essjay

I'm still piecing together the requirements for my unRAID build, VM's etc and one question I still have is temp storage... One of my VM's I'm looking at using is purely for downloading purposes and it will run Windows 7. As the VM will be on an SSD, I don't want to be wasting SSD space with downloads. Is it possible for me to perhaps have a 30GB Windows 7 VM on my SSD but somehow mount a separate HDD in the VM to download stuff to (I have a spare 1TB WD Blue). So maybe use the WD Blue as a "D:" drive or something like that. Or would I have to create a share on the WD Blue and attach it as a network share in Windows 7. Thanks.....

Yeah and I have seriously considered it but.... 1. I don't fancy the risk of shipping a used motherboard across the Atlantic (even excluding the cost of shipping) 2. I'll want to run a HTPC with quite a powerful graphics card. I don't believe this has a full PCIe 3.0 x16 (the x16 runs at x8). 3. I'll need an E-ATX case I think? 4. Will an ATX PSU work with this board or do I need something specialised?

Don't need all that processing power and it will be cheaper to run 24/7 as a single CPU.

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=46077.0 I paid $150 for CPU and RAM. Your remaining $350 would nicely cover a MB and cooler.

Hi guys, When I have my unRAID machine built I'll need to migrate my data across from my Windows Server 2012 machine which is running StableBit DrivePool. The Server 2012 machine has around 12TB of data spread across 3 x 3TB HDDs and 2 x 2TB HDDs. When first built I'm expecting my unRAID machine to have 2 or 3 new 3TB HDDs (most likely WD Reds). Right now in Europe, 3TB drives are still the most cost effective. Lets assume I have 3 new HDDs. So what is the best migration technique when I install the 3TB HDDs in the unRAID box. 1. Configure 1 each as parity, storage and cache. Move across the network to the cache and let "the mover" do it's job. When the cache is empty run the next 3TB. As I free up a drive on the Server 2012 machine, add it as storage to the unRAID box. 2. Install 1 as parity and two as storage and copy across the network. Move the data across the network and drives as they free up. 3. Don't bother with parity for now, assign all three as storage and move just under 9TB over. Take two free drives from the Server 2012 machine and add to unRAID. Copy the remaining data to the array and set one as parity. My end game HDD is as follows: 1 parity (3TB), 4 x 3TB & 2 x 2TB storage, 1 warm spare (3TB). Any better way to do it? I'm wary of doing so much over the network as it'll take an age.....

Hi guys, I have a couple of questions on how the cache drive works when pooling hard drives. Suppose I have the following: 64GB SSD 500GB SSD 1TB 7200RPM HDD (WD Blue) The 64GB SSD is currently being used in my HTPC. I'm hoping to virtualise my HTPC and perhaps use this SSD for the virtual disk. Another VM I'm thinking of spinning up is a workstation PC. I'd like this to reside on the 500GB SSD (and perhaps allocated 256GB to it). I'll keep the other space for additional VM's and/or Dockers. On the 1TB WD Blue I'm thinking of putting on a torrenting/VPN VM so it has loads of storage space. Still 500GB would be loads. What would be the best way to approach this and is it even possible to somehow put the different VM's on different drives and yet provide redundancy (even if I added a second WD Blue)? I'm guessing the easiest solution is a couple of 1TB SSD's but that's very expensive. Secondly, what's the rough write performance of going straight to the array (with parity) from the torrenting VM and not using a cache drive for temporary storage and the mover? Thanks.

Its awesome... you can use it for the unRAID UI... A really cool thing too is that with IPMI, you can launch a terminal window from your browser, and you can remotely monitor the boot process... and you can edit the bios! REMOTELY! OK that's interesting if I can use the on board graphics. It means that a PCIe slot is freed up for other use. Also what RAM are you running on the board (have a link)? A bit concerned I might end up with "unsupported" RAM

Its awesome... you can use it for the unRAID UI... A really cool thing too is that with IPMI, you can launch a terminal window from your browser, and you can remotely monitor the boot process... and you can edit the bios! REMOTELY! OK that's interesting if I can use the on board graphics. It means that a PCIe slot is freed up for other use.

