Homelab v 2.0 : The Specs

Posting my long overdue specs I use for homelab.  Current iteration served me well in simulating customer scenario and playing with different specs.
This are built from (mostly) commercially available components. Items are picked so i can do VSAN simulations as well.

Hypervisor

ESXi01
i5 2400
32GB Memory
P8Z77-M Pro
LSI 9211-4i (1 x 128GB SSD, 1 x 500GB SATA)
Intel Quad-port NIC

ESXi02
i5 2400
32GB Memory
P8H67-M
LSI 9211-4i (1 x 128GB SSD, 1 x 500GB SATA)
Intel Quad-port NIC

ESXi03
i5 2400
32GB Memory
Asus Board
LSI 9211-4i (1 x 128GB SSD, 1 x 500GB SATA)
Intel Quad-port NIC

BackupESXi
i5 2400
24GB Memory
Asus Board
1 x 2TB SATA Disk (for local backup of VMs)
Intel Dual-Port NIC

Storage

FreeNas
i3 2120
24GB Memory
Asrock B3-M Pro
LSI 9211-8i (4x SAS; 1 x 500GB SSD; 1 x 128GB SSD)
Intel Dual Port NIC

Networking:
PAN-50Firewall (Firewall/ Router)
24 Port Dell PowerConnect (Layer 2Switch)

Decisions:
– Why use i5 2400?

Around last year when I built the lab, Sandybridge offers mid performance in terms of CPU and Price. The i5-2400 offered the best of bang for buck when you consider the CPU extensions you can get (VT-X and VT-D). Although it’s only 4 cores, it’s enough to power-on most of the VMs considering the maximum memory it can support is only 32GB.

– Why use mATX board?

Space savings  🙂

Currently planning for v 3.0 of the homelab. Planning to consolidate everything into one beefy box. Stay tuned!