I'm currenty looking to specify/build a new VMware-ESXi VM server. Right now, the Supermicro X11SDV-12C-TP8F motherboard is my favorite. I plan to populate the on-board M.2 NVMe/SATA positions for local VM storage and use an existing NAS box (HDD's) for 'large' storage needs. My desire is for something like 128GB of RAM on the VM server.. A 10G networking interface to my primary switch would be advantageous, even though the rest of the network is 1G.
Are the Ice Lake-D processors 'just around the corner' and should I wait for them? I believe I last heard a 2021Q4 release. I can wait a few months to make the final decision if necessary.
The server would host a random collection of 'home lab' type VMs including: firewall, NAS, telephone PBX, WLAN controller, audio streaming, network management, home automation, etc. But I would also host some work related VMs for s/w development/testing, configuration management, s/w build, network traffic generation, firewalls, etc. It would double as a nice lab to support my working-from-home s/w development model. I'd also like to host a Proxmox VM on the ESXi to learn about (play with) another hypervisor.
One constraint that i'm placing on the server is low-power consumption and low heat generation. This is moving me toward the Xeon-D processors. Some folks have recommended that I just buy a cheap/used server from ebay, but it would be power hungry and produce a lot more heat. And would also have an older generation processor/memory that might have VMware-ESXi support issues.
Any thoughts/suggestions/criticisms?
Thanks.
Are the Ice Lake-D processors 'just around the corner' and should I wait for them? I believe I last heard a 2021Q4 release. I can wait a few months to make the final decision if necessary.
The server would host a random collection of 'home lab' type VMs including: firewall, NAS, telephone PBX, WLAN controller, audio streaming, network management, home automation, etc. But I would also host some work related VMs for s/w development/testing, configuration management, s/w build, network traffic generation, firewalls, etc. It would double as a nice lab to support my working-from-home s/w development model. I'd also like to host a Proxmox VM on the ESXi to learn about (play with) another hypervisor.
One constraint that i'm placing on the server is low-power consumption and low heat generation. This is moving me toward the Xeon-D processors. Some folks have recommended that I just buy a cheap/used server from ebay, but it would be power hungry and produce a lot more heat. And would also have an older generation processor/memory that might have VMware-ESXi support issues.
Any thoughts/suggestions/criticisms?
Thanks.