Right, so it's about time I get some form of backup set up, along with a central store for my shared data and a small web server. What I want is a home server - but not an exceedingly powerful one that can play 1080p videos - this will be a totally headless server. My idea is to have 4-6TB of storage, perhaps RAIDed, that will act as a backup for important data and general storage for films and music. I had a thought, however, that a custom Linux router/firewall would be pretty useful, and other services could be handy to have ready. So I think I will run some kind of virtualisation on the server - one VM for a file server, one for a firewall, and multiple VMs for any other services I might require. All of this running on Linux. So I have the software side sorted, now I just need the hardware. I am mainly struggling to decide on the CPU, motherboard and RAM to get - I want the machine to be as quiet as possible, low-power but have enough grunt to do all of the above with some to spare. Having 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports integrated into the motherboard would be an added bonus, saving me the cost of getting an extra NIC. I was thinking of an Intel Atom D2500CC, which has the two Gigabit ports, potentially enough grunt for the required services along with a nice low power draw. However, 2 SATA ports will be limiting for any serious storage. The other parts that I will need to worry about at some stage are the case and PSU. Obviously they will both be dependent on the size of the motherboard and the power requirements of the CPU. Thanks in advance, Rob
http://www.msi.com/product/mb/C847MS-E33.html ? Only one ethernet unfortunately. Other alternative is Gigabyte C1007UN-D with 2 Ethernet ports, but only 3 SATA ports and one PCI slot. (product page doesn't work at the moment : http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4497 )
Note that it is not critical to go for an Intel Atom - a little bit of noise can be tolerated, for example with a Core i3 or low end Athlon or A4. If the combined price of the motherboard and CPU can be kept below £150 then I will be even happier. I have looked at the HP Microserver before, but it seems awfully overpriced for what it does. Yes, it includes a PSU and case, but £322 minimum (including VAT here) is a little steep, especially considering the AMD Turion inside it, which is a mobile chip.
http://www.ebuyer.com/430446-proliant-microserver-turion-2-2-2gb-250gb-nhpl-sata-lff-in-704941-421 £209 after cash back the mobile CPU is a bonus as you want low power consumption for something on 24/7 unless you are trying to compress video or compile code on it.
Now that does look interesting... however, I still want suggestions of other possible hardware, so that I can make a good comparison. +rep for you though, for finding that deal