newbie question, buying advise for headless homeserver

[hwschroeder]

Dear Forum, this is hwschroeder from Germany, a silent reader so far, but now up to build my first project.

(I'm not a native speaker, so please excuse any spelling mistake )

As in the headline, I want to build a headless server, running 10.9.x or 10.10.x.

Up to now, I own a MacMini



attached 2x 2TB USB2 HD + Thunderbold USB3 Adapter (Kaanax) with 2x 3TB USB3 HD.

What I want to run is:

• OS X for
  • Plex Server
  • OS X Server for Shares, VPN and iOS Device Management
  • VM Ware Fusion (or Parallels)
• host 2 - 3 VM's
  • 2x WIN 8.1 (Office use)
  • WIN 7 x64 (>4GB RAM) for CorelDraw
  • WIN 2000 (for HomeAutomation services)

The system should run headless and will be administrated by Apple Remote Desktop, Windows machines with RDP (WIN 7 + 8) and VNC (WIN2000).

With my current system, I'm limited by HD speed, RAM and Processor, especially if I want to serve 3+ videostreams via Plex.

Nice to have will be:

• option to get 16+ GB RAM
• 2x LAN
• small footprint, but internal 3 - 4 HD's
• "newbie like config", means hassle free, most options running out-of-the-box

I'm sure, this is a competed and friendly forum, so:

Does anyone having a similar use and an already running system and/or buying advices for this need?

Thanks in advance and Happy new Year to every reader.

 

[Going Bald]

Many members have HTPC setups that would probably serve you well in your application.
Why not use the forum search function and use Plex server or HTPC as key words and see what you can find?

 

[hwschroeder]

Dear Going Bald.

Thanks for your reply, but it seems, that my request was not made clear enough.

I'm not going to build a Home Theater PC HTPC, I want to go for a Server.

I already have a HTPC connected to my TV, running the Plex Client,
but Plex is only 20% of what my new server should do.

As I listed, my needs are for serving OS X Server, Virtual Machines and Plex Server.
My thoughts, driven by the buyers guide, are about the CustoMac mATX.

So, any further comments are welcome.

 

[Going Bald]

Dear Going Bald.

Thanks for your reply, but it seems, that my request was not made clear enough.

I'm not going to build a Home Theater PC HTPC, I want to go for a Server.

I already have a HTPC connected to my TV, running the Plex Client,
but Plex is only 20% of what my new server should do.

As I listed, my needs are for serving OS X Server, Virtual Machines and Plex Server.
My thoughts, driven by the buyers guide, are about the CustoMac mATX.

So, any further comments are welcome.

Not too many people run a pure server with OS X Server. I use FreeNAS on mine, so I'm no help there.

There are some builds that are combination home server for iTunes and backups for multiple computers in the house that are also used as Plex HTPC servers.

Not sure how that hardware would translate to what your goals are. One thing you do need to watch for is the number of SATA ports on the board - are there enough for all of your drives?

 

[hwschroeder]

4 internal drives are my goal (System SSD, Virtual Machines SSD + 2x 3TB HD's for Data).
Backup drives will be attached via USB.

1 Question about the processor, cause I need the Virtualization capabilities.

• is the i7-4770S a good choice?

 

[Going Bald]

4 internal drives are my goal (System SSD, Virtual Machines SSD + 2x 3TB HD's for Data).
Backup drives will be attached via USB.

1 Question about the processor, cause I need the Virtualization capabilities.

• is the i7-4770S a good choice?

Yes, the 4770S would do if you went with an 87 series Haswell board. Low TDP/lower temps would be good for a server.

Or you could go with a 97 series board and the 4790S

See http://ark.intel.com/compare/75124,80808

I can't tell any difference in a quick scan of the specs.

 

[HeinzTheo]

Hallo,

fellow German here but I'll stick to english due to the forum rules. Your requirements

Nice to have will be:

• option to get 16+ GB RAM
• 2x LAN
• small footprint, but internal 3 - 4 HD's
• "newbie like config", means hassle free, most options running out-of-the-box

seem to be met by the CustoMac Mini Deluxe from the Buyer's Guide. The GA-Z97N-WIFI only has two slots for RAM, so you're limited to 16 GB when using 8 GB sticks. It has two ethernet ports and I have both of them working on my machine. Furthermore it is a mini-ITX board, so it is rather small, but it still has 6 SATA ports so you will be able to use all your drivers. Regarding the ease of setup, I'd say it was pretty straightforward to set up with alle the resources on this site. Mostly everything works, except for WiFi, but you can change the WiFi card easily.

Also I guess the i7 4790K Going Bald mentioned will work just fine on this board although I'm not sure the virtualization capabilities are supported in OSX. Better check up on that before getting the hardware.

I hope this was of help for you, viel Erfolg mit dem Computer!

 

[hwschroeder]

Dear Heinz Theo,

yes, the Gusto MacMini deluxe looks fine, but I only have one config without the possibility to expand.

So I did a little research about forms, measurement and power (I know, the PSU is a little oversized) and I would like to go with this components:

Board, Gigabyte GA-Z97M-D3H,

Prozessor, INTEL I7-4790S 3,2 GHz LGA1150 8MB Cache Low Power

start with 16GB (2x 8GB) RAM (Option to expand to 4x 8GB)

as sytem drive, Samsung Serie 840 EVO 250 GB (room for 2x more internal 3.5" HD's)

PSU Netzteil 650W Corsair RM650 silence (seems to be a good deal on Amazon (DE) these days

and this case Corsair Carbide Air 240 Micro-ATX, cause it fits smoothly in the computers rack (I have no standard 19" equipment )


So, in total it seems to be 1,000€ project.
(Compared to a Apple MacMini, dualcore i7 with 16GB RAM, this can be an option).

Any comments about the selection?

 

[HeinzTheo]

I'm pretty sure these components will run OSX just fine. You might consider the Crucial CT256MX100SSD1 instead of the Samsung one. They're about equal in price (109 €) but the Crucial seems to be a bit more durable (from what I've read). This is a matter of preference.

Be sure to check if the virtualization features you want are available under OSX!

 

[hwschroeder]

So, here's the question to go:

Will Board / CPU run well with VMWare Fusion and/or Parallels Desktop?

Board, Gigabyte GA-Z97M-D3H,
View attachment 120222
Prozessor, INTEL I7-4790S 3,2 GHz LGA1150 8MB Cache Low Power
View attachment 120223