Need help in building a pc to act as my server

psathiya1987

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Nov 22, 2011
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Hi Guys,
I will first list out my requirements.
- I want to build a pc which will host my blog engine(not for public, my personal blog) written by me. I will be running a database server, a git server in this machine
- My OS of choice is Debian(currently wheezy) or freebsd(not decided yet). I will be running around 4-5 virtual machines simultaneously for my certification.

So My machine will be running the following at all times
1) one RDBMS server
2) one git server(version control)
3) my blog engine mostly in java
4) 4-5 virtual machine powered by qemu
5) I will also be running a mongodb instance, redis for learning purposes.

Basically, I will be using this machine to simulate and understand what I am learning theoretically. One example is, I will create a new mysql server and include some 500 million records and run query against it to understand the sql better or create around 6 virtual machines and try to set them up in a private virtual cloud behing my static ip address and simulate a network.

Hope you guys get what I am looking for.

I thought of using a RAID1 software configured using the debian . I don't want hardware configuration since i believe it may cost a lot(if its not, please let me know). The reason for RAID1 is there will be frequent power cuts in my area, I don't want my harddisk to be corrupted due to the machine losing power.

Also please let me know, if there are any motherboards with an option where it will hibernate/poweroff once power cut happens and it will turn itself on, when the power comes back.

I am limited to $1000-$1100. With that in mind, here is my choices of configuration. I already have a 21" samsung monitor

1) ASROCK Z77 Extreme motherboard + core i5 3470 + 16GB RAM
2) ASROCK Z77 Extreme motherboard + core i7 3770 + 8GB RAM
3) MAC MINI Server + 16GB RAM ( although this cost around $1499 in US. I am from India)

I will be using 2 1TB harddisks for RAID1. can't go ssd way. anyhow, I am not looking for harddisk speed.

With these configurations in mind, these are my questions

1) does it matter if I choose 8GB or 16GB RAM with core i5
2) does it matter if I choose core i5 or core i7 with 16GB RAM
3) forget all these questions and buy a mac mini and be happy. My only problem with mac mini is ,I will be replacing OSX with debian and it is a waste of money to spend on OSX.
4) do I need a graphics card. I will not be playing any games in the machine. I already have a PS3.

Please help me out here guys, thank you. Also from the reviews of haswell processors, it is said that the performance gain is not that great when compared to ivy bridge processors, so I won't be choosing haswell processors.

PS: I don't want to go the route of IAAS like amazon . Amazon ec2 is great but my cost calculations show that having my own setup will give me gains(although after one year only). ie) if my local setup does not become obselete within a year, choosing amazon EC2 actually costs me more. For example, hosting my own blog engine in an EC2 small instance and running it 24/7 costs around $40 a month
 
Your major thing with this, is that you are building a sever like a gaming PC, it's not.

You can get a much cheaper motherboard, get 16 gig of RAM (or 32gig if you pick a motherboard that supports that much) and an i5, or even an i3 CPU.

Raid 1 may not help too much with power outages, what you want for that is a UPS. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16842101381

You want enough to power your system till it at least can power down normally on it's own with the power management and a good enough UPS to respond fast during a brown out where the power could sag but not fully die.

Database and sever performance is really dependant on disk speed, so instead of RAID 1 you may want to check out RAID 5 which needs at leat 3 disks but combines the benfits of RAID 0 and 1 more or less. More RAM + Fast disk = fast server. Modern CPUs are pretty fast to handle things so RAM and Drive are really the bottlenecks.
 

psathiya1987

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Nov 22, 2011
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Great Man, I will go with the following configuration then
1) Intel core i5 3470 processor
2) ASROCK Z77 EXTREME 4 motherboard
3) 16GB RAM DDR3-2133
4) Corsair 400R MidTower Cabinet
5) CoolerMaster 500W PSU
6) 3 x 1TB SATA Harddisk in RAID 5 configuration

I am still researching on a good UPS though.

I also hope this configuration plays 1080p videos.

Let me know if this configuration is fine and the components are compatible with each other for a server. Thank you.
 
You can play HD video on the onboard video in the i5 easily.
That motherboard supports 32gb of RAM, but only has 4 slots. If you can manage it, get 2 8gig RAM cards so you can upgrade to 32gb of ram if you find the database or virtual machines are a bit slow.