Review on Supermicro SuperServer E300 8D Mini 1U D 1518 by Josh Graham

Day 1: Wow! My 1st real server! LAUGH OUT LOUD. Not really. However, for a home virtualization server with running labs and other machines, this is not a problem. Let me thank TinkerTry.com for helping me with this. If you're like me looking for an Intel NUC for your home lab, go for this. Reason: You can increase the RAM, 6 cores, etc. You need such a cheap power plant for the workplace. Let me say a few more words about my specs: I have the recommended RAM modules (Timetec Hynix IC 32GB Kit (2x16GB) DDR4 2400MHz PC4-19200 Non-ECC Unbuffered 1.2V CL17 2Rx8 Dual Rank 288 Pin UDIMM Desktop - only without ECC comes up to 64GB) which are the same price as Crucial so grab them. I do NOT have a recommended hard drive, but I have a perfectly working M.2 (Samsung 960 PRO series - 512GB PCIe NVMe). I'm running ESXi 6.5 on a 32GB SanDisk USB (small) that is in MOBO. So far it's great. Unfortunately I don't have a 10Gb switch for 10Gb ports yet, but if you want to know, there is an article on the TinkerTry website How to Download and Install the Intel Xeon D 10GbE X552/X557/VIB Driver for VMware ESXi 6 .x works with the X540 which includes the drivers. Let me add one thing: I don't find the fans particularly loud at the moment. I don't have many virtual machines running yet so I'll take a look. There are quieter compatible fans. iKVM (or KVM over LAN) is very simple by default and makes it easy to set up virtual CD drives to boot from ISO images. PS: I'm a network engineer, not a system administrator. I have some advice from colleagues, who know VMware. I should also mention that ESXi 6.5 doesn't work well with Intel NUCs due to Broadcom NICs. And if you use an OVPN server, that's also great for remote use. BTW, that's what I use for my EVE-NG labs that run a lot of devices. Running 20+ Cisco CSR1000v routers on one NUC is nearly impossible (mine might only need 16GB of RAM). I've worked with Supermicro in production and I love them!