Home Server to run Virtual Machines

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Duan

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I have multiple pc's at home doing various things like:
* downloading
* serving media
* sharing documents
* backing up my stuff
* firewall
* etc

This changes from time to time and my current hardware is end of life.

I am considering virtualising everything and I am looking for advise on affordable hardware and the best hypervisor for the job.

I have done some research and VMWare seems to offer the vSphere product free of charge, but I cant seem to find the catch... is there one?

Also hardware seems to be tricky, I am considering secondhand servers like the Dell Poweredge 1950 III or similar.

Any advice?
 
Why not get one of the new HP Microservers with 16GB RAM, on the free VMware? Chuck in two or three 3TB drives for stuff, and an SSD for ESX.
 
Thanks for the suggestion, the Microserver only has 2 DIMM slots, may be a bit of an issue when it comes to adding more RAM.

Does vSphere play nice with the Microserver?
 
What's the advantage of VM in this case? Couldn't you just have one machine running a single session to do all the work listed?
 
The microserver is probably a bit lightweight for hosting vms. Depending on what server you can get for your budget, I'd be tempted to build an i7 box to run the vm's and buy some external storage like a qnap NAS with iSCSI for expandable storage and to store the vm images on (or build a FreeNAS box if you are that way inclined.)

If you haven't already, have a look also at KVM, Xen, Proxmox and Virtualbox as alternatives to vSphere. Although Virtualbox isn't usually spoken of in the same vein as VMware and the other Enterprise virtualisation software, it has some pretty cool features and could work well for something like this.
 
There is absolutely nothing wrong with Virtual Box.

I'm running 5 Windows Server 2008 R2 VMs off my Core i3 with 8GB RAM, no problemo.

Virtual Box = :love:
 
kingrob said:
There is absolutely nothing wrong with Virtual Box.

I'm running 5 Windows Server 2008 R2 VMs off my Core i3 with 8GB RAM, no problemo.

Virtual Box = :love:
Click to expand...

Uhm last time I checked Virtualbox isn't bare metal and still requires an OS underneath it.

ESX is Free but has no terminal interface and therefore significantly limits your access.

I would highly recommend the genuinely free Proxmox VE.
 
Duan said:
Thanks for the suggestion, the Microserver only has 2 DIMM slots, may be a bit of an issue when it comes to adding more RAM.

Does vSphere play nice with the Microserver?
Click to expand...

vSpere (ESXI) works just fine on the Microserver. Best get as much ram as you can. One trick is to configure your servers as small as possible, although esxi will allocate resources as required.

I have one of these, mainly for researching or testing purposes and it happily runs a Win7, WinXP, SBS2003 and Ubuntu simultaneosly. The only thing that it does not allow id pass-through host dvd access from a vm, but, as you will need to have a pc with which to access esxi, you can use its dvd.

A nice feature of esxi is the good management interface, as well as allowing virtual networks so that it's possible to create a sandpitted environment.

It's a pity that the price of the microserver has quadtrippled!
 
SauRoNZA said:
Uhm last time I checked Virtualbox isn't bare metal and still requires an OS underneath it.

ESX is Free but has no terminal interface and therefore significantly limits your access.

I would highly recommend the genuinely free Proxmox VE.
Click to expand...

Sorry, my pc is my entertainment hub as well, so it runs Windows 7 64-bit for my Starcraft II addiction, blu-ray movies & music CD burning. :)
 
Guys,

Thanks for all the great advice.

The Microserver looks like a good option.

Now to hunt for bargains...
 
mister said:
^^^ still waiting for an answer to this
Click to expand...

Sorry about that...

Sure I could, but I dont want my downloading to interfere with my firewall. Besides, I am thinking of running single purpose virtual appliances like ipcop.
 
calypso said:
What's the advantage of VM in this case? Couldn't you just have one machine running a single session to do all the work listed?
Click to expand...

VMs would work better for some of the functions OP wants because, for example, Linux has far more and better software options to make it act as a proxy server than Windows. He doesn't state any other functions but lists them as etc, so perhaps he needs something for sharing a printer to multiple platforms. With my next rig I'm going to relegate all the network and server functions to my current desktop but running Linux, as this allows me to be more flexible in my platform of choice so long as I've set up the server properly.

I could then move freely between Linux, Windows or OS X without having to change things too much on the back end, if at all. I could have a Server 2008 virtual machine running for backing up Windows machines over the network, or I could just have everyone working off a network share for their documents and pictures (which would open up the possibility for synced network shares and file history). Everyone would be subject to going through the same proxy server, run on a Linux VM with Webmin. I'm pretty sure by that time I could dedicate one server with the job of bitcoin mining on the side. Hell, I could do VOIP if I wanted to.
 
Ok so I managed to find a piece of hardware to fool around with:

Dell PowerEdge 2900
Quad core XEON with 12GB Ram and 4 X 146GB SAS drives spinning at 15K

Busy installing ESXi 5.1 now.
 
Duan said:
Ok so I managed to find a piece of hardware to fool around with:

Dell PowerEdge 2900
Quad core XEON with 12GB Ram and 4 X 146GB SAS drives spinning at 15K

Busy installing ESXi 5.1 now.
Click to expand...

:eek:

Did you borrow a server from your company's server room?
 
Nope :-) I found it in the classifieds.. OLX or one of those, cant remember.

I think it should do a good job??? Anyone have experience with this config?
 
mister said:
^^^ still waiting for an answer to this
Click to expand...

Firstly, most servers spend their time idling along, not making any demands on their hardware's resources. ESXi will alocate these resources to a VM requiring them, thus the hardware you purchased is better utilised.

Next, ESXi allows the running of disparate OS's on the same hardware platform while still achieving resource sharing.

Finally, by using ESXi one can try / install bespoke solutions, each to its own VM prior to buying extra hardware.
 
Yikes this thing is noisy!! Sounds like a vacum cleaner is running in the study. I will have to find another spot in the house for this guy.

ESXi 5.1 installed without a hitch.
Also downloaded and installed the vSphere Client and I am able to connect to the ESXi.

So all good for now.

Time to create a new VM and see how it behaves.
 
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