[Cysquatch]

I'm curious how intensive or possible a setup like this would be for home use? I'm getting to the point where my kids are needing their own PC's for school. I like the idea of setting up the vm environment once, the extra security, and control over their environments. Is this plausible? Also would it be possible to setup a VPN along with this? This way I can setup another thin client for my parents, for the light computer tasks they do. I'll admit I have very little knowledge when it comes to this aspect of computing. This may be way uneconomical, or not possible. Some input, advice, or reality check would be great.

 

[o1dschoo1]

I'm curious how intensive or possible a setup like this would be for home use? I'm getting to the point where my kids are needing their own PC's for school. I like the idea of setting up the vm environment once, the extra security, and control over their environments. Is this plausible? Also would it be possible to setup a VPN along with this? This way I can setup another thin client for my parents, for the light computer tasks they do. I'll admit I have very little knowledge when it comes to this aspect of computing. This may be way uneconomical, or not possible. Some input, advice, or reality check would be great.

Depends on how fast you want it to be. 2 cores and 4-6gb of ram per vm is my usual go to for web browsing and light work/multitasking. Anything more 4-6 cores and 8+gb of ram.

 

[o1dschoo1]

Let's say you need 6 vms. A dedicated machine running 32-64 gb of ram any 10-12core cpu should do. That 4-6 gb of ram advice is to give them head room for multitasking. 2 cores might be a lil slow but depends on how far you wanna go honestly.

 

[Cysquatch]

Realistically I would think 4 vm's max. Even then I don't think all users would be active at the same time, This is assuming the servers resources are balanced between vm's. Are you aware if I would be able to setup a VPN to allow usage of the server from outside my home network?

 

[o1dschoo1]

Realistically I would think 4 vm's max. Even then I don't think all users would be active at the same time, This is assuming the servers resources are balanced between vm's. Are you aware if I would be able to setup a VPN to allow usage of the server from outside my home network?

That idk anything about. So if you only have 4 vms up at any given time max that would make it alot easier. Still need 32gb of ram and a 8-10 core.

 

[Cysquatch]

That idk anything about. So if you only have 4 vms up at any given time max that would make it alot easier. Still need 32gb of ram and a 8-10 core.

I asked one of my IT buddies and he confirmed that it is possible to setup a vpn and that user to use my server. The next question is, would it make sense to stick with enterprise hardware? or just still with regular consumer stuff? Is it worth using ssds? Or is too much speed lost through the the vm's?

 

[o1dschoo1]

I asked one of my IT buddies and he confirmed that it is possible to setup a vpn and that user to use my server. The next question is, would it make sense to stick with enterprise hardware? or just still with regular consumer stuff? Is it worth using ssds? Or is too much speed lost through the the vm's?

I mean a 1tb ssd is 80 bucks a nvme ssd 1tb 130 bucks. I wouldn't go enterprise hardware as any intel 10 core will cut it. But imma be honest either way you cut it it's not gonna be a cheap build.

 

[ymetushe]

It sounds like you like the solution but are looking for a problem to implement the solution against. Just my opinion. Based on the question you ask, does not sound like you have a very good understanding of it. It's a fairly hard-core IT solution, and I'm afraid you either have a very steep learning curve to climb or will be bewildered by a host of issues along the way.
I would get a laptop or chromebook for kids. It's entirely feasible they will need to take it to school soon if not now. Something cheap.
For parents, I do an AIO. They're cheap enough, starting at $100-200 for a ready to go out of the box deal, and you have a clean solution with the monitor, webcam, speakers, no extra wires to tangle up.
You can still monitor kids on network level, more centralized that way and can encompass any mobile devices.
You can have this whole problem resolved for the cost of an 8-core CPU and 32gb of RAM alone. Hope this helps.

