VMWare ESXi Server Build, Homelab Edition

I have always had multiple Virtualbox projects on my main and secondary desktop PCs and even one or two light weight Ubuntu VMs on my laptop. At a certain point I knew I needed to centralize all of this some how to more efficiently allocate system resources. By day, I work in IT (so by night I can work on YT) and building a server like this seemed like a great idea to learn basic concepts around virtualization, networking, storage, and overall system management. This server is running a Supermicro X10DRi motherboard with two Xeon E5-2660v3 CPUs. Right now I have 64GB of DDR4 registered ECC memory installed. I have a few PCIe cards installed already, some for passthrough to specific VMs and some for the system as a whole. For a complete walkthrough, check out the video to see all of the parts I chose and what I'm doing with them.

Stay tuned by Subscribing to the channel for future updates!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamsTechStuff

Facebook: https://facebook.com/SamsTechStuff

Website: http://samstechstuff.com

Check out some tech stuff on Amazon:

Supermicro Store on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3gxXbTl

AMD Ryzen CPUs: https://amzn.to/36Ezh40

Noctua Store on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2X9PISG

My Gaming PC:

Ryzen 3600: https://amzn.to/31MhCUr

MSI X470 Gaming Plus: https://amzn.to/2HfrG06

Honorable Mention ASUS TUF 570: https://amzn.to/2HevOO8

XFX GTR-S XXX 580 8GB: https://amzn.to/2KIbRRU

G.Skill Trident Z 3600MHz 16GB RAM Kit (with the RGB's): https://amzn.to/31Op2q3

Samsung 960 EVO Series - 250GB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD: https://amzn.to/2HfOblN

Toshiba P300 3TB Hard drive: https://amzn.to/2ZdoYCK

Sasonic 850w Gold Rated PSU: https://amzn.to/2HfwId3

Corsair Carbide Air 740: https://amzn.to/2Hew9jS

Windows 10 Home (USB): https://amzn.to/2mnWMb8 - OR - Windows 10 Home (Disc): https://amzn.to/2NUFcIk

Amazon Basics USB Keyboard and mouse: https://amzn.to/2usBde6

Alternative good options:

Higher end Corsair Keyboard: https://amzn.to/2NWHfMj

Higher End Logitech G502 Gaming mouse: https://amzn.to/2NX9DxB

Logitech G600: https://amzn.to/2Nllnsz

Video Surveillance Server Build for Home / Business

Interested in building a customer Video Surveillance Server to secure your home or property? Today I'll walk you through the part selection for my server running Windows 10 and Blue Iris video software. Any questions? Let me know in the comments section! Drop a like on the video.

Stay tuned by Subscribing to the channel for future updates!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamsTechStuff

Facebook: https://facebook.com/SamsTechStuff

Website: http://samstechstuff.com

Check out some tech stuff on Amazon:

Supermicro Store on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3gxXbTl

AMD Ryzen CPUs: https://amzn.to/36Ezh40

Noctua Store on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2X9PISG

My Gaming PC:

Ryzen 3600: https://amzn.to/3mU7J2d

MSI X470 Gaming Plus: https://amzn.to/2HtDxuy

Honorable Mention ASUS TUF 570: https://amzn.to/3kYxTzj

XFX GTR-S XXX 580 8GB: https://amzn.to/36jAMX0

G.Skill Trident Z 3600MHz 16GB RAM Kit (with the RGB's): https://amzn.to/3kYy2Tn

Samsung 960 EVO Series - 250GB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD: https://amzn.to/36cdGBN

Toshiba P300 3TB Hard drive: https://amzn.to/36bssIV

Sasonic 850w Gold Rated PSU: https://amzn.to/2ShAt7f

Corsair Carbide Air 740: https://amzn.to/3cDP3Pr

Amazon Basics USB Keyboard and mouse: https://amzn.to/2GjULtG

Alternative good options:

