrast, 8GB versions are widely available at ~$60. It is more cost effective to build a second system with 32GB than to populate one with 64GB - and for purposes of labbing two systems are better than one.

If buying:
NUC's are good for the WAF issue, really space crammed, or you need to take it on the road
Used servers, bigger but designed for higher loads. I'd echo what others have said about the 56xx series xeons given the budget. They can be had for under budget but it really depends on what other things you want to do. For what others have said, I'd go down the route of a DL180 G6 with some ram and make sure it has the sleds...otherwise go cheap and buy a L5640 separately...this combo can be picked up for $380 (HP Proliant DL180 G6 Dual Xeon E5530 2 40GHz Quad Core CPUs 24GB Mem 8x Trays | eBay plus the proc http://www.ebay.com/itm/SLBV8-INTEL...GHz-12M-5-86GT-s-60W-PROC-/131381211683)...if you don't need the 6-core part, there are ones with dual-L5630's for a bit cheaper (HP Proliant DL180 G6 Dual Xeon L5630 2 13GHz Quad Core CPUs 24GB Mem 8x Trays | eBay for $333....for the buy it now, you can always offer something lower to bring the prices even cheaper.
Click to expand...
Buying used enterprisey gear brings gets the most bang for the buck - but space, heat, and noise definitely need to be taken into consideration.
 
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