Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?
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So, I'm thinking about building a home lab made of various servers and software, mostly for learning purposes and with very minimal traffic. These are my current specs:
-4GB RAM
-250GB hard drive
-Intel E7500 core 2 duo processor running at 2.93 GHz
-Onboard NICI intend to install/build these:
-VMWare Vsphere Hypervisor(free edition)
-Webserver
-PBX
-Veeam Backup (free edition)VMWare will hold the Webserver and PBX as virtual hosts. Does this seem feasible to you guys? Basically I'm operating on a budget somwhere between "Ha." and "Pick the paycheck you're pulling out of very wisely, and replace things on your current desktop. the old hardware can go to this."
A lot of jobs are looking for examples of things that I've done, and I want to be able to tout the current things listed, and use them if possible for home. I will be building a website to act as a portfolio on the webserver and detail the progress in all of this. If you have better suggestions than what I've listed, please let me know.
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@FiyaFly said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
So, I'm thinking about building a home lab made of various servers and software, mostly for learning purposes and with very minimal traffic. These are my current specs:
-4GB RAM
-250GB hard drive
-Intel E7500 core 2 duo processor running at 2.93 GHz
-Onboard NICI intend to install/build these:
-VMWare Vsphere Hypervisor(free edition)
-Webserver
-PBX
-Veeam Backup (free edition)VMWare will hold the Webserver and PBX as virtual hosts. Does this seem feasible to you guys? Basically I'm operating on a budget somwhere between "Ha." and "Pick the paycheck you're pulling out of very wisely, and replace things on your current desktop. the old hardware can go to this."
A lot of jobs are looking for examples of things that I've done, and I want to be able to tout the current things listed, and use them if possible for home. I will be building a website to act as a portfolio on the webserver and detail the progress in all of this. If you have better suggestions than what I've listed, please let me know.
Nothing wrong with your list really. They are all decent things to need to know.
Just do not expect to actually perform any VM backups with Veeam on VMWare free. You can do agent backups, but not VM level.
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It's not AS cheap, but I'd consider doing this on Vultr or Digital Ocean instead. Will look way more professional and give you even better experience. And for two systems, you can do it for $10/mo.
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@JaredBusch said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
Just do not expect to actually perform any VM backups with Veeam on VMWare free. You can do agent backups, but not VM level.
Good point, the free Veeam agent would work fine, but not normal Veeam. Not the Veeam that companies are looking for.
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@scottalanmiller said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
It's not AS cheap, but I'd consider doing this on Vultr or Digital Ocean instead. Will look way more professional and give you even better experience. And for two systems, you can do it for $10/mo.
I was considering going hosted, but right now I need to actually do some tuning to my budget to figure out when I can buy a domain name and have it forward to my IP...
@scottalanmiller said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@JaredBusch said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
Just do not expect to actually perform any VM backups with Veeam on VMWare free. You can do agent backups, but not VM level.
Good point, the free Veeam agent would work fine, but not normal Veeam. Not the Veeam that companies are looking for.
Very true, however, read above on budget. I am going to be doing some training in Veeam, and want at least something to practice with, even if it doesn't offer full functionality.
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Seems like decent hardware. I'd try to bump up the RAM if you plan on doing much more with it.
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@dafyre said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
Seems like decent hardware. I'd try to bump up the RAM if you plan on doing much more with it.
Sweet. The hardware I'm using is literally my old PC from 2011.
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@FiyaFly said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@scottalanmiller said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
It's not AS cheap, but I'd consider doing this on Vultr or Digital Ocean instead. Will look way more professional and give you even better experience. And for two systems, you can do it for $10/mo.
I was considering going hosted, but right now I need to actually do some tuning to my budget to figure out when I can buy a domain name and have it forward to my IP...
Use GoDaddy for your Registrar. CloudFlare for your DNS. One time cost of about $18 to buy your domain name.
DNS does not "forward", it is a lookup, not a forward.
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@scottalanmiller said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@FiyaFly said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@scottalanmiller said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
It's not AS cheap, but I'd consider doing this on Vultr or Digital Ocean instead. Will look way more professional and give you even better experience. And for two systems, you can do it for $10/mo.
I was considering going hosted, but right now I need to actually do some tuning to my budget to figure out when I can buy a domain name and have it forward to my IP...
