Hardware for a build

[whytewolves]

I am looking for information on building a Proxmox Server.
I am looking for a list of hardware items, but I am trying to find out what hardware would be best for the system I am looking to put together:

1. PiHole ad blocker
2. Router
3. Self-hosted VPN
4. DNS/DHCP Server
5. Network Monitoring (Wireshark)
6. Cloud Storage (for all my devices)
7. E-mail Server (not sure what this is)
8. File Server
9. Media Server (Plex and Jellyfin)
10. Home lab
11. Home Assistant
12. VM Environment (6 VM’s) (not sure if this is a Home lab?)
13. Home Surveillance (need to configure cameras to stream to this as a NVR)

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[UdoB]

I am trying to find out what hardware would be best for the system

Choosing hardware depends completely on your own demands. You can get away with ~800 €/$ for a single and cheap MiniPC. Or you can build a cluster with at least three (better five) devices for 3000.- each. Plus a backup server, an UPS, a Switch, ...

• is your data precious? Then you may want to have reliable data secured by redundancy. Use ZFS-mirrors for this on the lower level.
• ECC-Ram ist not available on most cheap systems. Perhaps you want to have that nevertheless...
• should everything fail when this computer got defect? If not you might want a cluster.
• is 1 GBit/s okay? Not an easy question nowadays. Some network services (Ceph) really want faster speeds.
• Ram should not get overcommitted. Buy as much as you can. 64 GiB won't be enough for your long list!
• "6 VMs" with what? Six Windows Servers, each requiring 24 GiB?
• Home Surveillance / NVR can be power demanding on its own, but I have no real experience.
• ...

Beside the PVE nodes you may think about an additional device for storing backups, possibly with PBS (Proxmox Backup Server). Maybe you want an UPS to stay live on power fails. To connect devices you need a switch - do not even try to go WLAN only.

A File Server and "6 VM's" can also require different sets of hardware. For fast VM-Storage use NVMe/SSD only at any costs, mirrored! Bulk storage with tens of TB of data is too expensive for most people, so harddisks are still the way to go.

Everything is possible. And every good solution costs more money than a minimal solution - you get what you pay for.

 

[whytewolves]

Choosing hardware depends completely on your own demands. You can get away with ~800 €/$ for a single and cheap MiniPC. Or you can build a cluster with at least three (better five) devices for 3000.- each. Plus a backup server, an UPS, a Switch, ...

• is your data precious? Then you may want to have reliable data secured by redundancy. Use ZFS-mirrors for this on the lower level.
• ECC-Ram ist not available on most cheap systems. Perhaps you want to have that nevertheless...
• should everything fail when this computer got defect? If not you might want a cluster.
• is 1 GBit/s okay? Not an easy question nowadays. Some network services (Ceph) really want faster speeds.
• Ram should not get overcommitted. Buy as much as you can. 64 GiB won't be enough for your long list!
• "6 VMs" with what? Six Windows Servers, each requiring 24 GiB?
• Home Surveillance / NVR can be power demanding on its own, but I have no real experience.
• ...

Beside the PVE nodes you may think about an additional device for storing backups, possibly with PBS (Proxmox Backup Server). Maybe you want an UPS to stay live on power fails. To connect devices you need a switch - do not even try to go WLAN only.

A File Server and "6 VM's" can also require different sets of hardware. For fast VM-Storage use NVMe/SSD only at any costs, mirrored! Bulk storage with tens of TB of data is too expensive for most people, so harddisks are still the way to go.

Everything is possible. And every good solution costs more money than a minimal solution - you get what you pay for.

I have no idea what a cluster does or how it would work.
Currently I am looking to do what I listed above.
I have a Synology DS1515+ for backups, depending on the storage needed.
I have heard of ZFS, but never used it
I have 32GB ECC RAM, and am asking these questions so I can get what I need to build this system
I have heard of ceph, but do not know anything about it
The VM's will be a mixture of Windows and Linux. Mainly for me to learn servers and linux OS's.
I would like to get an UPS for power failures and appreciate you mentioning it as a reminder
I have no idea what switch, or even which type. POE++ or something else. I do not have any cameras currently that operate over POE
I will add a list of my current hardware

 

[UdoB]

I have no idea what a cluster does or how it would work.

Then you do not need one
Also skip the other buzzwords (ZFS, ECC, Ceph), you will learn if you want to have those features on the long run. (I am in business for a long time and I want all of them - at my dayjob and also in my homelab. For most users this might be completely overkill...)

I gave you some broad hints for too large a system - that's the result of your long wishlist and "Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated". Do you a more specific question?

 

[whytewolves]

Then you do not need one
Also skip the other buzzwords (ZFS, ECC, Ceph), you will learn if you want to have those features on the long run. (I am in business for a long time and I want all of them - at my dayjob and also in my homelab. For most users this might be completely overkill...)

I gave you some broad hints for too large a system - that's the result of your long wishlist and "Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated". Do you a more specific question?

