Setting up server rack
Last response: in Business Computing
demar3214
June 15, 2013 5:11:55 PM
_Brute_Force_
June 15, 2013 5:17:33 PM
last home server thread I was in, someone suggested this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SGI-RACKABLE-C1001-TY3-1U-2x-XE...
Looks too good to be true to me.
Find the full thread here
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1698156/building...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SGI-RACKABLE-C1001-TY3-1U-2x-XE...
Looks too good to be true to me.
Find the full thread here
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1698156/building...
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demar3214
June 15, 2013 5:24:18 PM
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_Brute_Force_
June 15, 2013 5:42:50 PM
demar3214
June 15, 2013 6:19:52 PM
demar3214
June 15, 2013 6:48:09 PM
_Brute_Force_
June 15, 2013 7:14:06 PM
there are plenty of options to control them remotely
1) Windows remote desktop (as long as you are on the same local network)
2) Teamviewer (works over internet)
3) Log me in (works over internet)
4) Google "VNC", there are couple more applications
As for the case you are looking for its called "Rackmount Case", google it there are plenty of them.
1) Windows remote desktop (as long as you are on the same local network)
2) Teamviewer (works over internet)
3) Log me in (works over internet)
4) Google "VNC", there are couple more applications
As for the case you are looking for its called "Rackmount Case", google it there are plenty of them.
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Even if you plan on setting up remote control software of some sort, whether it is VNC, Windows, TeamViewer, etc. I'd still recommend getting a KVM switch if you plan to have to jump back and forth to work on physical systems. You can even get nice KVM switches that are rack-mountable since that is one thing you are particularly looking at.
What kind of server rack cabinet you go with will depend on a lot of factors. For example, how much room do you have? Do you need a half-height 25U rack, or a full-height 42U? Do you want to get a fully-enclosed rack with side panels and doors, or just a four-post rack chassis? Do you need something pre-assembled and have the room to maneuver that into it's final place, or do you need it to be knock-down and assemble it on location?
One of the key things you need to look at is adjustable depth and how much mounting depth you need. The first rack I bought for my small office was a 24U Norco model which was very simple to get set up, pretty nice quality, and pretty cost effective as well. The problem I ran into was that it just wasn't deep enough for enterprise servers. I ended up selling that unit and went with a Tripp-Lite unit which was still only 25U height but much deeper and higher quality and can now accommodate any size server I need. This unit, however, came fully assembled and that is the only way that I could order it.
If you want to install existing hardware into your rackmount cabinet, all you need is a rackmount case, which you can find in a lot of places. I'd recommend searching for a 4U chassis as these are the most common to accommodate standard desktop hardware including standard ATX power supplies, large CPU fans, and full-height graphics cards.
What kind of server rack cabinet you go with will depend on a lot of factors. For example, how much room do you have? Do you need a half-height 25U rack, or a full-height 42U? Do you want to get a fully-enclosed rack with side panels and doors, or just a four-post rack chassis? Do you need something pre-assembled and have the room to maneuver that into it's final place, or do you need it to be knock-down and assemble it on location?
One of the key things you need to look at is adjustable depth and how much mounting depth you need. The first rack I bought for my small office was a 24U Norco model which was very simple to get set up, pretty nice quality, and pretty cost effective as well. The problem I ran into was that it just wasn't deep enough for enterprise servers. I ended up selling that unit and went with a Tripp-Lite unit which was still only 25U height but much deeper and higher quality and can now accommodate any size server I need. This unit, however, came fully assembled and that is the only way that I could order it.
If you want to install existing hardware into your rackmount cabinet, all you need is a rackmount case, which you can find in a lot of places. I'd recommend searching for a 4U chassis as these are the most common to accommodate standard desktop hardware including standard ATX power supplies, large CPU fans, and full-height graphics cards.
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demar3214
June 16, 2013 9:25:08 PM
That is a good rack cabinet, and it is a full 42" depth server cabinet so yes it should pretty much accommodate everything into the future. The nice thing about a rackmount system is even at home you can put everything all in one easily managed and maintained space. If I had the money to buy another one of those Tripp-Lite server cabinets for home I'd do so and have all my gear there.
