I had been looking for a server for the home for a while. Had sold myself on the HP Ex495, and actually was just waiting for the price to drop on Amazon back to $599 with Free Shipping. Then I saw this article by Damian http://www.mediasmartserver.net/2010/03/11/building-a-mini-itx-htpc-2/ , which was an HTPC builds, but also perfect setup for a Home server. Convinved on the parts and that they would all work together, I ordered the OEM WHS software from Amazon, had everything in a basket from Newegg, and started the long search for the PERFECT case. Of course the HTPC case that Damian had used would no way make it for a Home Server unless every thing was external USB. Really like the small footprint of the HP so started to look for acceptable small cases. In my opinion, the only case that was a good fit was the Chenbro ES34069. At first I could not get over the $200 price tag (for the 180 watt model, they also sell a 120 watt for less.) The case comes with the power supply and the 4 HOT swap bay. At New egg the 180 watt version was free shipping, the 120 watt was about $30 less but $23 for shipping, made it an easy choise. Also, I figured with an i5 I would need the extra watts. Ordered the Zotac MB just like the one in the HTPC build, ordered the i5 650 with the builtin GPU, and the same ram (only 4 instead of 2). I had already purchased a 1.5 TB and 2.0 TB (priced matched from Frys and purchased at Bestbuy). Ordered the hardware, arrived in2 day, and had it built in about 30 minutes. The case has a slideout MB tray which makes install very easy. Screw in the MB, plop in the CPU, attach heatsink and fan, install ram and your are done. Slide the tray back in, routing the cables carefully and the hardware part is complete.

http://members.cox.net/zee06/Server%2011.jpg

http://members.cox.net/zee06/server%2031.jpg

As you can see from the front of the case, there is a slot for a slim dvd and memory cards. I did not install either. I installed WHS from a bootable USb stick and it worked great. Here is the link for thats. On the second link , heed #14 on changing the bios to the hdd as to boot from, and not the usb stick. Also do not take out usb stick till the end.

http://www.homeserverhacks.com/2008/04/build-green-400-windows-home-server_21.html

http://www.homeserverhacks.com/2008/04/build-green-400-windows-home-server.html


Another pic of the front of the case

http://members.cox.net/zee06/Server%2041.jpg

The front of the case has lights for dual lan and total failure, which my MB supported neither.

A look at the back. Notice the HDMI port. That is what I used to install on a 50 inch Plasma before we went headless.

http://members.cox.net/zee06/Server%2051.jpg

Close up of the cpu/fan/MB. A bit crowded, but it is nice in the small case.

http://members.cox.net/zee06/Server%2061.jpg

A few parting shots:

1. Notice the zip tie in the first pic. On initial startup a SATA cable blocked the cpu fan from spinning. Almost a very costly and fatal error.

2. Cost. More than the EX495, however I have twice the ram(4), 6 SATA ports, 10 USB, and and i5 chip. Really built this for VAIL.

I could have done some cost saving measures. An i3 would have saved $60, 2 Gig vs 4 GIG ram would have saved $40, and a larger case with NO hotswap bay could have saved about $100. That would get it at or just below th EX 495, but you would have a definite upgrade path.

3. After it has been up and running for 3-4 days, transfered all my movies, photos, and did backups of all clients, the i5 and 4 GIG IS OVERKILL. My powerfull server sits there for most of the day and night, it doesnt even break a sweat. However, i still would not have changed a thing. Well maybe 1 thing. I am not sure the HOTSWAP is that big of a deal, but I have only had it for 4 days so too early to tell.

4. Ordered another 2.0 TB, and will order another in a week or so just to fill all bays and give a capacity of 7.5 TB

5. On the install of WHS I did not install the ACHI/RAID drivers, so it is in IDE mode. ACHI gives you hotswap. I must have missed this part. Also, as you all know, the WHS avoids the primary data drive if other space is available. On the 1 drive (1.5 TB), it carved out the 20 GIG for the OS and sent the rest to the primary data drive. I then installed the 2.0, which gave me 3.2, however, so far all my stuff is on the 2.0 an nothing is on the rest of the original 1.5. Nothing on the rest of the 1.5 is not exactly true, AdminME shows 1%, which I think is the "Tombstone" files which point to where the real files are. AdminMe is great by the way, worth all $8.

What I wish I had done. In addition to the 4 hotswap drives, there is room inside of the case for a single 2.5 laptop drive. I wish I had install a 250 GIG 2.5, installed the OS on that, and all the other drives would be pure storage. So when I have a OS drive failure, just replace the 2.5, do a restore, and all the data drives should be intact and visable. Maybe will attempt that soon before I get to far into this.

Hope this helps. The build and install was very easy. Thanks again to Damian, and his article, because if it wasnt for that I would still be on newegg LOOKING!

Nice Job!

Sometimes there is something to be said for a small foot print. Its when you max out the capacity in the case that makes you want a bigger case or enclosures. I like what you have done and wish you much success with your build.

You know if you have a 250GB 2.5" drive you might want to install it now before you get too deep into the server. Not much to lose and the server recovery is pretty straight forward.

I actually used an external DVD Drive to install WHS on my ProLiant and it worked out well.

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Exploring the possibilities!

Migrated from WHS2011 to WS2012E: HIGHLANDER

~ Norco 4220 Enclosure
~ Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5
~ AMD Phenom II X4 995 3.2 GHz
~ 8 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
~ 3 Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8

Thanks for sharing. I bought the same mini mobo use in the article by Damian with the idea of building another home server. I was looking for a case just like the one you bought and thanks to you now i have it.
I already order the 4GB memory and i am still looking to see if the mobo can take a i7 quad core. What i like about this build is the wifi in the mobo.
I know i am going to want to build a server in a bigger case but this is just for fun. My brother offered to buy it from me if i wanted to sell it. I might just do that and use that money to build a bigger server.

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Freedom is not only to do what you love, but to love what you do.

Thanks for posting!!! I really like the look of the case, it is a mini Shawshank!

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Cheers,
Damian

DIY WHS - 12.5TB and growing, too many gadgets to list

Did you read the MediaSmartServer blog today?
Blog - http://www.adigitalhomeblog.com
"Like a midget at a urinal, stay on your toes!" - Lieutenant Frank Drebin

One note I forgot to add. After assembly, and I pushed the power button for the first time. NOTHING? Rechecked all connections. Still nothing. Off to BESTBUY to get a power supply for troubleshooting. Pluged in a 430 Watt for the motherborad and powered up the power distribution board where all the Hot Swap drives are connected. And it fired right up. Call Chenbro and they replaced the power supply the next day. Eaiser than returning complete case to Newegg. I looked at the i7, and was a little woried about how much power it would draw with a 180 watt PS. Also, based on what I can tell, my i5 is underemployed in the server. I considered the i3, the power ratting was the same as the i5 and it was only $40 more, so went with the i5. The i5 was 73 watts, the i7 had 2, one at 95 and one at 130. Not even realy sure what these numbbers mean???