Hi,
Yes you can attach two devices to a single IDE port, there should be no issue there. Only possible issue would be to install and run ESX on IDE. Works on all setups I have seen so far, but as with all whiteboxes... Try before you buy if possible. There simply is no guarantee.
For 4-6 VMs I would go for the much cheaper AMD 64 X2 4000+. More than enough speed for a home environment ![]()
I ordered two "complete" systems. I plan to run this in a test setup in conjunction with an EONstor. This enables vmotion and HA and makes a cool testing environment.
Anyone buying the SAS mainboard is not thinking in my opinion. The only reason you could pick this mainboard is the support on the integrated controller. But it is "crippled", and way too expensive. Buy a cheap mainboard (like the one I choose), and then buy "the real thing SATA controller" as an addon. Better performance, better price. The EONstor uses a simple SCSI hostbus card, so any cheap Adaptec will do for me, so buying the Asus with the SAS controller was no option for me anyway.
As soon as I get the hardware, I'll replace one of my current servers (which are both Intel P4-HT 2.8GHz). After that, I just have to vmotion all VMs to the new server and I should have an indication of speed pretty soon then ![]()