A quick question on Supermicro's X9SRL-F boards. Can the on-board graphics be used for the unRAID UI? Or are they for board management?

Can any share any info on the ASRockRack boards in relation to VT-x and IOMMU. I see in the manual that the EPC602D8A supports VT-d but this is the extend of it in the manual. Intel® VT-d Use this item to enable or disable Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O. The default value is [Disabled]. Also have people been able to assign any of the USB's to VM's, maybe the on-board headers rather than the rear ports.

Great, thanks

Hi guys A quick question on cloning and is it possible in unRAID? So essentially I'm thinking I'd like to build a Win7Pro VM, install all the updates and any base software I need. This VM would then be the starting point for any other VM's I need to spin up in unRAID. Can I create this VM and then clone it somehow? Even just to copy the VM files somewhere and create a new version of it. Will this work? On the other hand, should I create my VM in VirtualBox or VMware Fusion and just import that multiple times (if that can be done) Thanks

Highly recommended bought 2 cpus, mobo and ram from them last week, they shipped fast and it was packaged very well, all parts up and running - all for cheap prices than ebay Great, thanks. Did you get the Nanya or Kingston RAM from Natex?

With all the hype around the cheap E5-2670's I'm thinking I might jump on the bandwagon.... From looking at the numbers, I can get the CPU, 64GB ECC RAM and a motherboard for less than a E5-2620v3 (here in Europe). Here's the parts I'm thinking of: E5-2670 $65 http://www.natex.us/Intel-Xeon-E5-2670-SR0KX-2-6GHz-3-3GHz-Turbo-20M-p/e5-2670.htm 64GB RAM (either of these) $85 http://www.natex.us/64GB-8x8GB-PC3L-10600R-2RX4-DDR3-1333MHz-ECC-REG-p/64gb-(8x8gb)memory-kingston.htm http://www.natex.us/64GB-8x8GB-PC3L-10600R-2RX4-DDR3-1333MHz-ECC-REG-p/64gb-(8x8gb)memory.htm Motherboard - $300 http://www.lambda-tek.com/asrock_rack-EPC602D8A~sh/B2114023&origin=skinflint11.9 Does that all look ok? I think I'm good for virtualisation and pass through. My only concern is maybe the RAM as I see most people tend to go for this RAM at $50 more expensive http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201380486027 They look the same to me except one is much cheaper. The only other issue might be finding a CPU heatsink/fan but I'm hoping this would do as it looks narrow http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0068OI7T8/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=FLARDNMV0EN1&coliid=I219HJG5PJWXN8 Appreciate any input before I take the credit card out.....

From what I can see Natex have the cheapest CPU and RAM ($50 cheaper than Cloudninjas on eBay) http://www.natex.us/Intel-Xeon-E5-2670-SR0KX-2-6GHz-3-3GHz-Turbo-20M-p/e5-2670.htm http://www.natex.us/64GB-8x8GB-PC3L-10600R-2RX4-DDR3-1333MHz-ECC-REG-p/64gb-(8x8gb)memory.htm

You probably want this one if you get a v1 or v2 chip: http://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=EPC602D8A#Specifications 2 x PCIE3.0 x16, 4 x PCIE3.0 x8, 1 x PCIE2.0 x8 Thanks, that looks like a good board. So the EPC602D8A, this E5-2670 and the Cloudninjas RAM could be a good combo. Works out cheaper than the 2620v3 combo I was looking at. The question is though..... When comparing the two, would the 2620v3 be the better CPU for a 24/7 machine taking into account it won't be under that much pressure (close to idle a lot of the time) 2620v3 - 6/12 core/thread, 2.4GHz 85w 2670 - 8/16, 2.6GHz, 115w

Looking to do a build and came across this thread.... Have a question or two.... About the only single CPU ATX board I can find for these is the (happy for other recommendations) http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/C600/X9SRL-F.cfm No PCIe x16 though (x16 slots but x8). Probably not an issue as I'd only be thinking of running a HTPC off one of the slots but would like a Nvidia 960 in there. Is there much of an issue running that card in an x8 slot? I'll want at least 3 cards in there but I should be ok with some x8 cards in the other slots. I was looking to buy the E5-2620v3. Is there much real world difference in the idle power draw of these two chips? I'll go with the cloudninjas RAM.

