Ron's Information Technology Blog: ESXi Build Complete Part I: Server Framework

I finally completed my ESXi server build and without further delay, here is the final build complete with part numbers for anyone that might want to build using my framework.

OEM	Item:	Manufacturer #	Qty	Unit $	Ext. $
ASUS	ASUS Barebones Rack Server	RS500-E6/EPS4	1	599.99	599.99
Intel	Xeon E5620 LG1366 CPU 2.4GHz	BX80614E5620	2	410.99	821.98
Crucial	16GB 1066 DDR3 SDRAM	CT16G3ERSLQ81067	2	196.99	393.98
Intel	S3500 120GB SSD	SSDSC2BB120G401	2	149.99	299.98
Western Digital	1TB AV-GP HDD	WD10EURX	2	79.99	159.98
Adaptec	6405E RAID Controller/Card	2270800-R	1	194.99	194.99
SilverStone	SSD/HDD Adapter	SDP09	2	14.99	29.98
Rosewill	SAS-SATA 1-4 Breakout Cable	SFF-8087	1	21.99	21.99

Total = Roughly $2,500 without Shipping and Handling or any applicable taxes.

Below are my server specifications with the hardware purchased.

Category	Specification
Operating System	VMWare ESXi 5.1 (Yes I know 5.5 is out)
CPU	Dual Quad Core / 8 Physical Cores / 16 Logical Cores
RAM	32GB DDR3 RDIMM
Storage (SSD)	2x 120GB SSDss
Storage (HDD)	2x 1TB HDDs
RAID (Hardware)	Array 1 (2x 120GB SSD, RAID I) Array 2(2x 1TB HDD RAID I)
Network	2x Intel Gigabit LAN
Management	1x iKVM MGT LAN

I was able to purchase nearly all of the equipment from NewEgg except for the processors which they happened to be out of stock at the time.

ASUS
Thus far, everything has worked PERFECTLY. And let me take this time to say that ASUS is incredible in my opinion. If you want high power at low cost, ASUS is the perfect way to go. My high powered PC that I built 3 years ago, my Vyatta router/firewall, and this server are all ASUS based machines and I haven't had any issues out of them.

The Build
Assembly was relatively easy. I received the processors first, put them in, applied thermal paste and put the included heatsinks in. The other parts came last Friday and I put everything in at relative ease.

RAID
I built the RAID configuration next. I set up two arrays. The first array consists of two 120 GB SSDs. I went with RAID 1 for mirroring for simplicity sake and because I was limited to 4 drives. The OS (ESXi) is mirrored on this array. It took about 20 minutes to build and verify Array I. The second array is for the Datastore where the virtual machines and ISO files are stored. This array consists of two 1TB HDDs in a RAID I configuration. Array II took 2 hours to build and verify.

OS Install
I went with VMWare ESXi 5.1 as my chosen hypervisor. Yes, I know that 5.5 is out, but there are a lot of limitations with the free version. Number one is what I have heard is the elimination of the Vsphere Client which is how the virtual machines are managed from a remote PC. From my understanding, ESXi is becoming more and more dependent on VCenter which now comes in the form of an appliance that IS NOT free. Until they iron details out on how they will support management for free users, I will stick with 5.1.

Caveats
The ONLY snag I hit setting the server up was the RAID controller. The first thing any potential builders should know is that ESXi DOES NOT support software (built-in/integrated) RAID controllers at the present time. You must use a hardware controller/card if you want to use RAID with ESXi. Also, I used the Adaptec 6405E RAID controller and I had to use the ESXi ISO Customizer in order to create a custom ESXI installable ISO for ESXi to detect the array during OS installation. That software can be found here.

Remote Management
Along with standard remote management through the Vsphere Client, I am also able to manage the server from the BIOS level up (including viewing the ESXi shell) using the ASMB-iKVM4 on the server.

Now check out the pictures!