Hardware for a home server running Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V or Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
- by David Hayes
Hi,
I'm planning to build a server to do the following
Act as a file server (videos, pictures music)
Run Squeezebox server
Run Zune Software to allow wireless syncing to Windows Phone 7
I'd also like to aim for
Low power usage (i'd settle for less than the 90-100Watts I'm using atm
Flexibility, I might want to add a web server or sharepoint or...
Something I can learn/test on, work is mainly a Windows shop but I do have Linux experience too
I'd like to take a look at App-V (application virtualization) too
I'd like it to cost less than $1000
Quiet would be nice but not essential (it'll be in the basement)
I'm thinking of getting a technet subscription to get access to Windows Server 2008 R2 at a reasonable price ($199)
So my plan was this
Get a bunch of 2TB Caviar green drives to RAID up (RAID 1 or 6 probably)
Get a Quad core CPU (Intel i5/i7 probably)
Install a Hypervisor
Install w2k8 R2 Storage Server for a NAS
Install Windows 7 Pro to run Zune/Squeeze box
Install any other machines I want to play with
Questions
Can anyone see any issues with this or have any better ideas?
Do you think I'd need an i7 over an i5?
Is 4 cores enough/too much?
Can anyone sugest a nice, reasonably priced case that will hold 6-8 drives and stay cool
Should I wait for Sandy Bridge parts?