A more specific question, what hardware would I need to create the system I listed?
What MOBO would you suggest?
Which processor would you suggest?
How much RAM would you suggest?
Which if any Video Card would you suggest?
Which type of case: desktop, server - 1U - 2U - 4U; would you suggest?

 

[jdancer]

I run Proxmox on 12th, 13th, & 14th-gen Dells at work. Can't beat used 13th-gen Dells for the value. For example, the R730xd. Can use the rear drives for mirroring Proxmox and front drives for data/VMs. Can replace the PERC with HBA330 for true IT-mode storage controller. Can optionally get 10GbE built-in networking. Curated used list at labgopher.com

For new, I run Proxmox on a Supermicro at home. it's cheaper.

 

[whytewolves]

I run Proxmox on 12th, 13th, & 14th-gen Dells at work. Can't beat used 13th-gen Dells for the value. For example, the R730xd. Can use the rear drives for mirroring Proxmox and front drives for data/VMs. Can replace the PERC with HBA330 for true IT-mode storage controller. Can optionally get 10GbE built-in networking. Curated used list at labgopher.com

For new, I run Proxmox on a Supermicro at home. it's cheaper.

So, if I am understanding this correctly, you are suggesting a Supermicro server for home? Does this come with a Mobo, cpu, gpu, RAM, SATA backplane, and then I would need to get 10GbE card?
I am just trying to determine what parts I need or is suggested to purchase to build the server that can accommodate the list from above.
What would be great would be to have a minimum requirements list and a no money concerned scenario.
I do not know how to do any of this stuff, so the list is unknown territory for me as well. I can build a system, if I know what I need to make that list a possibility.

 

[jdancer]

So, if I am understanding this correctly, you are suggesting a Supermicro server for home? Does this come with a Mobo, cpu, gpu, RAM, SATA backplane, and then I would need to get 10GbE card?
I am just trying to determine what parts I need or is suggested to purchase to build the server that can accommodate the list from above.
What would be great would be to have a minimum requirements list and a no money concerned scenario.
I do not know how to do any of this stuff, so the list is unknown territory for me as well. I can build a system, if I know what I need to make that list a possibility.

Reason I brought up Supermicro at all was that they offer a range of motherboards from mini-ITX to ATX form factors.

You can optionally get 10GbE networking (both wired & optic), SAS controller (for more drives), and either an embedded or socketed CPU.

I use a Supermicro 5019S-M-G1585L as a file server because I use the embedded Intel CPU with iGPU for Jellyfin transcoding. A Supermicro X10SDV-2C-TP4F for Proxmox Backup Server.

Supermicro configurator at wiredzone.com

 

[vshab]

I do not know how to do any of this stuff, so the list is unknown territory for me as well. I can build a system, if I know what I need to make that list a possibility.

In my non-enterprise experience - any computer would do the job, even a quite old one. Primary concern would be getting good disks for RAID-1 storage and possibly ECC RAM

 

[whytewolves]

Reason I brought up Supermicro at all was that they offer a range of motherboards from mini-ITX to ATX form factors.

You can optionally get 10GbE networking (both wired & optic), SAS controller (for more drives), and either an embedded or socketed CPU.

I use a Supermicro 5019S-M-G1585L as a file server because I use the embedded Intel CPU with iGPU for Jellyfin transcoding. A Supermicro X10SDV-2C-TP4F for Proxmox Backup Server.

Supermicro configurator at wiredzone.com

I actually have a list of hardware I have for the build I built years ago. It was an ITX case also, with 8 HDD bays and 4SSD bays. I have ECC memory, 32GB to be exact.
Over the last year, I have had some issues with Plex serving up to my family and friends. I understand my system is limited and I was running Windows 11 on it. Since then, I have learned (rather heard) a lot about Proxmox (software) and server type hardware. I am trying to put together a system that I can place in my mother's basement that will serve all of us my media, as well as host the list of other items I listed previously.
Any and all help in creating the perfect server for my needs would be greatly appreciated.
A list of the hardware can be sent if asked and you are serious about helping.

 

[whytewolves]

In my non-enterprise experience - any computer would do the job, even a quite old one. Primary concern would be getting good disks for RAID-1 storage and possibly ECC RAM

I am looking for something a little more enterprise - Star Trekkie even. LOL
I have 8 20TB Iron Wolf Pro HDD's and 32Gb of ECC RAM.
Just not sure how to create and build an enterprise server to do the things I listed above, hence why I asked for help.
I have a list of all my hardware, but I am sure I need some new things; motherboard, processor, GPU, and I know I would like more that 64GB ECC RAM to accommodate the list of things above.

 

[vshab]

32Gb of ECC RAM

What RAM is that? Do you plan buying new or used hardware?

 

[whytewolves]

2 16GB DDR4 3200 Corsair Vengence sticks

Depends on what items I am suggested
For example, I could probably get a 4U used server case w/12 or 24 Hot Swap bays and board cheaper than new, but it does depend on what suggestions I receive and decisions we make on the build.
All I know, is the list above is what I would like the system to handle daily and easily