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    Spec'ing a new workstation rig for my office

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved IT Discussion
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    • alexntgA
      alexntg
      last edited by

      If you're considering running multiple VMs on your computer rather than running them on a server, you're going to need more IOPS. Consider using an SSD for a system drive and perhaps some tiered storage, such as Windows Storage Spaces, for your VM and data volume.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • T
        technobabble
        last edited by

        Thanks @alexntg

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • scottalanmillerS
          scottalanmiller
          last edited by

          Use SSD no matter what. Best investment for a desktop.

          T 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • T
            technobabble @scottalanmiller
            last edited by

            @scottalanmiller said:

            Use SSD no matter what. Best investment for a desktop.

            The last SSD I used died a horrible death 2 months ago. It was less than a year old. Many times a day it would show 100% disk usage and my PC would come to a crawl. I am guessing that I just had a lemon.

            alexntgA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • scottalanmillerS
              scottalanmiller
              last edited by

              We've been essentially all in SSD for years now. Haven't lost one yet. No issues at all. They've been amazing.

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              • alexntgA
                alexntg @technobabble
                last edited by

                @technobabble said:

                @scottalanmiller said:

                Use SSD no matter what. Best investment for a desktop.

                The last SSD I used died a horrible death 2 months ago. It was less than a year old. Many times a day it would show 100% disk usage and my PC would come to a crawl. I am guessing that I just had a lemon.

                In that case, perhaps SSD system drive in RAID1

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                • scottalanmillerS
                  scottalanmiller
                  last edited by

                  SSD are okay in RAID 5 too.

                  alexntgA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • alexntgA
                    alexntg @scottalanmiller
                    last edited by

                    @scottalanmiller said:

                    SSD are okay in RAID 5 too.

                    RAID5 SSDs seem a bit overkill for a system drive.

                    scottalanmillerS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • T
                      technobabble
                      last edited by

                      @alexntg
                      I was also looking to make my "desktop" a VM as well running on Hyper-V. I wanted to be able to test out backing up VM's and other cool stuff I read on ML.

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                      • alexntgA
                        alexntg
                        last edited by

                        In that case, someone's prior suggestion of a basic workstation and an ESXi host would be the way to go. Don't use Hyper-V.

                        scottalanmillerS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • scottalanmillerS
                          scottalanmiller @alexntg
                          last edited by

                          @alexntg said:

                          @scottalanmiller said:

                          SSD are okay in RAID 5 too.

                          RAID5 SSDs seem a bit overkill for a system drive.

                          So does RAID 1 🙂

                          alexntgA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • scottalanmillerS
                            scottalanmiller @alexntg
                            last edited by

                            @alexntg said:

                            In that case, someone's prior suggestion of a basic workstation and an ESXi host would be the way to go. Don't use Hyper-V.

                            HyperV has an option for a VM with direct access with a local console.

                            DashrenderD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • DashrenderD
                              Dashrender @scottalanmiller
                              last edited by

                              @scottalanmiller said:

                              @alexntg said:

                              In that case, someone's prior suggestion of a basic workstation and an ESXi host would be the way to go. Don't use Hyper-V.

                              HyperV has an option for a VM with direct access with a local console.

                              That makes it a much better solution for a small home lab than ESXi

                              scottalanmillerS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • alexntgA
                                alexntg @scottalanmiller
                                last edited by

                                @scottalanmiller said:

                                @alexntg said:

                                @scottalanmiller said:

                                SSD are okay in RAID 5 too.

                                RAID5 SSDs seem a bit overkill for a system drive.

                                So does RAID 1 🙂

                                The OP expressed concern about their SSD failing. RAID1 would alleviate that. I don't see the justification of the third drive's cost.

                                scottalanmillerS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • scottalanmillerS
                                  scottalanmiller @Dashrender
                                  last edited by

                                  @Dashrender said:

                                  @scottalanmiller said:

                                  @alexntg said:

                                  In that case, someone's prior suggestion of a basic workstation and an ESXi host would be the way to go. Don't use Hyper-V.

                                  HyperV has an option for a VM with direct access with a local console.

                                  That makes it a much better solution for a small home lab than ESXi

                                  If on a desktop, yes.

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • scottalanmillerS
                                    scottalanmiller @alexntg
                                    last edited by

                                    @alexntg said:

                                    @scottalanmiller said:

                                    @alexntg said:

                                    @scottalanmiller said:

                                    SSD are okay in RAID 5 too.

                                    RAID5 SSDs seem a bit overkill for a system drive.

                                    So does RAID 1 🙂

                                    The OP expressed concern about their SSD failing. RAID1 would alleviate that. I don't see the justification of the third drive's cost.

                                    Potentially smaller, cheaper drives.

                                    alexntgA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • alexntgA
                                      alexntg @scottalanmiller
                                      last edited by alexntg

                                      @scottalanmiller said:

                                      @alexntg said:

                                      @scottalanmiller said:

                                      @alexntg said:

                                      @scottalanmiller said:

                                      SSD are okay in RAID 5 too.

                                      RAID5 SSDs seem a bit overkill for a system drive.

                                      So does RAID 1 🙂

                                      The OP expressed concern about their SSD failing. RAID1 would alleviate that. I don't see the justification of the third drive's cost.

                                      Potentially smaller, cheaper drives.

                                      It's the system drive, not a data drive. A basic 120GB drive would work just fine.

                                      Edit: Besides, by the time you get a RAID5 card installed, it'd overshoot the cost of the drive.

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                                      • scottalanmillerS
                                        scottalanmiller
                                        last edited by

                                        For a lab those are often one and the same.

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                                        • T
                                          technobabble
                                          last edited by

                                          Thanks guys for all the input.

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • T
                                            technobabble
                                            last edited by

                                            VM's would run on the data drive, correct?

                                            alexntgA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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