Suitable re-purposed PC

[Ferkner]

I have a PC that I (over) built in 2012 that I plan on using for HexOS. The main function of the HexOS NAS will be to be the Emby server for our house. but I would also like to consolidate some other things onto it as well, such as pi-hole and Home Assistant (if I do not go with Homey Pro) and anything else in the future.

Emby will not be doing any transcoding so it should not take a ton of CPU usage. The guts of the machine is an Intel Core i7 3930K in an Asus P9X79 Pro motherboard with 64GB of RAM. I know 64GB is way overkill so I may probably remove some and sell it off, or I may not. At what point does it become diminishing returns with RAM? 16GB? 32GB?

I am assuming this hardware is more than enough for what I want to do with some headroom for future server tasks. However, I am curious about the recommended size for the installation drive. Is it only HexOS that gets installed to it, or is it also all the apps and dockers as well? I know 16GB is recommended and anything bigger is not necessary, but you cannot even buy something that small these days. 240GB is the smallest the computer stores carry where I live. Thankfully they are dirt cheap so if the space gets wasted it's not a big deal.

[Sonic]

You never can have to much memory. If you have 64 gb in your machine, leave it like that. 😀. You also have buy new memory if you sell the 64GB. And that for a few $ or euro "profit"

[ubergeek]

That would be a perfect hexos box

[Mobius]

only hexos gets installed to the boot drive. Apps get installed to a separate pool. 

I agree with @Sonic, the effort required to sell ddr3 is not worth the profit and Hexos loves ram.

One thing to keep in mind is if you buy HDDs for a storage pool just make sure the are CMR drives and not SMR drives.

[Ferkner]

7 hours ago, Mobius said:

One thing to keep in mind is if you buy HDDs for a storage pool just make sure the are CMR drives and not SMR drives.

Noted, thank you! I will be buying hard drives for it when I get to this project. My current NAS drives are in my QNAP NAS, and I plan on keeping them there. Moving them to HexOS would mean I would lose everything on them. The QNAP will act as a file server and a backup location for the home.

My intention was to keep all the RAM, but I wasn't sure if 64GB was pointless or not. It turns out it's not 🙂

[Mobius]

you can defintely get away with using less ram but unless you already have something you have in mind for the ram, i would just keep em in your system.

[Ferkner]

I have nothing else to use it with so I will leave it in place. Selling half of it won't net enough money to make a dent in the cost of the hard drives that will eventually go into it. Maybe it would cover part of a 2.5gig network card but the trouble of doing that isn't worth it.

So if apps get installed in a separate pool, would it be a good idea to create a small separate pool using a couple of SSDs?

Edited March 19 by Ferkner

[Mobius]

an ssd pool will likely help and hexos should automatically use the faster ssd pool for apps.

When purchasing a network card just make sure you avoid realtek nics as they may cause problems and/or not work at all with hexos.
keep in mind other manufacturers like ugreen sell nics but may hide that they are realtek powered.

When purchasing HDDs be aware of bad actors selling used drives being sold as new. This is apparently become common with seagate drives and even prompted seagate to release a tool that helps you determine if the drive is new or not.
It is possible that similar scams happen with other brands but i am not aware of them at this time.

[Ferkner]

Do you have any recommendations for 2.5gig NICs that are not overly expensive and not Realtek?

I buy my hard drives from reputable sources like Canada Computers and Memory Express. I don't purchase them from marketplace sellers or Amazon because if you don't look closely something you think you are buying directly from Amazon is actually from a third party seller. Hard drives are not something I am willing to take chances on.

[Mobius]

20 minutes ago, Ferkner said:

Do you have any recommendations for 2.5gig NICs that are not overly expensive and not Realtek?

I buy my hard drives from reputable sources like Canada Computers and Memory Express. I don't purchase them from marketplace sellers or Amazon because if you don't look closely something you think you are buying directly from Amazon is actually from a third party seller. Hard drives are not something I am willing to take chances on.

I would say be careful regardless because In Germany the used drives were bought from a legitimate retailer. 

As for the nic did you want internal pcie or external usb?

[Ferkner]

I would want an internal NIC since it's a mid tower ATX case I will be using, so there is plenty of room inside.

[Mobius]

3 hours ago, Ferkner said:

I would want an internal NIC since it's a mid tower ATX case I will be using, so there is plenty of room inside.

you can try this one https://a.co/d/3wca1Ek

Seems like many people recommend skipping 2.5gb and going straight to 10gb

[Ferkner]

Jumping straight to 10gb is probably smart though I am not sure I will ever upgrade my network to that. But if I ever do, my server will be ready. The rest of the equipment is pricey.

[Mobius]

It seems like the 10gb nics in general are more reliable from what i hear.

10gb gear has been dropping in price pretty fast, you can get noname brand switches with 10gb for well under $100.

That said i dunno if im willing to trust that kinda of gear but there are youtubers that are happy with those switches

[Sonic]

On the website servethehome.com you can find a lot of reviews of affordable switches. Both 2,5 gbe and 10 gbe. And both noname and respectable brands. Really helpfull if you buy new network equipment.

[Ferkner]

It's been my goal to upgrade to at least 2.5gb but ideally 10. I need to start looking at the no name brand stuff. The Ubiquiti stuff looks and sounds amazing, but the price for it is not amazing. I know other brands like Netgear and TP-Link make switches with 2.5gb ports, but they often don't have enough of them for what I need.

I've done some research, but I will need to do more. The HexOS server will be the perfect excuse to upgrade everything.