Higher end Corsair Keyboard: https://amzn.to/3mW16wh

Higher End Logitech G502 Gaming mouse: https://amzn.to/2GePYdi

Logitech G600: https://amzn.to/348e0yI

pfSense Firewall Build

II originally built this because I was curious about replacing my ISPs router and I had read a little bit about pfsense and Untangled. I obviously chose pfsense, I’m not sure what had tipped the scales in my head exactly but after testing it out in a VM I really liked the functionality and the web interface. Eventually I also realized that there are many benefits to running something like pfsense in your home, homelab, or even in SMB businesses. ISP all in one routers are generally providing NAT and extremely basic firewalling but, something like pfsense when configured correctly is going to have many more configuration options and can be secured better. I personally use my pfsense firewall to not only provide firewalling but routing, dhcp, and dns to my network. My network is actually double NAT’d, I’m running my whole network behind pfsense behind my ISPs router. This may or may not be the case for your network. Sometimes you can replace your ISPs router with something like pfsense. The case I’m using is an iStarUSA D-214-mATX. This is a 2u rackmount case that's about 15 and a half inches wide. I reviewed this case a while back, check that review video out in the top right corner. This is a great budget option for a custom 2U server build, I can't recommend it enough. In terms of what's powering pfsense, I opted to go with an ASRock J3455M embedded Intel Celeron motherboard combo. This CPU is a quad core atom from the Apollo Lake series. The CPU runs at 1.5GHz base and is able to boost up to 2.3GHz depending on total CPU load and operating temperature. The motherboard is an embedded option from AsRock, it’s certainly a budget board but basically all I cared about was that it had a decent CPU, integrated video output for troubleshooting, and a few PCIE slots. I chose not to use the integrated NIC because it's a Realtek based chip. Realtek chips haven’t always been supported very well but these days most of them work, it probably would have worked but, I prefer using intel NICs. I opted for a half height quad port 1gig Intel NIC from eBay. Memory selection for this type of server isn't very important. Ideally, you would choose registered ECC memory but CPU and motherboard support for registered ECC RAM leads you down a more expensive build path with higher power draw. I am running this with a 4gb 1333MHz ddr3 dimm that I stress tested before installing. The SSD I’m using is very small, I bought a used one from ebay for the build.I will mention though, if you do this, you really should create a backup configuration file after you set your pf sense server up for the first time and add new files anytime you make changes. In terms of system usage, I have never seen full load on this quad core atom in pfsense. I also rarely exceed 400 to 450MB of memory usage. I’m not running Snort, Squid, or VPN at the moment though. If you choose to do network traffic scanning, content caching, or want to remote into your network, this will directly result in increased system usage. I would still advise home and homelab users to try to re-use a retired PC to help reduce e-waste and to save money. If the system you’re using is not performing, there’s always the option for an inexpensive upgrade or to build a new system to handle the demand. Newer systems are typically going to be more power efficient as well.

Stay tuned by Subscribing to the channel for future updates!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamsTechStuff

Facebook: https://facebook.com/SamsTechStuff

Website: http://samstechstuff.com

Cool Tech on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3miZFI9

iStarUSA D-213mATX Server Case: https://amzn.to/3j9W2SU

iStarUSA IS-26 Rail Kit: https://amzn.to/30c2YaL

Asrock J3455M CPU / Motherboard combo: https://amzn.to/36cd3YX

8GB DDR3: https://amzn.to/33XrFbK

Seasonic 550w PSU: https://amzn.to/30epwaD

Kingston SSD: https://amzn.to/2S37XpN

Intel Dual port 1Gbps NIC: https://amzn.to/2G3TNSM

Intel Quad port 1Gbps NIC: https://amzn.to/2HyDqxT

Amazon links on this website may contain Amazon Affiliate links. These links help support the channel and website. They are free for you to use. When you buy something on Amazon, a small percentage is paid to the channel and/or website. This helps me reinvest in new hardware and equipment to keep making more higher quality videos and maintaining the website.

Custom UnRAID Build Video: 4U, 15 bay, Low Power Server

This is a follow up video to the original UnRAID video I did: https://youtu.be/1rQE5OJFmTE This new server offers several advantages over the old one, it can be rack mounted, controlled remotely by IPMI, supports ECC RAM, and has built in dual NICs. In this episode of Sams Tech Stuff, I cover the reasons for the hardware choices and give some insight on building your own Customer NAS (storage server) for UnRAID OS. In the future, I plan on going through basic operations such as adding drivers and replacing them as they stop working. Stay tuned for the backup UnRAID server build coming soon!

Check out parts list on Amazon:

Supermicro X11SSHF-O: https://amzn.to/2SLnwRw

Pentium G3930 (supports ECC RAM!): https://amzn.to/2SLC2IR

Kingston DDR4 ECC RAM: https://amzn.to/2SVtFed

Deepcool Gabriel Low Profile Heatsink: https://amzn.to/2SVuF1X

IBM M1015 RAID Card: https://amzn.to/2M5OtNn

SAS to SATA cables: https://amzn.to/2SSlOOu

3TB Seagate BarraCuda Hard Drive: https://amzn.to/2ABEoDl

8TB Western Digital Red Hard DRive: https://amzn.to/2SXlRs0

8TB External Western Digital Hard Drive (lower priced shuck-able option): https://amzn.to/2SOotbR

EVGA 650w P2 Power Supply (Platinum rated): https://amzn.to/2FtGmZO

Rosewill RSVL-4500 4U Rack mount case: https://amzn.to/2AIKG4d

Supermicro Store on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3gxXbTl

AMD Ryzen CPUs: https://amzn.to/36Ezh40

Noctua Store on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2X9PISG

My Gaming PC:

