I am working on replacing my aging home server and was hoping to get a little advice on the hardware. The server will be used as a nas, for backup, a plex server and a tv recording backend I am likely going to run WHS2011 but have not completely made up my mind yet.
Those components should work well together and provide enough power for 1080p transcoding to other devices if you need it for that purpose. Just a few things to think about though..
- SATA ports (only 4 on that motherboard). How much storage are you going to have, with how many disks? You can add a HBA to the PCIe slot, or an external enclosure to store more hard drives.
- # internal slots.. Limited to one PCIe slot, not ideal unless you don't plan on adding anything else in the future, such as tuner cards, or whatever else the future may hold.
Myself, I have WHS 2011 right now, and it is pretty much an end of the line product and not going anywhere. It might be worth choosing a different OS. I don't know what your purpose and uses are for the server, but it might be worth considering:
- Windows 8.1
- Windows Server 2012
- FreeNAS
I also don't know what you plan for redundant storage. But that may also change the recommended hardware components. My next build, I'm going to use a Xeon processor with ECC memory with SnapRAID or ZFS so I limit my chances of silent disk errors that could corrupt my data.
When you plan your build, I would recommend thinking 3-5 years in the future and imagine where you'll be in terms of storage / needs.
I am looking at WHS becasue I have a license and need a windows box. I might go with windows 7 or 8 also haven't decided yet. I have an SATA expander that I need to make sure will work, I'll have to open my current box to see the model. Five hard drives with Flexraid for storage. Also an SSD boot drive and two blu ray drives for ripping.
I would not recommend an SSD for a server. Fast boot times aren't really necessary for server usage (but highly recommended for HTPC's). Stick with a traditional SATA drive. Just my $.02.
An SSD makes a huge difference in the speed of the dashboard in WHS2011. It went from frustrating to snappy. Servers have apps/UIs and the effect of an SSD there is just like any other application. Not to mention you can velcro an SSD somewhere and keep a drive bay free for a data drive.
I have the Z87 version of the motherboard - I didn't give up any features I wanted and got 6 SATA ports.
I question the T or S processors for servers. A server will spend most of its time at idle, but when you want transcoding you don't want it throttled. The T and S processors reduce TDP by reducing frequency, but in the process you loose transcoding horsepower. All the Core i5/7 processors idle at about the same power draw, which is very low.
I am thinking I will run WMC in a VM for recording and then transcode and catalog into plex. I still need to do some research on what the best method for this is today.
Yeah, I plan on the same when I get the chance to build a new server. I am ready to move away from a separate HTPC / server model. I want WMC on the same box as WHS 2011 so it will be always available. I also want to put MB3 server on the W7 partition so that I can use ServerWMC within MB3.
Maybe. I asked that question on the MB forum today. If it isn't required, I need to get to installing it. This may be a solution to an issue I've been working on for weeks!
I hate to throw a wrench in the mix, but at that level you might look into Supermicro motherboards and Xeon processors. I'm doing the same. Like I said above, I'm "watching". I have a feeling I'll go Xeon.
Do you really need to have the ICY DOCK backplane?
I used to have one of those and between the flimsy design and loud fan it was more distracting than useful.
I built my last home server using the Lian Li PC-Q25 ( hot swap HDD cage included ) last year and it's been running great.
You could save yourself couple hundred $$ going that route.
I am starting to read up on Software and came across the fact that windows 8.1 and server 2012 have storage spaces. Would this server to replace flexraid for fault tolerance? I have five 2 TB drives now but will likely upgrade before long.
Great thread. I'm reading with a lot of interest. When you get this build list complete, do you mind posting it? I'd like to replicate as I'd like to build my first.
Great, all that research to find a good motherboard out the window!
Thanks for the catch, back to the drawing board for me! This is why it is good to get a second opinion or a second set of eyes to look at builds.
That also explains why I was not able to find many motherboards that supported the processor.
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