Hi guys.... I'm looking for a bit of knowledge from the masses on choosing an X99 board for an unRAID build. Mainly going X99 due to cost and availability of Supermicro boards here in Europe. My current CPU of choice is an E5-2620v3. At this moment in time I see no need for ECC RAM but I do have the option on most X99 boards down the line. To start out with I'll be going with a single stick of 16GB, again due to cost, but I can expand later. So X99 boards. There's 5 that I'm looking at but for now here's my use case: - NAS with 8 storage HDD's. - I have some spare HDD's that I'll use initially for my VM's. Can swap these out for SSD's as I see/feel the need. - At maximum I'll need 4 GPU's I think. - 1 for unRAID itself - 1 high spec one for a HTPC VM - 1 low spec one for a not so powerful HTPC VM - 1 low spec one for desktop VM So I may need up to 4 graphics cards. The boards I'm looking at have between 3 and 5 PCIe 3.0 slots. In the case where there's three 3.0 slots, are there many graphics cards available in PCIe 2.0 x1? A quick look on Amazon didn't reveal any. The next question I have is on the number of NIC's. Some of the cards have 1 others have 2. Is this a major consideration or would I be better off buying a quad Intel Pro/1000 NIC and leave all network functionality to that (I already have a single port Pro/1000 so 2 might be enough for now including the on-board one)? With the amount of data in and out I'll probably need multiple Ethernet ports anyway. Other things I'll hold my hand up and admit I don't fully understand. Like how does each board handle lanes and USB controllers. I'll probably need USB control to 3 VM's. So the boards I'm looking at: - MSI x99a SLI Plus ($250) - ASRock x99 Extreme 4 ($250) - ASRock x99 Extreme 6 ($275) - Asus X99a ($275) - ASRock x99x Killer (ATX) ($300) - ASRock x99 WS (a long shot as it's around $70 more expensive) ($370) Any other considerations I should be looking at? I have to admit the MSI is the most attractive as it's the cheapest and has 4 x PCIe 3.0.

Yeah might be interested in this as have an old i5....

So here's the deal..... I'm badly in need of a new NAS as my 4 year old Windows Server machine is getting to retirement age. To make life really easy I'm very tempted by the QNAP 853A/Pro or Synology 1815+. The QNAP is slightly ahead as I'll need to run at least 1 VM but with the Synology I won't have to dump my three remaining 2TB drives. So here's the goal. Can I build a better unRAID machine, including license, for less than the cost of an 8 bay OTC NAS? Looking on Amazon UK the 8 bay NAS are around £630. Requirements: [*]I need to run at least 1 VM (Windows 7 maybe for ease of use). I usually have a dedicated VM/machine for downloading as I can easily run a VPN [*]Motherboard must have at least 8 SATAs [*]Case needs to hold at least 8 3.5" HDD's (I'm looking at the Silverstone GD08) [*]Practically silent so may need to factor in quiet fans [*]As low power as possible CPU wise, is an i3 powerful enough for what I want? How much RAM? Guessing 16GB is loads...... To save money I could possibly scavenge parts from my current server: Asus P8H67 R3.0, i5 2405S (65W TDP), 16GB DDR3. Problem here is finding an old motherboard to take the i5. Also think I have a Dell PERC H200. With the current hardware and unRAID 6, is it possible to run VM's? The CPU is VT-x capable. Really I only need to RDP or Teamviewer onto the VM.

Any update? Did you manage to return the board? I'm still on the fence about this board or the ASRock X99 WS (£260 from Amazon)

Thanks for the tip on Novatech. That review does sound a lot like the issues you are having so maybe it's a dodgy board. I'll follow the thread and see how you get on.

Is the motherboard dodgy? I'm looking at this very same board for a build with the 2620v3 and spotted this review which has me concerned along with your issues http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182959 Where di you get the board from as I'm looking to get one in the UK/Europe?

