November 14, 2013 at 6:17 am
Hi,
I'm looking to improve my Windows Server know how by getting my own server at home and installing SQL Server upon it.
I've been in the SQL and BI (Microsoft largely) game for a number of years now, and want to have my own "no consequences" environment so I can get more into Windows Server and the environment as a whole, as well as SQL Server which I use on a daily basis.
So.... I was hoping someone could help me out by suggesting what it is I need from a piece of second hand used hardware that will be able to run a minimum of Windows Server 2008 (or higher) and SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2012 (Enterprize Ed.).
I want to go down the used server route (Dell, HP etc.) probably bought from the web, and don't mind buying a few drives if it comes without (as they often do). My budget for the box/rack is around £200 ($320) which seems achievable from what I've seen on online auction sites.
Can anyone suggest a model that will meet my requirements please ?
This may sound like a real newcomers question, but I don't want to sink cash into something that won't do the job...
Many thanks, in advance. Lee.
November 14, 2013 at 4:58 pm
On the cheap I'd suggest running any old multicore desktop with a big usb hub that you can present as various drives, with as much cheap ram as you can cram into it, so you can practice setting up a domain with several machines.
Run everything on a VM so you can blow it up without consequence.
Server 2012 evaluation edition which is good for 180 days.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj574204.aspx
SQL Server 2012 developer edition which should be under $100.
April 2, 2014 at 3:45 am
benjamin.reyes (11/14/2013)
On the cheap I'd suggest running any old multicore desktop with a big usb hub that you can present as various drives, with as much cheap ram as you can cram into it, so you can practice setting up a domain with several machines.Run everything on a VM so you can blow it up without consequence.
Server 2012 evaluation edition which is good for 180 days.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj574204.aspx
SQL Server 2012 developer edition which should be under $100.
Agree with Benjamin, here...though I have a DELL R910 and a shed-load of RAM and Storage 😛 ...and being able to create a virtual network domain and play around with VMs of all types, DCs, SQL, SSRS, SSAS, Sharepoint, IIS is fantastic, as I can create snapshots, play around - and possibly screw things up in the process - and then restore back to the snapshot to do it all again. 😀
Edit: do'h :crazy: ...got caught with this being an 'old' thread. My excuse is that I've never ventured into this part of the forum before, the parts I usually view are much more active, and from what I'm seeing I don't think many others do either. :ermm:
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