Low Power Server Build Opinion?
Low Power Server Build Opinion?
So I currently have a HP Prodesk G4 i5 7th Gen with 32gb RAM running Unraid. It’s used for Plex and AdGuard Home.
I have another unit with the same spec and thinking about giving TrueNAS Scale a true as the UI and Config seems more in line to what I am used to.
It was this video that got me interested: https://youtu.be/KmYV8f-BihQ
Storage will be my issue I don’t have the funds for much so thinking about getting 3 of the following drives (yes I know they are USB but works fine for my unraid setup) in a RaidZ config which I believe will give me 1 drive redundancy: https://amzn.eu/d/bqb10wZ
Was thinking I could find someone to 3D print me a 4 bay toast rack style holder to rest the drives on top of the ProDesk?
The 2 internal drives (256gb M.2 and SATA SSD) I am planning to use as Boot Drives.
Gonna add a decent Apps catalogue too: https://truecharts.org/manual/SCALE/guides/getting-started/
Looking for opinions please, any dos and don’ts. As mentioned budget is tight and looking to keep energy bills down.
What do you all think?
Instead of 3 small drives, why not go for 2 larger drives. You are sort of fighting 2 constraints. That case isn’t meant for 3 drives.
Also I really think you will regret the usb. You could get a pci to SATA connector and put 1 or 2 drives inside the case.
1I built my NAS using this, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085ZLFSYB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Supports 2 full size HD, 1 SSD and 1 m.2 drive inside. Used the m.2 for the main os drive, running openmediavault and then 2 8tb drives for storage.
1I've the same but one gen newer. i5-8500T with 16GB of RAM. I am not using RAID since I don’t want to run it over USB. I run OMV on Proxmox with two weakly RSYNC jobs for backup. Also run Plex/PiHole/Website via LXC 24/7.
15W idle: ~41€ annually
For a homeserver alone you won’t need more than one system with Proxmox. You would save quite a bit of power consumption.
1Personally, I'd go down the route of getting a NAS, either a commercial off-the-shelf unit or build you own with something like an HP MicroServer. The Gen8 Microserver is getting a bit old now, but for NAS duties it would be perfectly fine you should be able to pick it up for a reasonable price secondhand.
1The setup is not ideal, I won't lie to you. It could be better. But honestly, if it works for you, do it. There are so many things you can do to improve it and generally it will serve as a stepping stone to the next upgrade you see yourself making.
I will also note, since you have two of them, you could take the proxmox route and make them redundant. I am sure there is a way with Unraid to make them redundant too. I really wish I had the knowledge to run things in RAM.
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