Hrridly

Hello one and all just need some advice I have read a lot on Unraid forums regarding the implementation of SSD Cache 2 X 2 TB. This will be a depository for my media files and nothing else. Question as I will be transferring large files involving file values of between 50 to 75Gb per file I would have roughly 44 files in total and numerous other file of varying sizes will I see a benefit using this SSD Cache for my particular setup another thing how do I set this SSD Cache up do I associate it with the share folder specifically and nothing else or can the same ssd be shared amongst other files. If someone could give me a hint I will figure the rest. I just need to know if it is beneficial, I intend to use a 10Gb ethernet PCIE card, with direct connection between pc and server for my file backups. I ended up going with the fractal node 804 pc case, to keep it small and neat don't really want another tower case taking a lot of room so 10 Hard drive X 18TB per disc gives me roughly 130tb with two drives dedicated to parity. Though I will start with only 4 drives and grow it over time as and when I run out of space. I was also glad I was able to log in as things have change since I last visited, I got my account back, thank god for that. Thank you all.

Hello I have been busy buying the bits and bobs to build my server have not completed that process as it will take ma wee while longer to gather all the components. So a question I intend to use the server between the PC & nas with a 10GbE direct connection as both the server motherboard and the pc have both 10GbE ports. Is it possible to connect my unraid server to my PC without internet connection or must the server be connected to the internet at all times. Can anyone explain what is the best way to go about connection the pc directly to my server using a 10GbE connection, what settings would need changing. I have been scrolling through the forums but can’t seem to see a direct answer to this query. Looking for some advise before proceeding with he build.

Yes I believe TrueNas Scale is supposed to remedy that scenario as they are mooting you will be able to add a disc to the array to make it larger in size, though they do not know for sure how it will be implemented as it is a complicated process to go about it it is not point and click so to speak you have to have a degree of knowledge and know your way around the software is what is being talked about saw A video on You tube some place explaining that particular dilemma they said it would be a Synology and Qnap killer, that is how good it is. Yes I looked into TrueNas but as you say you have to start out with all your hard drives suppose I could buy 14 hard drives as I have 5 now thats another 9 I could swing for another 9 hard drives costing £245 a pop as that is all I pay for 18 Nas server grade hard drives brand new with full warranty purchased a Western Digital pro red 18Tb for £255 they are selling at over £500 I love a bargain you see I spend days searching on e bay you do hit lucky sometimes purchased a Western Digital Gold 18Tb for £215. I doubt I would entertain TrueNas for the reasons already explained but it would give you the same speeds or writing and reading as a standard Qnap or Synology device. If they crack the being able to extend the array with a few clicks I think that will sound the death knell for nas manufacturers like of Synology or Qnap or they would have to become much more competitive all of a sudden. We shall see have to keep an eye on developments to see how it all transpires over time, that is all I know about TrueNas and would have no interest in using their software as it currently stands.

Thank you guys for all the information that is some amount of homework I was not aware you could get a motherboard with 14 sata ports that is something which I did not realise you could do I assumed it had to be through the HBA card but now I see that is only for instances when you run out of Sata ports makes more sense now see things are becoming much clearer the more I read into this though I was wanting to end up with the ability to be able to add 24 hard drives maybe I would never ever reach that amount maybe 10 to 14 max is being more realistic. Thank you nasforthemass for that excellent post God bless you Sir you are surely doing everything you can to make this whole process as easy as possible for me. Ok I think I have the grasp of it all I will now read all this information and start planning my build. If I get stuck I will come back and give a hollar. Gees this is fantastic cant believe the help I have received much more than what I expected you are truly fantastic people on here. For that I am feel very humbled. Thank you.

Well kind Sir thank you ever some much for the explanation actually had to read that twice to fully understand it all now as they say the penny has dropped what you are referencing as to what I would want to achieve. I do believe that building my own NAS is the way to go only because these Qnaps, Synology and all the rest of the NAS manufacturers for home use not professional and what they are charging is a total rip off to me at any rate. Anyway without getting side blinded here you are correct I only want a connection between my main PC because that is where I will be transferring my backups import documents, business data, invoices, bank statements, movies, pictures backups my digital life it soon builds up to something very massive it will be a depository with many files named for different purposes. You have opened my eyes about creating these folders suppose I would have wanted to do that at any rate, did not know you can allocate to different hard drives now that is clever this will be a long slog figuring it all out as you have made me aware and you can only do that by delving into it and actually doing it for real in the real world to begin as a practice setup then if I cock up I can just start from the beginning again without losing any data, just to get a feel for how it all works maybe by a stroke of genius it will work first time and no upset. I love building PC’s I love tinkering this is a dream situation I love struggle and figuring out how it all works this is all new to me the world of NAS. I appreciate the reply I really do I can not thank you enough as it is a nervous process as there are a lot of parts to buy. Can I just be a nuisance one more time concerning HBA cards I was thinking of buying the Broadcom 9305-24i SAS Controller then I read you can buy a cheaper flashed for IT mode HBA card and pair it with a expander far cheaper than buying the 24 controller card was going to do it that was to have less pcie cards hanging off the inside of the motherboard. I take it if that HBA card went bad can I buy a replacement and everything should be there or would I lose the whole lot now that is something I have just thought right there, scary indeed. As for connection would I be better to buy a 10GBE pcie card or upgrade to 40Gbe between my nas and pc I ahve currently a 10Gbe on my pc motherboard suppose a 10Gbe card for the nas would suffice now please dont laugh I am only putting that out there would the 40Gbe get me any faster speeds or as you explained it is all to do with the speed of the hard drives but then using Cache will speed that process up somewhat then the cache can do its thing later on at a later time on its own so to speak transferring data to the array. Thats a wrap and now for the very long walk into this whole build will take time picking all the parts only because life is busy and very frustrating infuriating actually but that is whole different story. Thank you for dropping by and the the advice this is what I was hoping for. So thank you to everyone who has replied for that I am very appreciative I truly am as without this encouragement it would be difficult to continue and go it alone.