Hi guys..... I have a few questions on the Supermicro X10SRA-F-O and the benefits of this board in an unRAID system. I spotted this board in a discussion here: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=44393.15. So first up I can't find this exact part number on the Supermicro site. The nearest is the X10SRA-F but no sign of the "-O" variant. Is there an actual difference here? Secondly I see it has a VGA connector onboard. Does this mean that I wouldn't need a discrete GPU for the unRAID console which I would need with any x99 boards? Up to this point I have been admiring the ASRock x99 WS workstation board which gives me the dual Intel onboard NICs, looks like 5 discrete GPU's, ECC RAM, 10 x SATA, a few USB's, COM's if I ever need them (might be useful for some AV kit programming) and so on. What is the benefit of the Supermicro board over this one given it's around 10% more expensive? Is it simply a case that the Supermicro boards are tried and trusted in an unRAID environment? My use case will be probably with a 2620V3 (can get one quite cheap), 16-32GB RAM. Building unRAID for NAS duties, a high performance HTPC (with a 960 Asus Strix) VM, and at least one workstation VM (nothing too intensive though - web development etc). A couple of other VM's here and there for maybe automation/CCTV, torrents etc. Thanks....

I had a similar post in the CPU's sub-forum but bringing it in here as I need advice on all the kit.... http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=45389.0 So what do I want. Essentially an unRAID NAS and to run 3 or more VM's (maybe dockers too), only one potentially intensive: [*]Basic Windows 7 for torrenting and my VPN. Might also run MakeMKV on this. It's just easier to run a VM here and install HMA VPN software on Windows. Think I might need Enterprise for NFS shares? [*]A desktop VM where I can do some web development work. Probably a flavour of Windows but might use OS X. [*]HTPC VM for running JRiver or KODI. This will be the intensive one as I want to try JRivers high quality settings. My NAS will be using 3 x 3TB drives plus 3 x 2TB drives from my current Windows Server 2012 machine. I'll probably add 2 more which I'll use to get unRAID up and running before copying over data. I'd like to use SSD for my VM's and I'll have a spare 64GB one from my HTPC but not sure if that is of any use (might be too small). First I need a CPU. My choices are below: i7-6700K i7-5820K i7-4790K E5-2620V3 E5-1620V3 Unfortunately the E5-1650V3 is too expensive Due to costs I'm now heavily favouring the i7-5820K as I'm hoping of a knock on effect of a cheaper motherboard and RAM. I want this machine to be very quiet so I'll also need a recommendation for a CPU cooler. I need a recommendation for a motherboard where I can run at least three graphics cards or a board with onboard graphics (or CPU graphics) for unRAID plus two for my VM's. The other VM/VMs I'll probably use TeamViewer or RDP to access. I'd like multiple Ethernet ports for teaming or at least assigning Ethernets to separate VM's (if possible). I can of course get over this issue by installing good quality, multi-port NIC's. I'll need a lot of SATA ports but I do have a Dell HERC H200 that I can take from my Windows Server machine if that can be used (or indeed wouldn't cause a bottle neck). I'm most likely using a Silverstone GD08 case which can take ATX boards. I'm thinking 32GB RAM is possibly too much but then 16GB is too little. I'll stick with 32 so recommendations on RAM would be helpful to match CPU and motherboard. I have a Zotac GT730 from my HTPC machine which I can use for my desktop VM so I'll need a good discrete graphics card for my HTPC VM. I'm thinking an ASUS 960 Strix 4GB but I seem to have seen it mentioned that Nvidia cards have issues with audio passthrough. Is this the case as I need to do bitstreaming? May need an additional cheap GPU for unRAID if the CPU/board can't help me out there. To get me started storage wise I'll get two 3TB Reds as they are still the best bang for buck here in Ireland. These will get me going on the storage front. I will need caching SSD's but not entirely sure what to do there. Do I need 2? What size? Assume I could be copying anything up to 300GB over to the storage array in any given day (not often, might happen once a week that I'd do a batch copy to the array). I appreciate any feedback. I only realised today that it's been about 9 years since I last built quite a high performance machine so I'm a bit out of touch.