Note: I originally posted this here, but it seemed like a relevant post for my site, so here it is!
For the last few years, I’ve had a TranquilPC BBS2 system (1.6GHz Atom dual core). It was great, extremely reliable, and nice and compact. Even better, I was able to get Snow Leopard server installed onto it, which ran almost perfectly (no sound, but I didn’t really need this for a headless home server).
The limitation with this, though, was the available hard drive space. It’s almost time to get a new HDD, and there were no free slots, so I decided to upgrade.
The biggest requirement was the capability to run Snow Leopard (either server or normal, but preferably server so as to not waste the license). The second biggest requirement: lots of space for hard drives.
I recently had a look at a Fractal R3 case, and thought it was good, but I love the layout of the Fractal Define XL! The actual components were researched using the experiences of other people (for SL compatibility). The graphics card was required as the onboard graphics wouldn’t work with snow leopard.
Here is the list of components I went for:
Plus a few cables and things.
Building the system was fairly simple, although I had to first build it in an old case, because the original one got smashed in transit:
Bottom line, the system went together smoothly (apart from having to lengthen a cable that wouldn’t reach due to underestimating the sheer size of the case) and Snow Leopard Server was installed first try, then tweaked a little. I’m not sure if the sound works; I’ve no reason to try it. The real test was when I put the software RAIDed disks in. The OS recognised them and carried on as if it were the old system.
Pics of the build:
I’ve just ordered a load of extra cables to neaten it up, and a few components (RAID card, 2.5″ HDD PCI slot), so I’ll post an update when I get the extra stuff.
About a year ago, I bought a BBS2 Home Server from Tranquil PC, and I also bought a copy of Windows Home Server to go with it.
The BBS2 is a barebones system with a dual core Intel Atom motherboard (D945GCLF2) so doesn’t use too much electricity, but is also still powerful enough for streaming and backing up data.
The BBS2 (although mine is the white one).
I decided to buy WHS because it is very simple to set up and to use. One of the key features is the ability to combine all the hard drives into one big drive (kind of like Software RAID), but it also lets you add new drives, remove drives, all from the admin console. The drives can also be any size. Usually with RAID systems, all of the drives have to be the same size (if different sizes are used, it’ll be as if all drives have the capacity of the smallest disk).
Using WHS was great too, but not quite as simple as it could’ve been. Obviously, Windows Home Server is designed to be used with other Windows devices, of which, I don’t have many. Mac OS X devices however, I have plenty of. Controlling the server from a Mac meant having to use VNC or Remote Desktop, but it wasn’t really a problem.
File sharing was fine because Macs support Samba (SMB) file sharing, so copying file, and streaming video worked fine. Even streaming video to my iPhone works brilliantly thanks to Air Video Server.
The only downside (for Mac users) is the lack of an ability to backup to it using Time Machine. There are hacks that allows Snow Leopard to back up to Samba sources, but although easy to hack, the backups that are made are significantly less than reliable.
However, like I said, I lived with it for about a year, but a few weeks ago, I looked into installing Snow Leopard Server onto the BSS2. I had managed to get Leopard working on my little Acer Aspire One netbook, and even on a little PC I’d built (that just happened to use exactly the same motherboard – so there was hope), but Apple had supposedly broken the ability for Snow Leopard (after 10.6.2) to be installed on Intel Atom systems.
After much research, many hours of getting nowhere and lots of coffee, I have Snow Leopard Server, 10.6.4, working perfectly (nearly…the only thing that won’t work is audio, but as it’s for a server, I’m fine with that) on the Intel D945GCLF2, and I even have the BBS2′s built in RAID card sort of working.
So far, I’m pretty sure I’ll move everything over. At the moment, I’m still testing to ensure it’s stable, and to make sure the software RAID will offer enough protection of data.
I took notes as I went along (there were pages and pages of notes), so I’ll post a kind of guide soon. In the mean time, leave a comment if you need any help or have any questions.
NOTE: Don’t steal any software if you’re going to try this. Snow Leopard Server is quite expensive, but in my opinion, worth it. If you can’t afford it, you can do most of the things the server version can with a standard copy of Snow Leopard (which is really cheap). Breaking the rules about where you install the software is one thing, but stealing a copy is another thing entirely.