Hello! This is my first post after lurking around here for a bit. I've looking into unRAID for a new NAS I am building but I have a few questions I'm hoping you all can help me with.
I guess I should start by explaining my current setup. I have an i5-4590 server running SickBeard, Couch Potato, Syncthing, Plex Home Server, and various other utilities. The storage for all of this is currently held locally on the server (2 x WD Green 3TB, no RAID) and I'd like to change this. I'm running out of space for HDDs, I'd like to get them into some sort of array, and I'd like to just clean it up a bit.
So onto my first question. Currently the server works like this: SB and CP start Deluge on my seedbox > Syncthing on my seedbox syncs with Syncthing on my home server > SB and CP rename and organize the files in the correct locations. This works beautifully and I'd like to keep this setup. I guess my question is, can I keep this setup and just use unRAID like another drive I point these programs to? Basically, I don't want anything but unRAID running on the NAS. I'm fairly certain this wouldn't be a problem, just thought I'd check.
Secondly, when using the two drive parity how many disks are required? Is it like RAID 6 where 4 drives are needed, or could I start with 3 (2 parity, 1 data)? The reason I ask is because I plan on buying 3 x HGST 4TB Deskstars and I actually already have 1. The problem is the 1 I have already has some data on it that won't be going onto the unRAID NAS, so I'm going to have to play musical chairs with the data, clearing up some space on one of my WD Green drives first. This is how I figure this could work:
Current WD Green 3TB (Movies) --> Move data to 3 disk unRAID array (2 parity, 1 data)
Already owned HGST 4TB (non-NAS media) --> Move data to now empty WD Green 3TB
Already owned HGST 4TB (now empty) --> Add to unRAID array as 4th drive (2 parity, 2 data)
So I guess all that's left is to ask about my build (prices include shipping):
Intel Pentium G4400 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor - $58.98
Should be perfect for just a NAS and has ECC support.
Supermicro MBD-X11SSL-F-O Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard - $192.98
IPMI and ECC support.
Crucial 4G?B DDR4 PC4?-2133 ECC ?UDIMM - $26.99
It's ECC RAM and it's compatible according to the Crucial Advisor Tool.
Hitachi Deskstar NAS 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive x 3 - $472.17
Reliable. Not much else to say.
Super?Micro 2U C?SE826 12-B?ay Server ?Barebone w?/ 2x PSU, ?Trays - $284.99
I chose this case for a few reasons. It includes rails and all 12 trays. It comes with a BPN-SAS2-846EL1 backplane which supports 4TB drives (unlike the BPN-SAS-846EL1). And these cases are usually very loud due to their PSUs, but this particular one comes with 2 x 500W 80 Plus Platinum Supermicro PSUs, which from what I've read are practically silent compared to the other Supermicro server PSUs. Considering you can get this case with a working motherboard, 16GB of ECC RAM, and a pretty decent CPU (if not 2) for about $250 this might not be the smartest choice, but I think the rails, trays, BPN-SAS2-846EL1 and quiet PSUs are totally worth it.
SUPERMICRO? AOC-SAS2L?P-MV8 PCI-?Express 2.?0 x8 SATA ?/ SAS 8-Po?rt Control?ler Card - $111.99
I will probably hold off on buying this until I need it in order to make this initial build a bit cheaper.
1m 30AWG I?nternal Mi?ni SAS 36p?in (SFF-80?87) Male t?o Mini SAS? 36pin (SF?F-8087) Ma?le Cable -? Black X 2 - $20.40
Same with these obviously.
NORCO C-SF?F8087-4S D?iscrete to? SFF-8087 ?(Reverse b?reakout) C?able - $15.99
unRAID Plus - $89
TOTAL COST: $1273.49
TOTAL COST LESS SAS CARD AND CABLES: $1141.10
So any thoughts or considerations before I start making this thing happen? I thought about purchasing an old Dell R510 (and still might), but I'm not sure I want to trust a 5+ year old motherboard. Also even forgetting the rails, start factoring in the cost of trays and the savings aren't large enough to justify it in my opinion. Include rails and you aren't saving very much at all.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
