nphxboxlive wrote

Hello there guys, Got a few quick questions.

I am currently getting ready to re-wire my home network and add a home server to it,
And i would like to know what type of switch i need to get as my current one [Netgear FS524] is only 10/100MB.
I am looking at this: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] and would like know if it would be ok for what i want to do.

My aim is a full re-wire with [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] for gigabit network throughout,
I will be taking all the HDDs out of the PCs in the house and just having a OS drive, Then all the data / music / movies / etc. will be stored on the home server,
The main part of the server will be used by myself and i will be recording gameplay from xbox, ps3 & PC directly onto the server and then editing it directly off the server using vegas pro over the network.
I currently have 1x 1 gigabit Ethernet port on the server motherboard but will be adding a second [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] or [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] port card into a PCI slot and will use the NIC Teaming under windows server 2012 to give the server plenty of bandwidth for all the devices on the network (Most likely a single port PCI card to keep cost down) But will the switch work ok like that and do what i need?
The config will be like this, 2/3 Ethernet cables from the switch to the server, 1 Ethernet to my bt home hub 3 router for internet access, And then the other ports will go to the PCs and games consoles around the house.

NEXT UP: The server its self. It is currently made up of these specs:

Click to View Content

Mobo: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
CPU: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
RAM: 2GB DDR2 2x1GB Sticks.

Now, I need to work out what to do for storage?
I am looking to get something like a [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] or [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] for the windows server OS to run from, Then i will need about 4-6TB of storage space.
Now i have very little knowledge about RAID and how it works / whats best to use in this situation, I DO know that its possible to configure it in a way that if you loose say a HDD or two then you can simply remove the dead drive and put in a new one and it rebuilds it and you loose no data - This is the main reason i want a home server, To back up all the PCs in the house and to stream media and as a file server - Where i don't run the risk of loosing anything.

So how am i best to do it? Suggestions on a RAID controller / Hard drives / Etc?
Like for example should i get a few [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] , Or [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ?
And What kind of RAID controller do i require and what mode of RAID is best to use?

well that is a lot of questions ,I use a old Cisco SG100D for my home network but i also use a bridged router's built in switch to further extend my network and wifi bubble, go with what ever you think is the most cost effective. you would want to use RAID 10 if you want the ability to just pull a bad drive and toss in a new one that is preconfigured to work with your setup or RAID 6 depending.

[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

modem>router with at least a 4port switch>port 1 server,port 2 ethernet to your extended new switch (leaving you with a few open ports to use on the routers switch if needed)>switch ports put other devices on them xbox laptop other comuters what have you. i use pass through and forwarding so that backups from local computers use port 2 on the router to eth1 on my server leaving eth0 and the rest of the connections to other devices like my xbox open for streaming.

[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

vokal wrote

nphxboxlive wrote

Hello there guys, Got a few quick questions.

I am currently getting ready to re-wire my home network and add a home server to it,
And i would like to know what type of switch i need to get as my current one [Netgear FS524] is only 10/100MB.
I am looking at this: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] and would like know if it would be ok for what i want to do.

My aim is a full re-wire with [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] for gigabit network throughout,
I will be taking all the HDDs out of the PCs in the house and just having a OS drive, Then all the data / music / movies / etc. will be stored on the home server,
The main part of the server will be used by myself and i will be recording gameplay from xbox, ps3 & PC directly onto the server and then editing it directly off the server using vegas pro over the network.
I currently have 1x 1 gigabit Ethernet port on the server motherboard but will be adding a second [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] or [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] port card into a PCI slot and will use the NIC Teaming under windows server 2012 to give the server plenty of bandwidth for all the devices on the network (Most likely a single port PCI card to keep cost down) But will the switch work ok like that and do what i need?
The config will be like this, 2/3 Ethernet cables from the switch to the server, 1 Ethernet to my bt home hub 3 router for internet access, And then the other ports will go to the PCs and games consoles around the house.

NEXT UP: The server its self. It is currently made up of these specs:

Click to View Content

Mobo: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
CPU: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
RAM: 2GB DDR2 2x1GB Sticks.

Now, I need to work out what to do for storage?
I am looking to get something like a [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] or [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] for the windows server OS to run from, Then i will need about 4-6TB of storage space.
Now i have very little knowledge about RAID and how it works / whats best to use in this situation, I DO know that its possible to configure it in a way that if you loose say a HDD or two then you can simply remove the dead drive and put in a new one and it rebuilds it and you loose no data - This is the main reason i want a home server, To back up all the PCs in the house and to stream media and as a file server - Where i don't run the risk of loosing anything.

So how am i best to do it? Suggestions on a RAID controller / Hard drives / Etc?
Like for example should i get a few [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] , Or [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ?
And What kind of RAID controller do i require and what mode of RAID is best to use?

well that is a lot of questions ,I use a old Cisco SG100D for my home network but i also use a bridged router's built in switch to further extend my network and wifi bubble, go with what ever you think is the most cost effective. you would want to use RAID 10 if you want the ability to just pull a bad drive and toss in a new one that is preconfigured to work with your setup or RAID 6 depending.

[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

modem>router with at least a 4port switch>port 1 server,port 2 ethernet to your extended new switch (leaving you with a few open ports to use on the routers switch if needed)>switch ports put other devices on them xbox laptop other comuters what have you. i use pass through and forwarding so that backups from local computers use port 2 on the router to eth1 on my server leaving eth0 and the rest of the connections to other devices like my xbox open for streaming.

[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

OK, I Made A Picture To Show How I See This Working,
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

Im thinking of this way because the modem/router/hub from my ISP only has 1 gigabit port on it, The rest are all 10/100MB and that would cause bottlenecks running the server into it.

