Building my first server - too many choices!

[Marty007]

I have been up and down on Google, actually sat down and built an ESXI box, then jumped to Windows Home Server 2011 (don't ask why), now I am looking at FreeNAS.

Either I have ADHD, or there are too many squirrels in my life!

Older rig I picked up here, X8 board, with a quad core Xeon. Thanks ACMCOOL for the great deal!

I like the ESXI idea, but can't get the VM's to load properly. The HBA was already setup for me, so the initial install/setup was easy as pie. The issue, I am certain, is me.

My main goal, hence asking for help, is to centralize vast amounts of media currently on about 10 different computers and external drives throughout the house.

 

[T_Minus]

What's the issue/error for the VMs?

 

[Marty007]

I will rebuild this weekend and respond with the error.

 

[ttabbal]

If you're interested in using ZFS, you might consider using FreeNAS or Proxmox without ESXI. Both have the ability to run VMs and containers. They should work fine with your hardware. Of course, I'm confident the pros here can get your ESXI working properly as well. Lots of ways to skin this cat.