Hardware Help

[Stones]

Right there is going to be a few questions is this.

I am looking to do a few buils a Virtualization server and a new Nas box.

For the Virtualization server I think I am going to do something similar to this:

http://rootwyrm.us.to/2010/08/meet-my-esxi-server-the-babydragon/

It looks to be a compact, quiet and cheap solution which is exactly what I want. Does anyone else have any recommendations other than this.

Second, for the nas box I know that a mini-itx board will suit my need but it is impossible to find the right one.

Requirments:

Small Form Factor/Rack (if that is at all possible)

8 drive bays (Hot swap would be better but i can live with internal)

2gig ram (should be plenty for a nas)

dual nic

Super Quiet

Am I being unrealistic?

I did see a 6 bay case which looks pretty good:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2010/07/20/lian-li-pc-q08-review/1

or should I just buy an 8 bay solution from QNAP/NetGear?

[3TeK]

I don't know why you'd go with a Xeon for something like that. I bought my AMD 1100T 6core for $240 and 16GB of regular DDR3-1333 for $160.

I would use that Lian-Li case for sure. The only cases i've seen with 8 bays are 3Us. I have an Icy Dock in my file server and it only holds 5 hard drives (which 10TB is enough for now) so I don't know why you would need anything more than that unless you have a ton of Blu-Ray movies. But you could totally build something like,

Lian Li Case

Zotac Mini-Itx Socket 775 ($50)

Intel Pentium E5800 Wolfdale 3.2GHz

Corsair 2GB DDR 2667

Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W

Then if you want another NIC just throw in

SYBA 10/ 100/ 1000Mbps PCI-Express Network Card 1 x RJ45

Then add your drives and your set.

Edited March 27, 2011 by 3TeK