Would that switch i have linked work like i want it to in that diagram? Because if so i am buying it tomorrow along with the cables and other bits.

WiFi, I have it disabled on my modem/router/hub because i don't really use it, Slow transfer speeds, So that does not really matter to me.

My existing switch will be going when i get the new one, The one i have now is only 10/100MB so not really much use for me anymore :/ the new gigabit one i get will go in its place.

For pc back ups i will set them all up when i get my server done, Not sure yet how i am going to do it yet.

As for the RAID array, What should i do regards a controller and drives? I have been looking up and found that seagate HDDs are supposed to be really good for RAID arrays? And what would work best for making say a 6TB storage array? With RAID 5/6 you have the ability to swap out a bad drive and stick a new one in right - But that means you loose one drive worth of storage, So to get 6TB i would need 4x 2TB HDDs? Would that work and be good for me to replace a failed drive if one did die and keep all the data?

Thanks for the help.

nphxboxlive wrote

vokal wrote

nphxboxlive wrote

Hello there guys, Got a few quick questions.

I am currently getting ready to re-wire my home network and add a home server to it,
And i would like to know what type of switch i need to get as my current one [Netgear FS524] is only 10/100MB.
I am looking at this: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] and would like know if it would be ok for what i want to do.

My aim is a full re-wire with [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] for gigabit network throughout,
I will be taking all the HDDs out of the PCs in the house and just having a OS drive, Then all the data / music / movies / etc. will be stored on the home server,
The main part of the server will be used by myself and i will be recording gameplay from xbox, ps3 & PC directly onto the server and then editing it directly off the server using vegas pro over the network.
I currently have 1x 1 gigabit Ethernet port on the server motherboard but will be adding a second [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] or [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] port card into a PCI slot and will use the NIC Teaming under windows server 2012 to give the server plenty of bandwidth for all the devices on the network (Most likely a single port PCI card to keep cost down) But will the switch work ok like that and do what i need?
The config will be like this, 2/3 Ethernet cables from the switch to the server, 1 Ethernet to my bt home hub 3 router for internet access, And then the other ports will go to the PCs and games consoles around the house.

NEXT UP: The server its self. It is currently made up of these specs:

Click to View Content

Mobo: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
CPU: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
RAM: 2GB DDR2 2x1GB Sticks.

Now, I need to work out what to do for storage?
I am looking to get something like a [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] or [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] for the windows server OS to run from, Then i will need about 4-6TB of storage space.
Now i have very little knowledge about RAID and how it works / whats best to use in this situation, I DO know that its possible to configure it in a way that if you loose say a HDD or two then you can simply remove the dead drive and put in a new one and it rebuilds it and you loose no data - This is the main reason i want a home server, To back up all the PCs in the house and to stream media and as a file server - Where i don't run the risk of loosing anything.

So how am i best to do it? Suggestions on a RAID controller / Hard drives / Etc?
Like for example should i get a few [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] , Or [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ?
And What kind of RAID controller do i require and what mode of RAID is best to use?

well that is a lot of questions ,I use a old Cisco SG100D for my home network but i also use a bridged router's built in switch to further extend my network and wifi bubble, go with what ever you think is the most cost effective. you would want to use RAID 10 if you want the ability to just pull a bad drive and toss in a new one that is preconfigured to work with your setup or RAID 6 depending.

[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

modem>router with at least a 4port switch>port 1 server,port 2 ethernet to your extended new switch (leaving you with a few open ports to use on the routers switch if needed)>switch ports put other devices on them xbox laptop other comuters what have you. i use pass through and forwarding so that backups from local computers use port 2 on the router to eth1 on my server leaving eth0 and the rest of the connections to other devices like my xbox open for streaming.

[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

OK, I Made A Picture To Show How I See This Working,
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

Im thinking of this way because the modem/router/hub from my ISP only has 1 gigabit port on it, The rest are all 10/100MB and that would cause bottlenecks running the server into it.

Would that switch i have linked work like i want it to in that diagram? Because if so i am buying it tomorrow along with the cables and other bits.

WiFi, I have it disabled on my modem/router/hub because i don't really use it, Slow transfer speeds, So that does not really matter to me.

My existing switch will be going when i get the new one, The one i have now is only 10/100MB so not really much use for me anymore :/ the new gigabit one i get will go in its place.

For pc back ups i will set them all up when i get my server done, Not sure yet how i am going to do it yet.

As for the RAID array, What should i do regards a controller and drives? I have been looking up and found that seagate HDDs are supposed to be really good for RAID arrays? And what would work best for making say a 6TB storage array? With RAID 5/6 you have the ability to swap out a bad drive and stick a new one in right - But that means you loose one drive worth of storage, So to get 6TB i would need 4x 2TB HDDs? Would that work and be good for me to replace a failed drive if one did die and keep all the data?

Thanks for the help.

Your model looks fine the only thing i would change is if you have a modem/router combo from your ISP spend a few bucks on a standalone modem and a router this will greatly increase your network Stability, Traffic, Security and the level of fine tuning you can do to optimize your networks performance and QOS.

you will have a dual parity with RAID 6 but its not absolutely necessary it is handy when rebuilding or dealing with 2 failed drives at a time. But for a Home Network RAID 5 should be fine.

Try and make sure all the drives used in the RAID are the same at the least make sure they are the same size and run at the same rpm. I would pm r00t or one of the other members that are into hardware regarding SSD/HDD and RAID Cards they would know where the better deals on good hardware and what would work best for the system you have.