Server configuration options - sleep & WOL

[paduck]

As I complete my home wiring project, I am interested in building my third Hackintosh. The first is a desktop Q6600 based on the EP45-DS3R motherboard. Generally works great. I've had it a couple years without significant problems. My second was a Dell Mini 9 which was pretty straight forward and has been convenient to have around. I think I will probably replace it one day with an iPad though!

 

But that brings me to my third Hackintosh. What I have found is that I "need" (replace all instances of "need" with "want") a home server so that my two Hackintoshes, one real Mac (G5 iMac) and two Apple TVs can have some sort of consolidated storage. Ideally, the new Hackintosh would function as a server running as a Time Machine backup device over the network, as an iTunes centralized server for the Apple TV's, and as shared storage space for the netbook and two desktops. In real life, this computer does not need to be on 24/7, that would be a waste of energy. With the Wake on LAN (WOL) feature of modern computers, this would be ideal as it could sleep with 1 watt of energy use. When it's on, it would be ok to be burning upwards of 60 watts. I had originally thought of an Atom-based processor, but that seems unnecessary is the sleep function works well.

 

Also, as the computer is basically going to be headless (not headless, but with limited use of a monitor since it will sit in a closet and serve data without interaction) video capability and audio in/out aren't really something I am going to care about. What I do care about is the following:

 

1. Low-energy sleep works reliably.

2. Wake On LAN (WOL) works reliably (via ethernet connection to Airport Express).

3. Bonjour works reliably after repeated sleeps.

4. Can serve multiple SATA hard drives (not an issue)

5. Ideally has on-board video for lower power consumption, but I have an 8600GT card I can use if I have to.

6. Allows remote access via VNC (so I don't have to go to the closet in the basement to manage the computer).

7. Allows for file sharing and remote Time Machine (shouldn't be an issue).

8. Gig-E ethernet (the ATV's are only Fast Ethernet, but I have a Gig-E switch and my desktop is Gig-E)

 

I figured a configuration of the following might be cost-effective and meet my goals:

 

GA-G31M-ES2L motherboard ($53)

E5300 Dual Core Processor ($66)

WD "Green" hard drives (~$200)

SATA CD/DVD player (~$40)

2GB or 4GB memory ($90 for 4GB)

Snow Leopard (own the family pack)

Decent power supply in the 400 watt range ($70)

Case that I can rack mount in basement closet ($75)

 

cost without monitor, keyboard or mouse: ~$600

 

This motherboard should allow me to use the on-board video. Since I don't really need it on a daily basis. Likewise, I don't need audio in or out to work.

 

In terms of configuration, the primary desktop Mac would share its iTunes library with the server's main drive (1.5TB?) via Home Sharing.

 

The various Macs would backup to a dedicated large (2TB?) hard drive on the server via Time Machine.

 

The home server would run iTunes to share content via streaming to the Apple TVs, the iMac and the netbook.

 

Share space would be on the main home server drive via regular file sharing. The share space could be backed up to the local Time Machine.

 

It seems from the postings online that sleep works fine with this motherboard. The various postings were unclear about WOL though. I have found on my current computer that once WOL turns it on, that going back to sleep is sometimes a problem. I would prefer this computer go back to sleep after it has done it's network duty.

 

Any thoughts on this configuration? Most interested in the Bonjour, Sleep, & WOL issues.

[hiroo]

i've been researching parts for the exact same requirements, except that i was hoping to use an atom board for power savings since i wasn't sure sleep and WOL would work.

 

Most new Atom boards with D510 CPU and NM10 chipset use really low power but i can't find anything from people using hackintosh successfully on them. There are some successes using Zotac Atom+Ion boards, which do have 4 SATA ports. But reportedly the Ion chipset uses more power than the NM10.

 

This Lian-Li mini case can take 6x3.5" hard drives.

 

I would be open to going the mATX MB and desktop CPU route if it opened up some doors to WOL or stability/compatibility.

 

Did you make any progress on your project?

[dank67]

Hey guys,

 

I was looking for hardware for a home server solution just like you described. What did you guys get in the end? I was considering a ITX Motherboard with Intel NM10 Chipset / Atom D525 CPU and maybe an extra PCI card for a RAID 5. However I have no idea if that would work and I couldn't really find success stories with a NM10 / Atom D525 board. 

 

Thanx for any advice.

 

greetz, d.

[paduck]

This week I ordered and installed my home HacServer based on the above. Here is what I ended up with:

 

Gigabyte G41M-ES2L Motherboard $57

Samsung 2TB Spinpoint F4 Hard Drive $100

Samsung 1TB Ecogreen F3 Hard Drive $60

Intel Celeron E3300 2.5 GHz CPU $51

Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D 380W Power Supply $45

Crucial 2GB DDR2 800 Memory $31

NORCO RPC-230 2U Rackmount Server Case $70

 

They also shipped me a "free" keyboard. I used that and an existing monitor and mouse for setup. However, it the basement, it doesn't need those three items. I have a family pack for Snow Leopard, so I was also good there. My total server cost is $414.

 

I used the following installation mini-guide from iRobie:

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=182655

 

This is my third Hackintosh, so there wasn't too much of a learning curve. I got everything built, installed and running in an afternoon. Another day to do a TimeMachine backup and it is good to go. I have it boot straight into the basic user interface. I have file sharing and screen sharing turned on so I can manage it from my other Macs. iTunes starts up on boot. I am using on-board video. I didn't do anything about the sound because I am not planning on using the sound on it. Gigabit ethernet looks like it is working great. I have seen peak transfers (peak, not sustained, according to iStat) of 683Mb/s which has got to be close to real-world spec.

 

When idle, the computer draws 40W according to my Kill-a-Watt. Although I would prefer it to sleep and wake when needed, the amount of brain power I would put in to save $30/year in electricity seems unnecessary. This is something like 65W less than my other Hackintosh. Of course, that has a GT120 video card and a Q6600 CPU. I imagine that you could save a little more power by going the Atom route.

 

For those of you looking for a rackmount server, this case and motherboard were about perfect. The motherboard fits very nicely into the case. The case has room for up to five (5) 3.5" HDD's. Or four HDD's and a CD. I modified the fans, which were very loud, use only pull 7V instead of 12V (swapped pin 2 & 4 on the power input). That solved the noisy fan problem. It was very noisy. I think there is adequate airflow at 7V.

 

TimeMachine over the network goes great. The computer automatically connects. So far, iTunes works fine as well. I have homesharing setup so I can easily move individual files/playlists across from my primary library.

 

Now I am going to reconfigure my hard drives on my desktop computer so that I have one boot drive with most documents and applications (640GB) and a second drive for media (1TB). The media drive is my former local TimeMachine backup which I don't need anymore since that is done via the network.

 

Here is a picture of my setup: