New (used) Multiplayer Server Rig

Hello all;

I'm trying to put together a gaming server rig to host DCS multiplayer missions. I am trying to do this on a limited budget and wanted to get your opinion on my recent acquisitions. I'm trying to piece meal it, and I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to servers (built many home desktops over the years). So I figured what better way than to just jump right in with both feet. I've purchased these three so far and looking for advice on the next steps. For instance, I have no idea the power consumption. The server should be running as close to 24/7 as I can.

Mobo: ASUS Z8NA-D6 Dual LGA 1366 Intel 5500 ATX Dual Intel Xeon 5500 and 5600 Series Server Motherboard https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131389

CPU: Matched Pair Intel Xeon X5670 2.93GHz 12M Cache Hex Core Processor LGA1366 SLBV7

Ram: 32gb (4x 8gb) DDR3 1333 Registered ECC (machine is capable of 96gb registered)

To buy list:

240GB SSD?

Power supply (rating?) - I was thinking 750w to start?

GPU - Geforce GT710? Not running this as a "game player" as I have my PC for that. Just a server host.

cooling system? what would two 6 core processors need?

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Future state, I want this server to also host a raid series of like 12TB (4x 6TB WD reds with with RAID 10 or 5)

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Last but not least, operating system. I was thinking Windows 7 as that's what I use across the board for my computers currently. Any other suggestions?

Thanks for all the info in advance. And of course, please ask away with the questions that I did not cover.

I run such a Server as Dell T-710 as my Hyper-V host....a very powerfull machine despite it's age.

Always had the same idea once it gets replaced by a new Dell SRV hehe

The low MHz may limit it somehow, you gotta check n see. The coming ded. server for DCS should help here a bit.

Cooler...look Noctua..they have decent SRV coolers that fit nicely

750 Watt....well TOO SMALL !!! If you have a PAIR of Xeons you rather aim HIGH.

My Dell has 1200Watt I think, redundant. I would not go 750Watts...take something 1kW or better.

You have to make sure the Bios accepts the new SSD's. There might be problems ahead. The more concrete and dedicated the boards are, the lesser the scope of HW they accept.

Win7-64-Ult might work if the board has support for this or SRV-2008R2 which basically is Win7-64.

I would still take a SRV-OS and no Client-OS. havent tried DCS on SRV-OS but as long as you have DX11 it should work, even better I guess. SRV-2012 should work on most plattforms that accepted 2008R2/Win7.

Your RAM is misconfigured, you need 4 modules per CPU, aka 8 modules for Dual-CPU setup.

It may run, it may give problems, for sure it will only be half the bandwidth or 1 CPU only with full bandwidth. DONT mix RAM, for such a board you need the exact correct RAM or it will most likely not make it past the PCH initialisation.

HDD-RAID is slow in accessing bits&bytes, many drives have to sync before the show goes on !

That is nice for anything, but not DCS !!! get DCS on a SSD and use the Raid for cold data but nothing with critical I/O.

Raid 10...I dunno...I prefer RAID-6....any 2 can fail and it will still run...and I needed that more than once in my life to safe my or somebodies behind. Intel IRST wont do that, you need a proper ROC to make that happen. I prefer Adaptec for decades now, 4 drives minimum too.

Raid-5...well....same...better go Raid-6 and have double safety. Raid-5 is just OK but not really safe.

The two CPU's need 280Watt, your ram needs 4-5Watt per module, your drives need ooomps, so does the GPU and last but not least, that HUGE board also swallows some juice with all the IPMI and NIC's and such....750W will work...but it is on the edge...and dont get a low budget one, get one with clean output. Dont save money on the PSUs here.

. it is 3 modules per CPU and not 4, this is basically SandyBridge on steroids and Socket 1366 anno 2011, which means tripple channel RAM per CPU.

so you need 6 modules total...or 12 to full extend

I have no idea the power consumption. Power supply (rating?) - I was thinking 750w to start?

About the power supply

The spec says 450w, >18A on the +12v: https://www.asus.com/Commercial-Servers-Workstations/Z8NAD6/specifications/

-The Gt710 need 19w: http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gt-710/specifications

-The Xeon 95w each: http://ark.intel.com/products/47920/Intel-Xeon-Processor-X5670-12M-Cache-2_93-GHz-6_40-GTs-Intel-QPI

-At 1.5v, the DDR3 need 2-3w per module (12-18w in total for the Z8NA-D6): http://www.buildcomputers.net/power-consumption-of-pc-components.html

-And the mobo need probably 40w (or less) to run.

