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HomeLab - Setup Advice


magicdotjs

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I didn't want to over complicate my other thread http://xpenology.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10686 so starting a new one.

 

I have made the switch from FreeNAS and I am very happy with it which has prompted another purchase for a 2nd XPEnology NAS but not quite sure what way to go about things.

 

I run a little HomeLab for work/study and also all my media and backup needs. I will list what kit I have available first and then what I need to run, then I would just like suggestions on what to run on on where.

 

Western Digital DS6100

16GB ECC

4 x 3TB WD SE

Server 2012 R2 Essentials

 

HP N54L -16GB - ESXI 6.0 U1

2 X 2TB, 2 X 1TB, 1 X 250GB SanDisk SSD, 1 x 500GB 2.5 HDD

HP NC360T

 

LaCie Big 5TB

 

HP N40L 4GB ECC- N/A

 

My plan was to buy 4 x WD Red drives for the N40L and run that as a dedicated XPEnology (not a VM) and also maybe fit the NC360T and buy the NC364T for my N54L.

 

I will list my needs;

 

VMs

Domain Controller

SQL Server x 2

Kali

Web Server

vCenter Server

Lubuntu

XPEnology with PlexMediaServer

 

The more space I have the better, things like my TV archives I would like stored with redundancy should I run into problems, the plan would be to put the most important stuff on the new N40L which will have ECC memory and new WD Red drives.

 

 

I don't feel like I have even asked a question yet so will probably make it a bit clearer;

 

 

Should I run ESXI on the new N40L or just dedicated install of XPEnology? (unlikely I will run any other VMs until I upgrade the 4GB ram but it would be nice)

 

Will the N54L benefit from any more upgrades and does it need the SSD or would it be better for caching on the other NAS?

 

Should the N40L and N54L swap places? (Making the N54L a dedicated NAS and the N40L run the VMs)

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i would;

 

leave the n54 as a hypervisor with the SSD as a local data store

move the 3 hdd's to the n40 and setup a non-redundant array (add extra disk if you like)

setup the ds6100 with an nfs folder/share for an esx data store

 

setup all your vms and data on the ds6100 and back it all up to the n40 regularly

 

as your tv stuff is on the ds6100, run plex on that or mount a remote folder in dsm to the ds6100 tv folder and add that to the plex library

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i would;

 

leave the n54 as a hypervisor with the SSD as a local data store

move the 3 hdd's to the n40 and setup a non-redundant array (add extra disk if you like)

setup the ds6100 with an nfs folder/share for an esx data store

 

setup all your vms and data on the ds6100 and back it all up to the n40 regularly

 

as your tv stuff is on the ds6100, run plex on that or mount a remote folder in dsm to the ds6100 tv folder and add that to the plex library

 

 

Thanks very much, the SSD is the datstore for the OS (4 x VMs)

 

The DS6100 doesn't have much on it at the moment, my TV/Film is all on the LaCie.

 

Can I use the LaCie to provide data stores to my N54L or N40L which will be running XPEnology giving me more space for Film/TV?

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i'm not familiar with the lacie, but if its a usb drive then it could be used as a backup device connected to the xpe or ds6100, bearing in mind its a single drive (?) then its not a good place to have important data :sad: so I would copy your stuff to the ds6100 as a start.

 

if your vms are 'critical' then having the files on a single drive is a risk, but you can take snapshots in fusion or copy the vm files to one of the nas. In my setup, I use an nfs data store which dsm can backup as a set of files

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i'm not familiar with the lacie, but if its a usb drive then it could be used as a backup device connected to the xpe or ds6100, bearing in mind its a single drive (?) then its not a good place to have important data :sad: so I would copy your stuff to the ds6100 as a start.

 

if your vms are 'critical' then having the files on a single drive is a risk, but you can take snapshots in fusion or copy the vm files to one of the nas. In my setup, I use an nfs data store which dsm can backup as a set of files

 

LaCie is a 5TB NAS. Not a very good OS but 5 x 1TB disks in a RAID 5 with dual gb Ethernet.

 

The OS isn't even close to good so just hoping it can provide more storage or be used as a backup.

 

None of the VMs are critical, it is all home stuff, I created a 2012 R2 VM and backed it up, it is like a master so should any VM fail could just use that.

 

The most important thing really is the data, films/tv/files. I am planning on putting them on the LaCie and either the N40L running only XPEnology or the N54L but until the nightmare with speed is resolved I might even switch back to FreeNAS.

 

You seem to know your stuff and have a good bit of kit, would you mind having a look at my other thread?

 

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10686

 

If I have to then the new N40L will run DSM natively but I can't see why it is struggling so much in the current VM on the N54L.

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Lol thanks for the compliment, but I think I'm just old :smile:

 

I looked at the Lacie manual, this is a really nice nas, maybe try to hack XPE onto that? :smile:

 

The Lacie can be a Rsynch target or source, which makes it good for a 'backup jukebox', either from DSM or the Windows server?

 

If I understand your 'plan' you want an XPE/DSM server to use for streaming and file storage, and the Lacie will be a backup host? But not sure what you want from the DS6100?

 

So, leaving aside the transfer speed issue, you could plan out the following, which might get you the best outcome without extra cost :smile:

 

Swap the HDD drives between the DS6100 and N54 (image the Windows 2012 O/S disk to restore that)

 

Setup N54 with XPE/DSM with SHR1, giving you about 9tb space

Create an rsynch backup from the Lacie to the N54 to move all your libraries/data. (you can just let this 'cook' and ignore the speed)

When that backup is finished, create your required shares in DSM and move the libraries/data into them

Finally create backups for the libraries/data from N54 > Lacie

 

While all that data is copying, you could work out what to do with the N40 (ESXi host?) and look at what to do with the VM files etc :smile:

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Think the LaCie is just good looking, doesn't perform well but picked it up cheap cause they have released a Thunderbolt 2 version now.

 

Would it be even possible to hack the Lacie? I would put XPE on it in a flash if I could.

 

The DS6100 is a bit of an odd ball, it is licensed for Server 2012 R2 Essentials so don't think it likes joining a domain? Think it has to be top of the tree so but spec wise it is the best of the bunch which 32GB ECC Ram, Xeon chip & WD SE drives so I am trying to save it for important work stuff and not need it on 24/7.

 

Don't really fancy putting £600 HDDs in a £100 MicroServer.

 

Had a little think about what I want to achieve and here is a plan (need couple more data drives + maybe more memory for the N40L)

 

Domain #1

N40L - 2 x 2TB + 2 x XTB

VMs - DSM (Plex + Apple TimeMachine + HomeDoc Storage), KALI + Lubuntu

 

N54L - 2 X 1TB + 2 XTB

VMs - 2/3 X 2012R2 + DSM + Other VMs

 

LaCie 5TB - iSCI 3/4 TB to the N40L + 1TB for Critical data (RAID 5)

 

 

DS6100 - Domain #2

Hyper-V - 2 x 2012R2 Dev Environment

Access to Domain #1 data

 

 

I think I have too much kit :grin:

 

I think the N40L + LaCie will be the main storage for Media if possible and speed won't be an issue between the 2. I am thinking now with 3 servers + the NAS that I should move them to my garage and run a cable + switch in there.

 

If the above is possible then that is my plan, once everything is stable I might invest in more drives and then maybe get some consistency with the disks, keep some hot spares and maybe look to build a custom 8/12 bay NAS with a large SHR1 volume with any spares.

 

 

Thanks very much again and apologies for the confusion, think I basically just need suggestions for how more experienced/knowledgeable people would use this kit if it were their own.

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