Alternative Setup of a VMware Homelab

My planed new Homelab requires a lot of space due to the fact of the size of the components. But what if someone would like to have a Homelab but does not have the space in the office. One option would be to run a fully virtualized Homelab but this is limited to the resources of the computer/laptop. A more costly option would be to use multiple INTEL NUC and a storage system.

Shopping list:

2x Intel NUC i5: Intel NUC6i5SYH
2x Samsung 32GB Memory: SAMSUNG 32GB Dual Channel Kit 2 x 16 GB 260 pin DDR4 2133 SO-DIMM (2133Mhz, PC4-17000, CL15) passend für alle Intel “Skylake” Notebooks mit DDR4 Standard
2x Samsung M2 SSD 250GB: Samsung MZ-N5E250BW 850 EVO interne SSD 250GB (SATA) grün
1x QNAP NAS 4 Bay: QNAP TS-453A-8G-NAS 4-Bay Intel Celeron Braswell N
4x WD Red 3TB: WD 3TB Red interne NAS-Festplatte (8,9 cm (3,5 Zoll) SATA) WD30EFRX
1x Netgear Managed Switch 8 port: Netgear ProSafe GS108T (8-Port Gigabit Smart Managed Switch 8 x 10/100/1000 – desktop)

You can use the standard ESXi (5.5 or 6) images provided from the VMware web site and install it using a USB stick.

As soon as I have all hardware available I’m going to document the complete setup on my web site.