>>>So, 19w +95w +95w +18w +40w +fans, SSD =300w or less.

Seasonic power supply are the best: https://seasonic.com/product-category/consumer-products/

Samsung SSD are the best.

Thank you for the quick replies everyone.

I did not know that about the RAM. So I need to buy another 2 pack of equal sticks? (totaling 6?)

I was going to put DCS on the SSD, but incompatibility of the SSD concerns me. I don't think this board is terribly old, and the firmware/bios updates since may accept for the current tech (it's not like SSD are new this year, they were just too expensive before)

The NAS side of the future additions are purely for file data, like pulling docs, photos, videos (not streaming per say, just grab and go). My job takes me all over the world, and I want a place to store it, and even download it while I have internet access to it. But be able to take the files off line to enjoy remotely.

I know from previous years building that going cheap on the PSU can cost you your entire computer, so I was going cheap/used on everything except that. Hoe ever, the price point going from 750 to 1000 was significant, and since I know I'd need more like 1300 with all those NAS drives, I thought about up grading later. Should I just go with 1000 off the bat?

So, back to the memory, I was not familiar with the ECC and registered, since this is server focused and I've only built PC's. That is all new to me, so I appreciate the guidance. I'm also not familiar with SRV, but I guess I have some studying to do.

If you all think of anything else, I'm all ears so please keep the info flowing. I wouldn't doubt - like bitmaster said - others have thought about it, so maybe this thread can be educational to the other laymen like myself.

S! O7

you dont need EEC, it's an option. But you cannot mix EEC and non-ECC modules, it's either or.

When this machine is made to run 24/7/365 you should aim for good hardware, starting with the mentioned PSU anywhere 750-1200 Watt, depending on what you plan to put in there. A good ROC ( Raid on Chip ) adapter card can use quite some juice, say 40-75 Watts max. So does any harddrive you add and some juice gets lost in the wiring too, there are plenty fans as well.

I must have been wrong with the CPU, thought its a 140W monster. If it is happy with 95w that's even better. Still, have at least a 30% safety margin from top output to actual output !!! You definitely dont want to pull 550W permanently from a 750W PSU. That wont hold long in 24/7 summer/winter scenario.

HAVE A UPS attached !!! This has not been mentioned before.

YOu can get a used APC 1500VA Rackmount for lil money used and replace batteries yourself, around 2-300 US$/€ per replacement pack in that scale, new its 800-1300 € depending on output and make. Do NOT take cheap UPS's, they will kill your hardware over time !!!

Have the UPS programmed with apcupsd. Power down the server gracefully in the vent of power outage. The least you need is a reset button, power button and power outages, those are all No-Go's for servers. They get powered up and run for 1 year +....good ones :)

If it wasnt for DCS I woud highly recommend Ubuntu Server LTS for this, as those can run for a year and longer without reboot. I have done this in enterprise scenario and it is nice not to have to worry about many things windows servers usually suffer from.

YOu can dl any of the MS servers for 150 days and try them. Pick the one that runs flawless and that you have a lic for it, they are NOT cheap ! Unless you reinstall every 150 days LoL...some do that to keep the training up HAHA. Currently 2012 and 2016 are still sold, 2008R2 is still supported and I would not pick 2008 ( without R2..it's Vista underneath and has some big trouble meanwhile getting support from 3rd party sw makers, like Avira etc.. )

Play with it, you will learn a lot !!! I am very sure about that ;)

If you get stuck...there is RDP, VNC, IPMI etc... to get external help :) Just send a BEEP

Bit

SSD need 3w each.

Hard drive need 9w each.

1000rpm 120-140mm fan need 2w each.

550w from a 750w power supply, it's 73% of his max power. This is in the range of his max efficiency. It's ok.

Maximum power output has nothing to do with quality and 24/7 use.

Thanks guys. I'm just waiting on some more parts. Willet keep you posted. Thanks again for all the info.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2025425/how-to-pick-the-best-pc-power-supply.html

http://www.thetechgame.com/Archives/t=5613293/power-supply-guide-the-good-and-the-bad.html

It's been a long while but I finally got the time from work and family to start assembly. I had to buy a new OSU (most expensive part of my build so far) but I got 1200w.

After installing the processors, I've tried to find the correct cooling units but it's hard with dual processors so close together. I had to get those refurbished but original intel and not as cheap as I hoped.

I was given a gtx 750ti that supposedly the fan refuses to spin so I will verify that then get a replacement if needed.