Hardware Setup for a High-Performance Home Server

Hardware Components

• Processors: 2x Intel Xeon E5-2650 v2
• Coolers: 2x Deepcool Gammaxx 400
• Storage Controller: Dell H310i / LSI SAS9211-8i
• Hard Drives:
  • 3x WD WhiteLabel 12 TB
  • 3x WD WhiteLabel 18 TB
  • 1x WD WhiteLabel 16 TB
• SSDs:
  • 2x KIOXIA-EXCERIA SSD 500 GB
  • 1x Crucial MX500 2 TB
  • 2x Crucial MX500 500 GB
• Chassis: Fractal Design 7 XL

Software Configuration

Proxmox VE Virtualization Environment

• TrueNAS Scale (with HBA passthrough for Dell H310i)
• Mail-in-a-Box (mailinabox.email)
• Docker VM for containerized applications
• MariaDB for SQL database hosting

TrueNAS Configuration

The TrueNAS virtual machine is set up with:

• Passthrough Devices: Dell H310i HBA card and two NVMe drives.
• Storage Pool Configuration:
  Each pool has dedicated VDEVs for metadata (mirrored) and cache (striped) using NVMe drives.

Storage Pools Overview:

Pool	Drives	Content	Notes
hoardings	3x 18TB	Media	STRIPE
nvr	1x 16TB	NVR	-
storage	3x 12TB	Backups	RAIDz1

Application Stack

This server hosts a comprehensive range of applications, including:

bazarr
ESPHome
ferdium-server
freshrss
gitea
grafana
hass
immich
influx
jenkins
lidarr
meshcentral
mongodb
mqtt
netbootxyz
overseerr
paperless-ngx
photoprism
pihole
piholeinflux
piper
prometheus
prowlarr
radarr
readarr
sonarr
syncthing
tautulli
traccar
unifi-db
unifi-network-application
unifi-poller
unpackerr
uptime-kuma
varken
whisper
wordpress
zigbee2mqtt
zigbee2mqttAssistant

Notes and Insights

1. NVMe Boot Compatibility

   • The motherboard does not support booting from NVMe drives.

2. Cooling Challenges on LGA2011 Narrow ILM

   • Narrow ILM-compatible coolers are rare. Adapter brackets for AM4 mounting were used, specifically lever-based designs to ensure compatibility. Example bracket:
     
   • These adapters reduce clearance near one of the RAM banks:
     
   • Deepcool Gammaxx 400 coolers were selected for their lever-based mounting mechanism.

3. Fan Selection

   • Arctic P12 PWM and P14 PWM fans were chosen for their performance, offering Noctua-level efficiency at a fraction of the cost.

4. SATA Power Safety

   • Standard SATA adapters and splitters pose a fire risk. Refer to these resources for more details:
     • Crucial Guide
     • Risks of SATA Cables
     • Reddit Discussion
   • To mitigate risks, safer connectors were installed:
     

Conclusion

This setup demonstrates how to configure a robust home server with Proxmox VE. From advanced cooling solutions to optimized storage and comprehensive application hosting, this server is tailored for high-performance workloads.

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Keywords

• Proxmox Home Server
• TrueNAS Storage Configuration
• High-Performance Server Build
• LGA2011 Cooling Solutions

Tags

• Proxmox
• TrueNAS
• Home Server
• Linux Administration
• Hardware Optimization

Sprzęt:

2x Intel Xeon E5-2650 v2
2x Deepcool Gammaxx 400
1x Dell H310i / LSI SAS9211-8i
3x WD WhiteLabel 12 TB
3x WD WhiteLabel 18 TB
1x WD WhiteLabel 16 TB
2x KIOXIA-EXCERIA SSD 500 GB
1x Crucial MX500 2TB
2x Crucial MX500 500GB
Fractal Design 7 XL chassis

Soft:

Proxmox:

* TrueNAS Scale (HBA - Dell H310i - passthrough)

* mail-in-a-box

* Docker VM

* MariaDB SQL Database

TrueNAS

Do VM z TrueNAS zrobiony jest passthrough karty HBA - Dell H310i oraz 2 dysków NVMe

wszystkie poole mają swoje specjalne vdev na metadane (mirror), i cache (stripe) na NVMe

Pool	Dyski	zawartość	uwagi
hoardings	3x18TB	media	STRIPE
nvr	1x16TB	NVR
storage	3x12TB	kopie zapasowe	RAIDz1

Apps:

bazarr
ESPHome
ferdium-server
freshrss
gitea
grafana
hass
immich
influx
jenkins
lidarr
meshcentral
mongodb
mqtt
netbootxyz
overseerr
paperless-ngx
photoprism
pihole
piholeinflux
piper
prometheus
prowlarr
radarr
readarr
sonarr
syncthing
tautulli
traccar
unifi-db
unifi-network-application
unifi-poller
unpackerr
uptime-kuma
varken
whisper
wordpress
zigbee2mqtt
zigbee2mqttAssistant

1. płyta główna nie obsługuje bootowania z dysków NVMe

2. chłodzenie na LGA2011 narrow ILM niemalże nieistnieją. Na ratunek przychodzą adaptery LGA2011 narrow ILM -> AM4 na dźwignię. Wyglądają tak:

I znacząco zmniejszają dostępną przestrzeń przy jednym z banków DDR:

Istotne jest też to, żeby chłodzenie AM4 obsługiwało montaż na dźwignię, a nie na 4 śruby. Stąd wybrałem Deepcool Gammaxx 400

3. wentylatory wybrałem Arctic P12 PWM oraz Arctic P14 PWM. Wydajność Noctua za mniej niż połowę ceny

4. wtyczki SATA. Typowe adaptery / rozgałęziacze stanowią zagrożenie pożarowe

https://www.crucial.com/support/articles-faq-ssd/dangerous-molex-to-sata-cables

https://www.risersqc.ca/blogs/blog/is-it-really-dangerous-to-supply-your-risers-with-sata

https://www.reddit.com/r/NiceHash/comments/pyjmmw/using_sata_to_power_risers_are_so_dangerous_that/

Żeby się przed tym ustrzec kupiłem i założyłem takie:

wyglądają i działają znacznie lepiej. Nie ma też kilometrów kabli pomiędzy dyskami