This post has been a long time coming and it is Part 2 of my Home Server Project, In Part 1 I discuss the HP ProLiant DL360 G5. Although initially I was utilizing that server it soon became apparent after a week that it was not an ideal solutions.
One of the biggest problems was that the DL360 G5 was incredibly loud and due to it being situated underneath a TV unit this made watching the media stored on it awkward and unpleasant.
This lead to a hunt for a new server that would offer a huge amount more power and hopefully would run more silently. After digging around the depth of eBay I came across the HP ProLiant DL380 G7.Although the DL360 had been my first server purchase ever, I felt that the build quality was good and I was slightly more familiar with it.

Specifications DL380 G7 Specifications DL360 G5
CPU: 2x Xeon L5640 (12 Core’s Per CPU) CPU: 2x Xeon 5150 (2 Core’s Per CPU)
RAM: 32 GB DDR3 ECC RAM: 20GB DDR2 ECC
HDD’s: 8 x 146GB 15K SAS HDD’s:6 x 146GB SAS (Assorted Speeds)
I have opted to use UnRaid again as I found the ability to use dockers helpful and easy to manage, combine this with the abilities to run virtual machine it offers all aspects of what I require.
The Set up for UnRaid is simple and thankful the DL380 offers an internal USB port so there is no USB stick poking out of the front or rear.
Due to the acquisition of this other server my home network requires some potential upgrades as well, this included a 48 port managed switch. Although this was purchased in complete knowledge of it being over kill, it does allow for a huge amount of expansion in future.

Unfortunately due the builtin fan the sound levels produced by the switch did not work for the current setup and as a result a small managed 8 port switch was also purchased. Although the smaller switch is not rack mountable, in the currant setup this is not an issues as there is still no rack.

The acquisition of a server rack will be over the next few months as currently space is a concern. That being said I have seen a number of IKEA coffee tables that have been converted into make shift server racks.
Over the next few weeks there will hopefully be more detailed post regarding setting up the home lab as well as a detailed list of use cases.