Low-power virtualisation platform

[tfboy]

I'm wanting to build a small home lab with a "server" running vSphere and around half a dozen to a dozen VMs.
I could use my desktop if I were to beef it up with more RAM (currently just has 16GB) but would also consider building a dedicated small rig just for this.
My initial thoughts / requirements:

• low power / quiet
• min 64GB RAM, preferably 128GB
• preferably 10GB RJ45 LAN
• Support for local NVMe storage (probably around 1TB)

Maybe I'm asking for too much as some of the above points might be mutually exclusive? For example, if I wanted it physically small, then mATX or uATX only have two DIMM slots meaning 64GB max?
I need to check chipsets too - I really don't need much CPU power at all, they're idling 99% of the time, but do need the RAM. I think most desktop Intel platforms only support up to 64GB unless you go high end. My desktop PC is a Ryzen with an X470 chipset supporting 128GB RAM but it's fully sized ATX. So maybe AMD is the better option here as far as RAM support goes?

I don't need discrete GPU. Onboard would be fine as never connected.

Thoughts?

[DDY]

Ticks all boxes!

25W TDP
Passively cooled
Max 256GB RAM
Dual 10G Lan
ITX

https://www.supermicro.com/en/produc...ard/a2sdi-h-tf

[DanceswithUnix]

If you are running a Ryzen 2700 like your profile says, then is that setup compatible? You could get an upgrade for your main rig, and use the 2700 for the VM farm.

Here someone is running VMware on an X470 board with a 5950X:

https://www.servethehome.com/a-diy-a...enture-vmware/

[AGTDenton]

I'd be more inclined to have a seperate system. Of course it largely depends on whether you're running anything mission critical that if your host went down, in the case of your existing desktop, it would be problematic or not to other devices/household members.

There are certainly mATX boards with 4 DIMM slots supporting 128GB RAM.

I went the HEDT route for a home server. I found the desktop architecture too restrictive.