[Mobius]

don't hesitate to ask lots of questions either
i've made mistakes i would never have expected like getting an unsupported realtek nic lmao

[Sonic]

43 minutes ago, Ferkner said:

It's been my goal to upgrade to at least 2.5gb but ideally 10. I need to start looking at the no name brand stuff. The Ubiquiti stuff looks and sounds amazing, but the price for it is not amazing. I know other brands like Netgear and TP-Link make switches with 2.5gb ports, but they often don't have enough of them for what I need.

I've done some research, but I will need to do more. The HexOS server will be the perfect excuse to upgrade everything.

Can you specify your needs more in detail? Do you want a managed or unmanaged switch, how many ports do you need, what is your budget, ......?

[Ferkner]

14 minutes ago, Sonic said:

Can you specify your needs more in detail? Do you want a managed or unmanaged switch, how many ports do you need, what is your budget, ......?

I don't have a set budget, but of course the less costly the better.

My setup right now is the ISP modem/router is on the main floor in the living room. It connects to my Asus router which is what my home network lives on. I have three items connected to it in the living room and the fourth port is connected to the basement.

The cable coming from the living room to the basement connects to a 4-port gigabit switch on one side of the basement. Connected to that is one computer, a game console that doesn't get much use, an older nVidia Shield TV, and another ethernet cable that goes to the other side of the basement. This is where the meat of the network is.

That cable goes into a 16-port Netgear gigabit switch. Connected to this are two computers, a printer, my work computer, my QNAP server with redundant connection. I also have two spare ethernet cables for when I pull out an old PC or iMac to work on.

My main needs for greater than gigabit networking is the Emby media server and general file server. The QNAP currently acts as the Emby server but eventually the HexOS box will take over that duty. The QNAP is also a backup server and general file server. I plan on keeping the QNAP in service as a family file server and backup. I have a lot of stuff on hard drives in my drawer and on my computer than should be living on a server. So accessing files on the network at a speed that makes me forget it's not on my computer would be great.

As I see it I will need a new router for upstairs (with wireless and at least one 10gbE port to supply the basement), at least a 4-port 10gbE switch for the one side of the basement, and an 8 or 10 port 10gbE switch for where everything is. I have no issue moving a server or two to the other side of the basement if I have to stick with 8 ports near my computer. Then I would opt for 8-port switches at both ends of the basement.

The cable running between the keystone jacks I installed going from the living room to the basement is Cat 7, so I already future proofed for 10gb, though I could have gone with cat6 or cat6a/e. All the other cable runs run along the baseboard and can be easily changed.

[Sonic]

Hi @Ferkner, I will take a closer look tomorrow and share my thoughts about possible network options

[Sonic]

If you go for the no-name/brandless stuff, I recommend doing thorough research. I personally don’t buy devices without CE and FC certifications. It might seem cheap, but a fire in your house is quite costly too. And I’ve seen plenty of dangerous internal power supplies come by. No thanks 🙂
And just search Google for security issues with no-name managed routers and switches.

The solution you’re proposing yourself—a new wireless router with 10 GbE and two 10 GbE 8-port switches—will definitely work. But it won’t be cheap either.

If you’re making such an investment anyway, I’d suggest considering a more semi-pro setup. You’d get a nice management interface and additional security options as a bonus. An important question to ask yourself is which devices truly need 10 GbE. The step from 1 GbE to 2.5 GbE is already a big leap forward. For a printer or an old PC or iMac, it’s pointless to fully upgrade to 10 GbE. And peripherals like USB network cards show a big price difference too. A USB 2.5 GbE or 5 GbE NIC can be bought for $30 or $40 (or euros). A USB 10 GbE NIC easily costs $200.

If you look at a solution where the standard network speed is 2.5 GbE, where the router has a 10 GbE port, and you place a 4-port 10 GbE switch where you actually need it, brands like Ubiquiti, TP-Link, or MikroTik are quite feasible.

[Sonic]

BTW, I have a mixed 1 gbe, 2,5 gbe and 10 gbe network based on Mikrotik and I am quite happy with it. It's really future proof and didn't cost a fortune. But I have to say that RouterOs has a steep learning curve. In that sense Ubiquity and TP Link are easier to start with.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck with your search.

[Ferkner]

My computer is equipped with 2.5gb. Because it's a micro ITX build I have no room for an expansion card but that doesn't mean I won't want a USB adapter in the future, or that a future build won't be upgraded.

The devices that I would like to have 10gbe (none really need it) would be the HexOS server. I did find a very affordable 10gbe pcie card yesterday. I think it was on servethehome.com and it was a Marvell card. Everything else would be fine with 2.5gbe. 2.5 was my initial plan but @Mobius mentioned that a lot of people skip straight to 10gbe. I wouldn't mind doing that; it doesn't have to be all at once. Even if some devices have 10gbe and others 2.5gbe, and the switches are only 2.5gbe for a while, I would be fine with that. I could repurpose my gigabit switches for things that don't need anything more than that, like the printer and the Shield TV and game console that only have gigabit anyways.

I have a lot more research to do, but these off brand parts give me more options. But like you said, they would need CE and FC certification.

[Dylan]

This might be slightly off topic but I found it to be an interesting product and hope it's helpful.

[Sonic]

Doing hardware research is always the fun part 🙂. Mobius is right too. A lot of people skip straight to 10 gbe. But every environment is different and everyone has different preferences. The most important thing is that it fits your needs within your budget.

Please feel free to ask questions. It's always nice to share thoughts about hardware choices.