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demar3214
June 17, 2013 7:02:34 PM
demar3214
June 17, 2013 7:32:07 PM
Recommendations on what server to purchase is going to really be difficult to answer unless we really know what you are wanting to do with your system. I looked at the systems that were linked to before, and I hadn't seen them before, but in raw power they are a huge value for the cost. The down side is that they aren't as flexible or customizable and lack support. But lets say you want to virtualize everything you need through ESXi. You can easily get a huge amount of hardware resources through the type of servers that were linked on eBay so long as you are willing to do a little extra work on setting up and testing things yourself.
However, if you need a more open platform with hardware, documentation, and support greater than what is available from Rackables, then you probably should look at a more common brand platform. There are so many ways to go about it, from a custom-built rig using parts you choose to pre-built enterprise-class HP, Dell, IBM, or other major brand server systems. I think if you detail a little more information about what you are looking to do we can help out with a few more suggestions. For instance, what kind of budget are you working with? What kind of storage needs do you have? What are you planning to do with the server? What operating systems will you be wanting to run? What kind of network environment do you have or will you be implementing? These are all important things to consider when you are evaluating a good server platform to consider.
However, if you need a more open platform with hardware, documentation, and support greater than what is available from Rackables, then you probably should look at a more common brand platform. There are so many ways to go about it, from a custom-built rig using parts you choose to pre-built enterprise-class HP, Dell, IBM, or other major brand server systems. I think if you detail a little more information about what you are looking to do we can help out with a few more suggestions. For instance, what kind of budget are you working with? What kind of storage needs do you have? What are you planning to do with the server? What operating systems will you be wanting to run? What kind of network environment do you have or will you be implementing? These are all important things to consider when you are evaluating a good server platform to consider.
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demar3214
June 18, 2013 5:14:43 PM
I guess if you are looking into virtualizing the main question is going to be what operating system you wish to use. Making sure your selected server has full compatibility is going to be key, as you don't want to spend your money purchasing all your hardware just to find you have problems now with it running your software. If you have another computer that you can use as your main desktop to access servers remotely you can use the free version of ESXi and save yourself that part of licensing cost at least. Likewise you can also use the free Hyper-V Server from Microsoft to run VMs in a Windows environment. Several different possibilities but really it comes down to your personal preference and experience.
I like the value of the Rackables systems that were linked above but personally prefer the HP ProLiant systems because of their tremendous amount of support, available hardware and spares, and bulletproof quality. Right now used HP ProLiant ML380 G6 or ML360 G6 servers on eBay are running about the same cost as those Rackables systems.
I like the value of the Rackables systems that were linked above but personally prefer the HP ProLiant systems because of their tremendous amount of support, available hardware and spares, and bulletproof quality. Right now used HP ProLiant ML380 G6 or ML360 G6 servers on eBay are running about the same cost as those Rackables systems.
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demar3214
June 18, 2013 8:01:42 PM
I would preferably use windows server due to lack of experience with other os. And I could use my desktop that is in my signature for accessing remotely. I found this hp one http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Proliant-DL380-G6-SERVER-2x-... do you think it is worth the 100$ more?
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I personally would prefer the HP ProLiant over the Rackables for the cost because you are getting better quality and better support. That ProLiant comes with a hardware RAID controller (SmartArray P410i with 256MB onboard cache) for improved storage performance, dual redundant power supplies, four gigabit ethernet ports, and rail kits. Plus, the HP server run surprisingly quiet for rackmount systems which might make a difference for you. Finally, the DL380 G6 can support several more add-in cards and hardware than the 1U Rackables system. So yes, for me the additional benefits of the HP server warrant the additional cost.
What kind of storage needs do you have? The server you linked to only has a pair of 75GB SAS drives. If you want to only run a single server, you can add up to six more hard drives directly to that server for storage space, or look into an additional server for your actual storage and another for running your virtual machines, such as iSCSI. Or you could buy an external JBOD system and a PCI-Express RAID controller with external SAS connection to connect up to a large array of hard drives beyond the eight internal drives supported by the physical server itself.