Thank you I shall go and inwardly digest.

Just to clarify I will be adding a SAS controller so will that slow the array down. Anyone.

Thank you very much for your reply I think I could actually live with that write speed should not be a problem at all it was just I was expecting write speeds of 35 to 56Mbs and obviously that is not the case just needed to have someone say it even though I have been reading the forums for ages trying to get answers. So I will maybe have A go at building my very own Nas server. Will be a challenge and and exciting road ahead buying all new stuff and having the raid array working will be a great accomplishment to have done it for myself. Thank you for the reply thats all I wanted to read. I am sure I will make a big boo boo so will play about with the software before storing data on it to get a feel to how it works before I commit data to it and maybe do something and delete a hard drive or something silly. Great job well pleased. Just one more last question I dont have to write code or anything of that nature to change settings it is a Linux operating system shell like windows desktop point and click. All the very best.

Nice forums guys and thanks for all the valuable advice. I cant really take in how many members gave real good advice on buying a ready made system or going it on my own with unraid but with many reports of slow writes maybe i am better off sticking with a pre built. That answers my question. Farewell folks. Dont be talking about me now ya’ll.

I cant imagine what that must feel like right there.

Hello people and sorry for crashing the party so abruptly so please forgive me if I have posted in the wrong place as I am just looking for some pointers before I either buy a NAS or build my own using Unraid. I was thinking of purchasing the below. These nas devices cost roughly £3000 pounds sterling or $3680. So, I got thinking I could build a system myself will top of the shelf parts for half the money and have a home self-build nas as good as the ones mentioned below. With warranty and unable to repair parts it is a worry what happens when the warranty dies if your device dies so does your data along with-it bad situation to say the least. With a self-build just replace the part and carry on from where you left off well maybe I am sure it is possible. The nas units I was considering buying. QNAP TVS-h1688X QNAP TVS-872X-i3-8G 8-Bay NAS QNAP TVS-872X-i3-8G 8-Bay NAS Asustor Lockerstor 10 Pro AS7110T 10 Bay NAS Enclosure For the past four weeks I have been reading up on Unraid software and the benefits of building my own nas server. I have always built my own gaming pc’s so apart for the Unraid software learning curve should be an easy process you know what I mean when I say easy still a steep learning curve but one which I will learn slowly and just take it bit by bit until I have a handle like everyone else you have to start somewhere. Anyway, I purchased a Qnap TS8753A nas to figure out what they are capable of I installed two m.2 NVME segate 510 2tb Firecuda drives for the cache, and a qnap 10gbe ethernet card to connect to the 10Gbe port on my motherboard as I prefer the direct connection without any internet related connectivity for security and peace of mind so I only need a connection between PC & NAS. I was able to achieve a write speed using the 10Gbe without cache 271Mbs which was disappointing to say the least could not figure out what was going on everything pointed to 10Gbe connectivity as I checked it in the Qnap software and on my PC, everything pointed to 10Gbe active but was not getting 10Gbe speeds might have been the processor on the nas which was an AMD Ryzen™ Embedded V1500B 4-core/8-thread 2.2 GHz processor, anyway installed and activated the cache and it went to 1100MB’S write and 1249Mbs read. So, my question is this before I go out and buy all the aprts to build my nas and I would be buying top of the range parts to build my own beast of an Unraid server that will last me for years for backup of my media movie data, which will be around 65Gb a file will I be able to achieve the write and read speeds of say my Qnap TS873A with cache. Has anyone experience of the maximum read and write speeds using Unraid with conjunction of using a 10Gbe ethernet connection between the Unraid server and the pc direct connection as this is the only situation that is suitable for me between my PC and my nas. Just don’t what to go paying a fortune on a load of electronics to arrive fit them all together to be underwhelmed again as I have read people reporting slow write speeds the Asustor Lockerstor 10 Pro AS7110T promises 1100 write speeds using m.2 nvme though it costs £2299 with 10 bays and is surely way over priced for what it is to say the least. That is why I would love to buld the same server but for half the cost and be 4 times better in build quality than the Asustor Lockerstor 10 Pro AS7110T makes sense right but need the write speeds to be where I wnat them. Looking forward to your reply. I will appreciate anyone who reads my post and replies with a positive reply as I would have to purchase the Unraid pro Pack for the number of hard drives I would eventually be installing into my server all Segate 18Tb Exos hard drives. Sorry for the long post but wanted you all to know my story where I am coming form and where I want to end up. Thank you to all who reply.