I never intentionally wanted to build a server, but my “trusty” HP EX490 crapped out on me and my cheapass didn’t want to spend that much on a Synology with limited drives. I stumbled on the reddit JDM WAAT forums and read more about these builds and eventually made a Discord account.
Started with a LEGO build for my first setup with an e5620 to replace the HP server, beginning of this year bought the HP 290 intentionally for Blue Iris but replaced that with older G1 i7. Built my first plex box, using access points instead of built in wifi/router combo, and am now in the process of updating the LEGO with a hybrid OTIS build. Not sure if this is the right move instead of a nas killer 4, but this seemed like a decent path.
So far the hardware portions have been the easy fun parts, the software and linux has been the most infuriating since i’m nowhere familiar with any of these things. Using OMV instead of UNRAID as well, which may be compounding my headaches but it hasn’t been terrible.
@JDM_WAAAT and everyone else in the community, just wanted to say thank you for all your help!
I absolutely love my SNAFU build. Only running 2x E5 2620 v2 CPUs because that’s what was bundled with the board. Figured I’d upgrade them once it was running, but honestly it’s taken everything I’ve thrown at it as is. Would have been stuck still using mobo SATA ports instead of SAS HBAs if it wasn’t for JDM and ServerBuilds. I love this community.
Whenever I am down or feeling blue after being a dumb mistake, I sometimes revisit this post to remind myself that everyone makes mistakes. I appreciate a community that’s forthcoming in helping newcomers and veterans alike, and it’s a great sign that the folks on the top can admit their faults, too.
This was my first foray into server hardware and inspired me to retire my old i7-2700k that was functioning as a NAS/server/HTPC and move to some enterprise-class (also old) gear and it has been fun and a learning experience since then. I’ve asked a lot of dumb questions but this community has been great and with a little patience and digging there aren’t many problems that can’t be solved.
Either package is groovy but I guess I have more use for #2.
Cheers and I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season!
This post really intrigued me. I didn’t purchase one, but linked a friend to it. He had never heard of serverbuilds.net before but was looking for an affordable DAS that was small form factor. This was perfect for him and I got to help him with the build, which is always fun. I had never touched a DAS before and so it was a learning experience for both of us, but turned out to be extremely simple in fact. I had always wondered how a DAS communicated without a motherboard and such installed. WOW, the HBA LSI card is all you need it seems to be the brains of the outfit. We followed the steps in the guide and with a few small hurdles and user error, we overcame and he now has a little DAS that I am envious of and regretted not purchasing one as well. By far, the most fun build project I was involved in for 2020. Simple, affordable and it taught me something hands on that I had never had the opportunity to work with before!
I do over the phone support day in and day out and love helping people, but helping someone I know personally with something we were both somewhat new to was really great.
I have to add, this was my favorite post of the year, but he Intel CPU transcoding thread was a close second. Super informative and helpful for my Unraid build!
I dove into by first server build this year with this guide. My build was a fantastic success thanks to all the great knowledge shared here and I’m now running it as my main home file server and media storage, as well as starting to dive into the world of Unraid, Docker, and VMs. It’s now running my Unifi controller, Emby server, a host of other Docker services, and a couple VMs… not to mention sending me down a rabbit hole of other builds (a new pfSense box, a new cold storage backup server, and more).
290 Owners Thread
I was lucky enough to pick up a 290 in early May before the price shot up. Has been a solid little Plex server and I’m thankful to these forums for turning me on to it.
ITX pfSense Build
My network has become far more complicated over the past 9 months and I need more insight to what’s traveling in and out. I think this guide will come in handy.
Any of the NAS Killer guides could have been my top choice, but the NAS Killer 4.0 is the one I ended up following along to and building my home server. Works great and so low power I haven’t noticed a difference in power costs.
I eventually plan on upgrading and giving this to a friend who couldn’t seem to get unraid running, but thank you so much for all the guides on this site.
This was the post that got me into the community. I had been eyeing a NAS for a while, but didn’t want to drop $500 before even thinking about drives.
Seeing everything laid out and proof of others having success, it made me way less nervous to buy used enterprise gear on ebay. So between that and another deal found via the forums, I ended up with all of the hardware I needed, plus 30TB of storage for less than the cost of an empty pre-built. I just need to get around to putting together my post for the completed builds section.
I’ve enjoyed reading and been inspired by so many threads in this forum, but the original HP 290 thread really captivated my interest. This is such a versatile machine, and the thread opened my eyes to all that could be done with it. I’m currently using a 290 as my firewall/router, and have been seriously considering buying more for other projects.
Given that, I would love to receive Package #1, but really either would be a fantastic end to this crazy year! Thanks and looking forward to more building in 2021.
This thread is one that has saved me hundreds of dollars. With a 32 TB unraid server, i wouldnt have been able to have the situational awareness on when sales are occurring.
I had been running a rudimentary home lab since 2011 with a single-core 8TB UNRAID server and a couple of wireless access points. When our first lockdown hit in March I started looking at options to upgrade my home server and stumbled across serverbuilds. The first thing that occured to me was that it was going to take some time and effort to source the parts for the UNRAID server I wanted but I was intrigued to some quick-start options with the HP290.
Being Canadian the VIPOutlet deals were not really deals but I found a cross-border shipper that still made it more attractive than anything local. I was fortunate to snag 2 HP290s in May but then found out my order was being split in 2 so I had to pay the cross-border fees twice!
Anyway, I now have my 2 HP290s that have been running well for 6 months:
pfSense router with a 4-port NIC and 16GB Intel Optane memory
Plex server running Ubuntu with 12GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD
Since my early start with the 290s I’ve also added 3 Aruba IAP207, an Aruba S1500 24-port POE switch and built my UNRAID server (and still plan to post the build info as well!) Next up, security cameras.
It’s been a long time lurking on the forum. Never started yet my NAS and plex server projects because of personal reason and budget but hoping next year it will be done. I learn a lot from this forum. I love most of the people are sharing their projects and experience here. I hope I can get the package 1 to start my plex and nas/das.