colinmcmanus

Ok, so instead of going with 3 disks initially I should just go with a parity disk and a single disk of the same or smaller size. So if I want a minimum 3TB I should go with at least a 3TB disk for parity and a 3TB single disk for storage and stretch my budget to make the parity disk as big as possible. Thanks

I'm looking for part suggestions and advice on the build of an UnRAID server that will also be used to run Plex. Ideally I'd like to build a hardware platform that is flexible enough to expand in storage volume over time but also expand to using other features of UnRAID including additional Docker containers and VM's. Budget: £400 approx. excluding storage costs Location: UK Use: Running UnRAID to store media files. Plus running Plex in a Docker container on UnRAID. I would like the hardware to support ECC memory for the NAS functionality. Regarding UnRAID usage, my preference is to build a flexible platform that I can use as a NAS and media server initially but grow both storage and functionality over time to form a home lab. This is likely to include running additional Docker images and starting to play with VM's. The primary role of the server is to provide storage and media streaming. If the budget supports it I would like a hardware platform that I can expand to use as a home lab over time, using more Docker containers and VM's on the UnRAID platform. But if the current budget can't stretch to that I am happy to build a second server later to run VM's etc. Regarding Plex usage. It will be used to serve my archived DVD and Blu-Ray files. No more than two concurrent streams that will be over my home network to Plex clients on either an iPad, Windows 10 PC or Amazon Firestick. I have no requirement to stream files over the internet. Storage: To allow me to archive my DVD/BluRay collection I estimate I will need 9TB over time, though I don't need to invest in purchasing this much storage up-front, the task of archiving the content will take some time. I estimate my initial storage requirement is 3TB minimum, using 3 drives including one to provide parity. I also plan to use an additional SSD drive for cache. Number of drives excluding the cache may grow to 5, so I would like a case with plenty drive bays for future expansion. I envisage using WD Red drives as standard. I have an existing Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SSD that I can re-purpose as a cache for UnRAID. I also have a 1TB 3.5in WD Red HDD that could be used for storage initially. I'm a complete UnRAID and Linux newbie, pretty much all my experience is at the basic end of working with Windows PC's but I'm interested in trying UnRAID as it allows me to provision a basic amount of storage that I can grow over time with some ease rather than having to invest in all the storage I require up front. I'm happy to build something with new parts but also more than happy to use older or second hand parts from eBay etc to keep costs down. Any views, comments or advice on how to initially setup and configure the storage in UnRAID gratefully received. My research so far has focused on an Intel platform, but if an AMD platform could fit the requirements and keep costs lower that would be great.