Server needed

[RetiredGuy1000]

I have four workstations(one laptop and three desktops) in a P2P network here at my home. It’s really helped me get a handle on networking as I venture forth in my new IT career, Now I would like to add an inexpensive server to the mix so that I can master the server and learn everything about creating a domain, joining workstations, etc.

What type of server should I buy? Seems that a refurb would make the most sense.. but I am unsure about CPU type/model, etc. or, should I build one? There won’t be a high workload on these machines. No databases or SQL or whatnot. Just learning networking by creating my own.

 

[HCHTech]

Scout out a used one on ebay & do your own refurb - you'll get more horsepower for less money that way. Check out serversupply.com for used parts if you need them. If you're at the point where you've got that many computers going, you might want to pony up for MAPS. That will give you Server 2019 to download and use. Dive into Hyper-V, etc.

 

[trevm999]

+1 for refurb and upgrading it, and for getting something that supports virtualization so you can use Hyper-V. It might be hard to even find a used server that doesn't support virtualization these days though, unless you look at stuff with Atom processors or something.

The requirements for a domain controller are so low, that server isn't actually going to be doing much. But it would be nice to get room for more VMs so you can lab other things.

Make sure you get a rack mountable one and actually get a rack for it, that's another little extra bit of experience.


Then after you get your experience with this, time to start looking at migrating to Azure

 

[Markverhyden]

Yep, look at used. For Dell start with the R6XX series. The R4XX only allows a max of 4 drives. HP start with the DL3XX series. I'd say at least 32gb and like 8tb or so of drive space.

MAPS is awesome and worth seriously thinking about. But it's over $400 and supposed to go up in price from what others have been saying. You can down a full version of Server 2019 and it'll run for 180 in trial mode. You might be able to upgrade from there to MAPS. You can also get a free one year trial of Azure. The same on AWS. Both of them offer free server VM's, including M$.

You should build out the server with the virtualization layer, HyperV or ESXi, on bare metal and then VM on top of those.

 

[RetiredGuy1000]

Awesome! I have some work to do..... . Thank you all.

 

[RetiredGuy1000]

Question: why are rack servers so thin? I mean I know why they need to be thin, but most have dual processors yet there doesn’t seem to be any room for a heat sink or other cooling solution. Not even large fans. Seems that the thermal environment would be pretty high. Count me as confused,..

 

[mikeroq]

Keep in mind rack servers can get noisy.
2U will be little better than 1U.

I like the R720 from Dell. I wouldn't get anything older than an E5 v1 or v2.


Rack servers come in various rack unit sizes:
1U, 2U, 4U, etc.

They come this way for density. IE You could have a 42U rack with 42U servers in it.

 

[nerd2u]

I think I still have a bunch of 1 u servers with rack rails laying in a storage unit.

If they are there I would be happy to send you some for the cost of shipping if it's not stupid expensive to ship.

If your interested let me know and I Will check what I have.

Sent from my SM-G870W using Tapatalk

 

[Markverhyden]

Question: why are rack servers so thin?

You've never looked at the inside of a desktop case and wondered why there is so much wasted space? I mean I've seen some of these cheap HP consumer desktops with a mini atx motherboard and power supply, no opti drive, probably less than 15 percent of the volume was used.

Cooling is all about thermal transfer which equates to airflow. Typical rack mount server(s) have a bank of fans, anywhere from 4-8, going from left to right across the width of the chassis. Between the HD/front panel area and the rest of the chassis. There's usually a plastic cover that goes over the processor(s) and heat sinks which channels the air across the sinks.

As @mikeroq implied this is all about efficiency. You could stick 42 1U servers in a rack which can provide a lot of services a lot of things.

 

[RetiredGuy1000]

If your interested let me know and I Will check what I have.

Definitely interested. I’m looking at servers on eBay and the ones with decent ram are around $300. But I have to buy a bunch of hard drives of course. So anything to save a few bucks for sure! Thank you for the offer.

 

[nlinecomputers]

You've never looked at the inside of a desktop case and wondered why there is so much wasted space? I mean I've seen some of these cheap HP consumer desktops with a mini atx motherboard and power supply, no opti drive, probably less than 15 percent of the volume was used.

Cooling is all about thermal transfer which equates to airflow. Typical rack mount server(s) have a bank of fans, anywhere from 4-8, going from left to right across the width of the chassis. Between the HD/front panel area and the rest of the chassis. There's usually a plastic cover that goes over the processor(s) and heat sinks which channels the air across the sinks.

As @mikeroq implied this is all about efficiency. You could stick 42 1U servers in a rack which can provide a lot of services a lot of things.

And this is why they are noisy. If you are going to put this in your office with the rest of your PCs get ready for the jet engine. Also, get ready for the extra heat it will produce. I have an old Dell PowerEdge 2900. Really too old for anything other than lab work but I rarely power it on because of the loudness and the extra heat it produces in the office. It quite literally raise the temp in the room 10 degrees. And this is a tower not the rack version.

 

[RetiredGuy1000]

If money were not an issue, how about this antsle server? https://antsle.com/

Looks pretty fancy.

 

[nlinecomputers]

That's a glorified NAS unit.

 

[Markverhyden]

It quite literally raise the temp in the room 10 degrees.

You bet. The room where I keep my production R720 never needs heat in the winter. Used to keep all three in the same room. But if I have all on for any extended time it gets way too hot during the summer. So I've actually have each one in separate rooms now.

 

[RetiredGuy1000]

Hmmmm. I don’t have a separate room to use. The office where all my computers are in is already toasty.

Is there a server solution with the least thermal output?

I suppose noise is also an issue. Haven’t considered these.

 

[nerd2u]

Just thinking out loud why not just spin up some VPS units? You could do Virtual networking.

There are also programs like Cisco packet tracer which allow you to create network layouts and play around.

I tried the anasle thing when it came out wasn't overly impressed.

I will see what I have for you

Sent from my SM-G870W using Tapatalk

 

[timeshifter]

You could probably install Windows Server on just about any hardware you have, just so you can get your hands dirty. Evals are free to download and run for 180 days as mentioned.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Learing server software is half the issue. You also have to learn server hardware.

 

[Brian Wasko]

I HAVE ONE THE antsle server they are nice to have when you want to do testing

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Question: why are rack servers so thin? I mean I know why they need to be thin, but most have dual processors yet there doesn’t seem to be any room for a heat sink or other cooling solution. Not even large fans. Seems that the thermal environment would be pretty high. Count me as confused,..

"Density". Server cabinets are only so high. More 1U servers can fit in a 42U cabinet than 2U or 4U servers.
1U servers may not have large fans, but they're still fairly high volume..and they can scream pretty loud.

1U servers don't have a lot of space for disks...so they're typically not used for things like large file storage. ...you'll see 2U servers more often when more storage is needed.