Tell me about your "HOME" network

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On a small adaption of the very interesting post by 'NoCompanyIT' (Thanks for the idea, hope you dont mind me borrowing ideas)

Tell me about your "HOME/Lab" setup
1)Server OS(s)
2)Client OS(s)
3)server/PC(S) (used 'for/as' servers)
4)Virtulisation (MS/VMware)
5)Additional network hardware (routers/Switches)
6)Services running (AD/Exchange)
7)Very brief description of network setup (2 Lines max... if possible)
8.)And finally what you are most proud of (or most unique) with your home/lab setup

I would start this thread off but ATM I only have a pile of kit, not powered on or configured in any way!
Although i am hoping to soon setup a lab network for 70-290 (looking forward to the 'hands on' and the mass of confusion (and learning))

Thanks,
Craig

 

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I have a virtual network running win2k3 and 3 xp pros with ubuntu.

I am proud I finally got ubuntu to work with it

 

No - won't do it.

Make me.

 

hmmmm alright then! I wont make you! i just had a large pub dinner and a couple of pints so im feeling rather lazy. just gonna curl up and watch some VTC 70-290 vids

 

I have 2 desktops with router and modem. One desktop belongs to my girl, the other one is mine. On my workstation I run VMware Server 2 with a network consisting of: 2x2k3 servers, 2xWinXP, 1xWindows 7, 1xUbuntu.

 

Two domains - internal and dmz, plus a test domain running isolated internally
Netscreen firewall securing them.

Both 'production' (LOL) domains in W2K3 native mode, test domain W2K8

All infrastructure save for a couple of servers run on ESX 3.5u4, with an OpenFiler SAN providing the VMFS. I run my VirtualCenter server and one big box running VMWare Server (for the test domain) on physical boxes - along with my IDS (which sits on the DMZ).

Still run Exchange 2003, and have an ISA box acting as a proxy for the LAN and securing OWA

Switch wise I have procurves - gb all the way (100mb gets no respect in my dungeon lol) vlanned for LAN, DMZ & iSCSI traffic

My main workstation is still XP, but the wife's and my two laptops are Win7

I guess I'm most proud of the ESX and Openfiler setup - it didn't cost that much to put in (under a grand) and I did it all myself from scratch.

 

What spec is your workstation, do you have any issues with using a desktop to run 2K3 or VMware?

zebulebu that whole setup is something you should be proud of!

I am personally only creating a 70-290/MCSA lab, so really looking at my options for my setup, See my previous post:
http://www.certforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=34824

 

I currently have a Thomson TG585v7 ('Be Box') ADSL2+ Router, with a built in four port 10/100 switch. It feeds three different rooms and one Buffalo WYR-54G cable router configured as an access point in the rear bedroom to extend the wireless range.

I used to run Smoothwall and a PowerMac G4 as a fileserver, but it was such a waste of electricity I went back to a router and storing files locally (which, when you're the primary user, makes more sense).

 

I have a buncha computers on my network.

 

my home networks ****e and in need of a rebuild..... Just haven't found time yet.

 

Unless you have a super computer the size of your house then I don't think it would cost much electricity to leave it on all day.

Anyway...
1)Server OS(s)>>>>>>>>>>>>>None. I tried Ubuntu Server in VirtualBox, didn't have a clue what I was doing so just started to learn c programming instead
2)Client OS(s)>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Ubuntu

4)Virtulisation (MS/VMware)>>>>>>>>I use Virtualbox on my main pc most of the time to experiment. Last thing I did was put Smoothwall on it and then connect to it through a Windows 7 VM, to test out both Smoothwall and Windows 7.
I thought about getting a cheap base unit from Tranquil PC Online (very quite, to put in my bedroom) and putting Smoothwall on that, then just be a snoop and watch what other people were doing on the network. Smoothwall has this option where you can view IM's, but I couldn't get it working.
I also tested XenServer on my main pc (I bought this 1-2 years ago for £170) and I liked it. I thought about getting another cheap pc so I could test out live migration which looks interesting. I decided to learn c programming instead
Other than that, I've tested lots of operating systems in virtualbox.I love the idea in OpenSolaris of the time slider, using ZFS filesystem allows you to scroll back in time to see a file changing, you can restore the file back to the present. So if you delete a file by accident, then you just scroll back in time and restore it.

5)Additional network hardware (routers/Switches)>>>>>>Wireless router (pron. roo ter, not rowter)

8.)And finally what you are most proud of (or most unique) with your home/lab setup>>>Probably getting the Smoothwall working in virtualbox. Or managing to install FreeBSD on an old pc and use it daily. It was quite a shock when I first booted to the command line and realised that that was it. So I had to mess about with config files to make it boot into a window manager.

 

Ah from this post it looks apparant that there is a vast variety between the network setup's amongst the users here at 'Certforums', What kind of basic setup would you recomend for a user with one server (ML110, 6Gb ram) studying for MCSA? Would it be suggested to avoid Virtulisation as not to overcomplicate the setup at first?