 

[Cysquatch]

I think this build would be reasonable? For the price I can always make a cut with the amount of ram

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/W6XpNP

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT 3.8 GHz 12-Core Processor ($479.00 @ Walmart)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial P1 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($209.00 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 275R Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic PRIME Fanless 450 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular Fanless ATX Power Supply ($126.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1444.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-15 17:39 EST-0500

 

[o1dschoo1]

It sounds like you like the solution but are looking for a problem to implement the solution against. Just my opinion. Based on the question you ask, does not sound like you have a very good understanding of it. It's a fairly hard-core IT solution, and I'm afraid you either have a very steep learning curve to climb or will be bewildered by a host of issues along the way.
I would get a laptop or chromebook for kids. It's entirely feasible they will need to take it to school soon if not now. Something cheap.
For parents, I do an AIO. They're cheap enough, starting at $100-200 for a ready to go out of the box deal, and you have a clean solution with the monitor, webcam, speakers, no extra wires to tangle up.
You can still monitor kids on network level, more centralized that way and can encompass any mobile devices.
You can have this whole problem resolved for the cost of an 8-core CPU and 32gb of RAM alone. Hope this helps.

I agree. I mean even if he gets lucky and gets a hell of a deal it's still gonna be a 600 dollar build minimum. And by a hell of a deal a 7900x or better with board. I'd say amd CPUs are out of the equation as anything ryzen is gonna cost you a ton.

 

[o1dschoo1]

I think this build would be reasonable? For the price I can always make a cut with the amount of ram

PCPartPicker Part List: Unavailable

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT 3.8 GHz 12-Core Processor ($479.00 @ Walmart)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial P1 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($209.00 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 275R Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic PRIME Fanless 450 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular Fanless ATX Power Supply ($126.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1444.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-15 17:39 EST-0500

That's a beastly unit lmao. I mean if you can drop that kinda cash sure. I figured you would wanna stay fairly cheap. I'm not sure how vmware plays with amd setups as Ive never used it with my amd setups.

 

[Cysquatch]

It sounds like you like the solution but are looking for a problem to implement the solution against. Just my opinion. Based on the question you ask, does not sound like you have a very good understanding of it. It's a fairly hard-core IT solution, and I'm afraid you either have a very steep learning curve to climb or will be bewildered by a host of issues along the way.
I would get a laptop or chromebook for kids. It's entirely feasible they will need to take it to school soon if not now. Something cheap.
For parents, I do an AIO. They're cheap enough, starting at $100-200 for a ready to go out of the box deal, and you have a clean solution with the monitor, webcam, speakers, no extra wires to tangle up.
You can still monitor kids on network level, more centralized that way and can encompass any mobile devices.
You can have this whole problem resolved for the cost of an 8-core CPU and 32gb of RAM alone. Hope this helps.

Thanks for your input. I have a fair bit of understanding of what it would take, but I am far from a professional. I'm fine with a learning curve. Laptops and all in one pcs are great solutions for what I need. I find this route very interesting, It would be a fun project. Best part is if I get in over my head, or it doesn't get used, or its a disaster the hardware can be repurposed very easily.

 

[Cysquatch]

That's a beastly unit lmao. I mean if you can drop that kinda cash sure. I figured you would wanna stay fairly cheap. I'm not sure how vmware plays with amd setups as Ive never used it with my amd setups.

I wouldn't be entertaining this idea if I was pinching pennies. I will look further into amd with vmware, valid concern!

 

[Mr.N00bLaR]

Right now I run a supermicro based haswell esxi server. I've created VMs with GPUs passed through to create gaming VMs or just VMs with a dGPU. I've never gotten into deploying TCs though. Would be interesting.

 

[julianksb]

I have about the same setup at home and it is used by 7 people. I can say that this was not difficult to deal with, given that I have almost zero experience in this area. My system is also used by parents and children, and the level of protection is excellent. I used the latest vmware version on the advice of a friend who works with it. He helped me at the initial stage and then I did all the settings myself. In addition, there are several useful features that I didn't even know existed and that make the whole process much more convenient. I think you can also try this option. If you have any questions, I can help you.