What kind of storage needs do you have? The server you linked to only has a pair of 75GB SAS drives. If you want to only run a single server, you can add up to six more hard drives directly to that server for storage space, or look into an additional server for your actual storage and another for running your virtual machines, such as iSCSI. Or you could buy an external JBOD system and a PCI-Express RAID controller with external SAS connection to connect up to a large array of hard drives beyond the eight internal drives supported by the physical server itself.
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demar3214
June 19, 2013 4:54:01 PM
Again, that's going to depend on the amount of storage you need. If you don't need a whole lot of storage, you can purchase HP hard drives from ebay that can be added directly into the HP ProLiant server. That server can support up to eight total 2.5" SATA/SAS hard drives, and they can be found on ebay for a pretty decent price. However, if you're going to need more storage than that can accommodate there are several different ways to go about it and a lot depends upon simply how you need to use your storage.
For instance, if you just need simple shared file storage and want it separated from the physical server running your virtual machines, then you can set up a separate NAS device with high-capacity SATA hard drives in a basic RAID array for a pretty low price-entry point. Perhaps, though, you want high-performance storage and a lot of it directly accessible from your primary host server. This might be a good use of a JBOD expansion device which can support a large number of SATA or SAS hard drives, and you control it from a RAID controller in your main server. There are other solutions though as well, just depending upon what you intend to do. For instance, setting up another server as an iSCSI storage target server to run virtual machines from which can grow to support multiple virtual machines and multiple physical servers.
For instance, if you just need simple shared file storage and want it separated from the physical server running your virtual machines, then you can set up a separate NAS device with high-capacity SATA hard drives in a basic RAID array for a pretty low price-entry point. Perhaps, though, you want high-performance storage and a lot of it directly accessible from your primary host server. This might be a good use of a JBOD expansion device which can support a large number of SATA or SAS hard drives, and you control it from a RAID controller in your main server. There are other solutions though as well, just depending upon what you intend to do. For instance, setting up another server as an iSCSI storage target server to run virtual machines from which can grow to support multiple virtual machines and multiple physical servers.
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demar3214
June 19, 2013 7:40:53 PM
Best solution
Well on the cheap and lightweight side, you can go with a simple NAS device, and since you have a rack chassis lined up you can even get a 1U rackmount NAS which usually support four 3.5" hard drives. Unfortunately, brand new rackmount NAS systems can still be pretty pricey, in fact that alone would use up your whole budget. So, you might look at getting a used or refurbished storage server or JBOD on eBay to go along with the HP ProLiant server. There are a lot of different options out there, including those Rackable systems. Keep in mind, you will also need to buy a RAID controller with external SAS connector to actually connect and control the JBOD. An example of one such unit on ebay is below:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Promise-Vtrak-J610s-Disk-Array-...
Now, if you haven't had experience with setting up and running a JBOD then getting a second server that just has a bunch of hard drives might be easier to begin with. As with anything there are tons of options, but with a stand-alone storage server you can configure all your network shares and have it run independently of your actual virtual machines. This can have its advantages and disadvantages. One example of a storage server with your necessary starting storage capacity is also listed below:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Proliant-DL180-G5-2U-Xeon-Qu...
Needless to say, setting up a high-capacity fault tolerant storage system is not going to be too cheap, but these are pretty nice prices for the types of hardware you are getting for the cost. It comes down to what kind of reliability, capacity, performance, and features you are expecting as the more you demand the more expensive it is going to be.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Promise-Vtrak-J610s-Disk-Array-...
Now, if you haven't had experience with setting up and running a JBOD then getting a second server that just has a bunch of hard drives might be easier to begin with. As with anything there are tons of options, but with a stand-alone storage server you can configure all your network shares and have it run independently of your actual virtual machines. This can have its advantages and disadvantages. One example of a storage server with your necessary starting storage capacity is also listed below:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Proliant-DL180-G5-2U-Xeon-Qu...
Needless to say, setting up a high-capacity fault tolerant storage system is not going to be too cheap, but these are pretty nice prices for the types of hardware you are getting for the cost. It comes down to what kind of reliability, capacity, performance, and features you are expecting as the more you demand the more expensive it is going to be.
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demar3214
June 20, 2013 3:16:44 PM
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