Ryzen 3600: https://amzn.to/3mU7J2d

MSI X470 Gaming Plus: https://amzn.to/2HtDxuy

Honorable Mention ASUS TUF 570: https://amzn.to/3kYxTzj

XFX GTR-S XXX 580 8GB: https://amzn.to/36jAMX0

G.Skill Trident Z 3600MHz 16GB RAM Kit (with the RGB's): https://amzn.to/3kYy2Tn

Samsung 960 EVO Series - 250GB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD: https://amzn.to/36cdGBN

Toshiba P300 3TB Hard drive: https://amzn.to/36bssIV

Sasonic 850w Gold Rated PSU: https://amzn.to/2ShAt7f

Corsair Carbide Air 740: https://amzn.to/3cDP3Pr

Amazon Basics USB Keyboard and mouse: https://amzn.to/2GjULtG

Alternative good options:

Higher end Corsair Keyboard: https://amzn.to/3mW16wh

Higher End Logitech G502 Gaming mouse: https://amzn.to/2GePYdi

Logitech G600: https://amzn.to/348e0yI

UnRaid Network Storage Server Hardware Tour

I chose a very low power embedded CPU/motherboard combo in order to keep the power draw as low as possible since this will be powered on 24/7 for several years. The IBM m1015 RAID card was perfect for this server. I was able to easily flash the card to IT mode disabling hardware RAID. This helps UnRAID better manage the drives in the system. A quality PSU (and power protection) is a must here. I opted for the EVGA SuperNova 650w P2 power supply. This is a high efficiency power supply that will allow me to max out the hard drives I can fit safely.

Check out my updated parts list on Amazon:

Supermicro X11SSHF-O: https://amzn.to/2SLnwRw

Pentium G3930 (supports ECC RAM!): https://amzn.to/2SLC2IR

Kingston DDR4 ECC RAM: https://amzn.to/2SVtFed

Deepcool Gabriel Low Profile Heatsink: https://amzn.to/2SVuF1X

IBM M1015 RAID Card: https://amzn.to/2M5OtNn

SAS to SATA cables: https://amzn.to/2SSlOOu

3TB Seagate BarraCuda Hard Drive: https://amzn.to/2ABEoDl

8TB Western Digital Red Hard DRive: https://amzn.to/2SXlRs0

8TB External Western Digital Hard Drive (lower priced shuck-able option): https://amzn.to/2SOotbR

EVGA 650w P2 Power Supply (Platinum rated): https://amzn.to/2FtGmZO

Rosewill RSVL-4500 4U Rack mount case: https://amzn.to/2AIKG4d

Supermicro Store on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3gxXbTl

AMD Ryzen CPUs: https://amzn.to/36Ezh40

Noctua Store on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2X9PISG

My Gaming PC:

Ryzen 3600: https://amzn.to/3mU7J2d

MSI X470 Gaming Plus: https://amzn.to/2HtDxuy

Honorable Mention ASUS TUF 570: https://amzn.to/3kYxTzj

XFX GTR-S XXX 580 8GB: https://amzn.to/36jAMX0

G.Skill Trident Z 3600MHz 16GB RAM Kit (with the RGB's): https://amzn.to/3kYy2Tn

Samsung 960 EVO Series - 250GB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD: https://amzn.to/36cdGBN

Toshiba P300 3TB Hard drive: https://amzn.to/36bssIV

Sasonic 850w Gold Rated PSU: https://amzn.to/2ShAt7f

Corsair Carbide Air 740: https://amzn.to/3cDP3Pr

Amazon Basics USB Keyboard and mouse: https://amzn.to/2GjULtG

Alternative good options:

Higher end Corsair Keyboard: https://amzn.to/3mW16wh

Higher End Logitech G502 Gaming mouse: https://amzn.to/2GePYdi

Logitech G600: https://amzn.to/348e0yI

Monero mining on dual Xeon CPUs 1khs at 210 watts

Do you have some beefy Xeon CPUs just laying around or idling? See if you can put them to work as your mining workhorses! In this video I show my main CPU mining rig which runs 2x E5-2643v3 Xeon CPUs. - Each thread hashes around 48-52 hashes per second - Maximum 24 thread mining speed is 1,111 hashes per second - 22 thread CPU mining configuration is ~1,030 hashes per second - Total system power draw (no GPUs) is 210w - IPMI support for BIOS level remote control (built-in feature).

Crazy 28 core Intel XEON CPU: https://amzn.to/2JRbrWD

AMD Ryzen CPUs on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2FeW9ba

RX Vega 56:

ASUS ROG Strix Vega 56: https://amzn.to/2JflaFv

Sapphire NITRO+ Vega 56: https://amzn.to/2qT0sDU

RX Vega 64:

ASUS Strix Vega 64: https://amzn.to/2HNsZCI

Sapphire NITRO+ Vega 64: https://amzn.to/2HPOMcT

RX 580:

XFX GTS Black Edition 8GB: https://amzn.to/2HRH1U4

ASUS Dual-Fan OC 8GB: https://amzn.to/2Hfa3zz

Gigabyte Aorus 8GB: https://amzn.to/2qQssrH