Darius IV
Shuttle SA76G-V2
AMD Phenom II X6 1035T (2.6 GHZ hexacore)
G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin SDRAM DDR2 800
Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS 300GB 10000 RPM (x2 drives RAID
1)
Addonics ADS3GX4R5-E PCI-X e-SATA Controller Card
Mediasonic HF2-SU2S2 3.5" eSATA ProBox 4 Bay Enclosure
Seagate Barracuda Green ST2000DL003 2TB 5900 RPM (x3 drives)
Samsung SH-S223L DVD lightscribe DVD burner
MSI RX1550-TD256EH Radeon X1550
When my previous server (Win 2K3 based Darius II) died unexpectedly, I
replaced it with
a quick and
dirty NAS solution. Jester (Vista Media Center) had taken over the TV/media streaming roles
that
Darius once did, and it was never a critical webserver due to bandwidth
limitations. I plain just didn't have the time to build another server, so
I put in the a 150 GB Linux based NAS drive (Phoenix) to take over the
file server role and moved all of the workstations to workgroup
mode.
I needed a server
to get screenshots and for grins to implement Lync as a replacement for my
phones at home.
In that role, the new Darius (built in December 2010) fills in well and is built
for it -
the 6 core processor is ideal for virtualization (Lync takes a few
servers to get going) and the WD VelociRaptor drives deliver the demanding
performance needed for the database dips. I regret not being able to find
a 95 Watt AMD 1055T in time for the build (the Shuttle box can handle 105
Watt TPD maximum), otherwise it fits perfectly on the closet shelf next to
the network cabinet with the router and wiring block. I initally had some
buyers remorse, knowing that I could have bought a small form factor mATX
case and built a better system for the same price that would have been
only a little bit bigger than the Shuttle barebones box, but it was a big
time saver and does the job.
Initially ran Windows Server 2008R2, in April 2011 I added the 4 bay e-sata enclosure and 3 2TB drives and installed
Windows Home Server 2011 to be dual purpose serve my both my testing and home media serving needs. All of my photos and videos reside on it are backed up
and shared with the family via a web portal that WHS 2011 provides. I also archive the majority of my Windows 7 Media Center recordings to it.