Thanks,
Craig

 

I have a VMware running win2k3 and solaris 8.
haha who would like to study mandarin?I teach you and make friends.

 

0.1kWh x 8765 = 876.5 kWh/year

That's about £90 of electricity over a year which, in my opinion, is wasteful

 

I count myself lucky in that I can get hold of retired servers and use them at home for testing purposes.
The room does get kinda warm and noisy when you keep them running all the time, but that's what shorts and earplugs are for

I also need to buy a small rack, but the ones sold over here are rather expensive (think £1000 for a 14U).

Currently I have two Dell 2650's and two Dell 1750's (from my previous configuration which was just 6 Dell 1750 pizza boxes) running mostly Server 2008 and mixes of Exchange, ILM, OCS and the like. I do power them down now and then when I know that I will not be fiddling with that environment in earnest.

Virtual Server 2005 on the host systems, and 15gigs of ram in total (all 4 servers included) gives me plenty of VM possibilities (as does the ~terabyte of desk space). I do have plenty of 2650/1750 spare parts (even an entire 1750 lying around) in case I get some hardware failures, but so far these servers have been running rock solid since 2004 when my previous company first bought them. And all of it for free!

I'll shortly begin wiping them out to make room for an ESX installation as I need to get the hang of this if I wish to pass a VCP in the future...

These servers are connected to a Cisco switch subnetted for proper AD site testing of course.

In addition, I recently bought a rather sweet i7 equipped gaming desktop which I dual boot with 2008 running Hyper-V. 12 gigs of ram on that box gives me a chance to test 64bit stuff as well which I can't do with the Dell's (they're 32bit only).

I have some other misc desktops and laptops which I don't use much anymore, one of which runs SBS. But in total I have about 20 Operating Systems running at any time (if the hosts are not powered down).

I also test stuff with XP, Vista, W7, a second Cisco switch (not counting my router) just sits there as it has a broken fan, which whilst it doesn't cause any issues with the switch itself, makes it run VERY hot (I don't really understand how that Citco switch can run so hot, I mean, it's like a stove when you touch it, and I can't seem to open it up to replace the fan unless I break something inside... grrrr).

All systems use multiple NIC ports (even the DRAC's are plugged in), so hooray for 24 port switches! Finally some DynDns magic let's me do some Exchange/Rights Management/Forest Trust and other tests with a friend of mine who works at Microsoft (he has his own lab as well).

Pretty much sums it up.

 

I guess I will add my home lab set up (although it’s a fairly old thread).

My current games machine is a FoxConn BlackOps with a QX9650 @ 3.5 GHz with 8 GB DDR3 Corsair ram in a CoolerMaster Stacker 830
My ESX (vSphere) server houses a SuperMicro X7DWA-N Dual Proc MB with 2xL5240 Xeons @ 2.6 GHz and 64GB of FB Ram in a Silverstone TJ09 case.

My virtual environment consists of 1 x VC box, 1x Win 2008R2 DC, 1x SCCM server, 1x SCVMM server, 1x SCDPM server (using the EDGE10 server as its raw disk via ESX), 1x Win7 box (misc testing), 1x Eset Nod32 Management server (Win 2008 ), 1x Vista machine running TVersity (PS3 Media server) and an XP machine for odds and sods.

My Storage boxes are 2xTeraStation Pro2’s with 4x1.5tb disks each, 1xEdge10 NAS with 4x750gb, 1xOpenFiler SAN box with 8x320gb and 4x250gb disks (1x3Ware internal and 1x3Ware + SideCar cards), this also has a 2.5inch drive for the OF install in a Hiper Anubis case (with 3xLian Li drive bay conversion kits). They are running a mix of iSCSI (OF), NFS (Edge10) and normal SMB (Terastations).
I have a Shuttle K45 running WHS

My WIP machines are :-

1xEX58UD5 and an i7 950 with a 120 GB OCZ Vertex drive with 12 GB of DDR3 Corsair ram
1x Intel 5400XS and 2 x E5450 Xeons @ 3.00 Ghz and a 150 GB Velociraptor with 8 GB of FB Dimms
I haven’t decided on which will go in which case (Silverstone TJ07 and Corsair Obsidian 800D)

I also have 5 laptops (Sony, Fujitsu, HP and IBM) which get used regularly, my wife uses my old Shuttle 939 based box as her main system and I also have a 4gb Mac Mini sat behind my main monitor.

Oh and I also have 17 rack mounted HP DL360’s\380’s and a single ML570 sat in my garage, I hasten to add that they aren’t powered on (I did a comms room clearance and was given them to get rid of).

 

I'd swap my missus for such setup
... nah I wouldn't, but it's impressive for home lab

 

Luckily I have a very understanding wife

I have even been tempted to give my son one of the older laptops, however at not even 3 years of age I don't think that's such a good idea.. I will wait until his 3rd birthday ;)

 

So yeah... i'll stick with my basic computer, ISP provided router, and my 128MB Mp3 player from poundland.

 

I'm quite impressed that my PS3 can use my PC as a wireless media server and I can watch my films and photos on it.

All without doing anything clever...