Use GoDaddy for your Registrar. CloudFlare for your DNS. One time cost of about $18 to buy your domain name.
DNS does not "forward", it is a lookup, not a forward.
Fair enough. Yet another thing I've been looking to learn more about is DNS. Still need to find that money somewhere, but I will be looking to start doing it soon.
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@FiyaFly said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
Very true, however, read above on budget. I am going to be doing some training in Veeam, and want at least something to practice with, even if it doesn't offer full functionality.
Or, you know, any.
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@FiyaFly said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@scottalanmiller said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@FiyaFly said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@scottalanmiller said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
It's not AS cheap, but I'd consider doing this on Vultr or Digital Ocean instead. Will look way more professional and give you even better experience. And for two systems, you can do it for $10/mo.
I was considering going hosted, but right now I need to actually do some tuning to my budget to figure out when I can buy a domain name and have it forward to my IP...
Use GoDaddy for your Registrar. CloudFlare for your DNS. One time cost of about $18 to buy your domain name.
DNS does not "forward", it is a lookup, not a forward.
Fair enough. Yet another thing I've been looking to learn more about is DNS. Still need to find that money somewhere, but I will be looking to start doing it soon.
One advantage to hosted is that it is pay as you go. So you only pay for the bits that you need right away. $5 for each server. If you need to shut them down, then you pay nothing till you need them again (and rebuild them.) You'd be up and running for the cost of one McDonald's big meal right away, rather than investing in something that still requires the Registrar costs up front and needs you to pay for hardware, possibly software and electric to run in the house while trying to deal with a presumably non-static IP.
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@FiyaFly said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@scottalanmiller said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
It's not AS cheap, but I'd consider doing this on Vultr or Digital Ocean instead. Will look way more professional and give you even better experience. And for two systems, you can do it for $10/mo.
I was considering going hosted, but right now I need to actually do some tuning to my budget to figure out when I can buy a domain name and have it forward to my IP...
@scottalanmiller said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@JaredBusch said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
Just do not expect to actually perform any VM backups with Veeam on VMWare free. You can do agent backups, but not VM level.
Good point, the free Veeam agent would work fine, but not normal Veeam. Not the Veeam that companies are looking for.
Very true, however, read above on budget. I am going to be doing some training in Veeam, and want at least something to practice with, even if it doesn't offer full functionality.
The free stand alone version doesn't work anything like the paid product though, not really.
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@Dashrender said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@FiyaFly said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@scottalanmiller said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
It's not AS cheap, but I'd consider doing this on Vultr or Digital Ocean instead. Will look way more professional and give you even better experience. And for two systems, you can do it for $10/mo.
I was considering going hosted, but right now I need to actually do some tuning to my budget to figure out when I can buy a domain name and have it forward to my IP...
@scottalanmiller said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@JaredBusch said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
Just do not expect to actually perform any VM backups with Veeam on VMWare free. You can do agent backups, but not VM level.
Good point, the free Veeam agent would work fine, but not normal Veeam. Not the Veeam that companies are looking for.
Very true, however, read above on budget. I am going to be doing some training in Veeam, and want at least something to practice with, even if it doesn't offer full functionality.
The free stand alone version doesn't work anything like the paid product though, not really.
Then I guess this would be my secondary question- would it be worth building a lab with it at all? If it's nothing like paid, it sounds like I won't really benefit from learning to use it.
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@Dashrender said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@FiyaFly said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@scottalanmiller said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
It's not AS cheap, but I'd consider doing this on Vultr or Digital Ocean instead. Will look way more professional and give you even better experience. And for two systems, you can do it for $10/mo.
I was considering going hosted, but right now I need to actually do some tuning to my budget to figure out when I can buy a domain name and have it forward to my IP...
@scottalanmiller said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@JaredBusch said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
Just do not expect to actually perform any VM backups with Veeam on VMWare free. You can do agent backups, but not VM level.
Good point, the free Veeam agent would work fine, but not normal Veeam. Not the Veeam that companies are looking for.
Very true, however, read above on budget. I am going to be doing some training in Veeam, and want at least something to practice with, even if it doesn't offer full functionality.
The free stand alone version doesn't work anything like the paid product though, not really.
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@FiyaFly said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@Dashrender said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@FiyaFly said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@scottalanmiller said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
It's not AS cheap, but I'd consider doing this on Vultr or Digital Ocean instead. Will look way more professional and give you even better experience. And for two systems, you can do it for $10/mo.
I was considering going hosted, but right now I need to actually do some tuning to my budget to figure out when I can buy a domain name and have it forward to my IP...
@scottalanmiller said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@JaredBusch said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
Just do not expect to actually perform any VM backups with Veeam on VMWare free. You can do agent backups, but not VM level.
Good point, the free Veeam agent would work fine, but not normal Veeam. Not the Veeam that companies are looking for.
Very true, however, read above on budget. I am going to be doing some training in Veeam, and want at least something to practice with, even if it doesn't offer full functionality.
The free stand alone version doesn't work anything like the paid product though, not really.
Then I guess this would be my secondary question- would it be worth building a lab with it at all? If it's nothing like paid, it sounds like I won't really benefit from learning to use it.
Nope, that's why we mentioned not doing it
Or use Hyper-V where it works. -
@FiyaFly said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@Dashrender said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@FiyaFly said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@scottalanmiller said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
It's not AS cheap, but I'd consider doing this on Vultr or Digital Ocean instead. Will look way more professional and give you even better experience. And for two systems, you can do it for $10/mo.
I was considering going hosted, but right now I need to actually do some tuning to my budget to figure out when I can buy a domain name and have it forward to my IP...
@scottalanmiller said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
@JaredBusch said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
Just do not expect to actually perform any VM backups with Veeam on VMWare free. You can do agent backups, but not VM level.
Good point, the free Veeam agent would work fine, but not normal Veeam. Not the Veeam that companies are looking for.
Very true, however, read above on budget. I am going to be doing some training in Veeam, and want at least something to practice with, even if it doesn't offer full functionality.
The free stand alone version doesn't work anything like the paid product though, not really.
Then I guess this would be my secondary question- would it be worth building a lab with it at all? If it's nothing like paid, it sounds like I won't really benefit from learning to use it.
Correct, from the perspective that your next employer uses the paid product, using the free product offers you next to nothing, if not nothing.
I agree with Scott here, going pure hosting for the things you listed is probably best.
Webservers with very rare exception should be hosted at some service - get that thing out of your own network at almost any cost. One less way for attackers to attack your network.
Learning ESXi is still OK, but learning Hyper-V and XenServer are equally important because the lower (i.e. no) cost they offer.
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If you want a home lab, I'd setup a hypervisor and install linux as an AD box and join a local workstation to it, and play with GPOs, printers, etc. This will teach you how you can help a company migrate away from a Windows domain setup to a Linux AD setup, save some costs, etc.
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@Dashrender said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
Learning ESXi is still OK, but learning Hyper-V and XenServer are equally important because the lower (i.e. no) cost they offer.
The discussion is around Veeam, not VMWare.
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@FiyaFly said in Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed Hardware- Feasible?:
Sweet. The hardware I'm using is literally my old PC from 2011.
Make sure it has virtualization support and the NIC is supported. I've had to try to inject NIC drivers in to ESXi to get the NIC working in a desktop when I did something similar to what you're doing some years ago.
I now have a HP Proliant DL360 and DL160 sitting under my desk. The 360 has 32GB of RAM. I think I paid $125 for it and then picked up some 300GB SAS drives on ebay for $25 each. There are a couple of downsides, it's noisy and it's power hungry. I picked up a Belkin watt meter, and it would cost me $200 a year to keep it powered on. With that said, I generally do a build that lasts a few days to a week and shut it off when I'm not working on it.
I think you can get eval versions of VMware that will let you test versions without the restrictions of the free version. The problem is, you can't do much with that little RAM. I think the vSphere appliance takes up 4GB itself. You might not need the vSphere appliance to do what you're going to do.
You could test a bit with HyperV and Veeam. That would probably be the easiest thing to do with the hardware you have although it wouldn't take long to try to load ESXi on it and see if everything works.
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@Mike-Davis said in [Home Lab, Multiple Servers on Repurposed H
I now have a HP Proliant DL360 and DL160 sitting under my desk.
Damn that has to be loud!
