NAS, 2 Windows Desktoo VMs, and added functionality in Docker Containers (Security Cameras (Zoneminder), Music Player (LMS), Personal Cloud (ownCloud), Home Device Management (Home Assistant)), all in one box.  I've gotten rid of a lot of extra hardware over the years and I'm sure I cut power requirements by doing that.

The awesome community and YT channels (SpaceInvaderOne and Ibracorp)

Two months with Synology NAS (DS920+) with 4- 12tb HDD Nas Pro, was doing the job and had it how I wanted but then in no time, I wanted a server with more performance. What got me to Unraid, a more hands-on approach, a media server with higher performance. 2nd was the beauty of adding any size drive to increase the storage space and more HDD capability. I has been a learning curve, as all this is new to me, linux, command lines, scripts and dockers and etc., but I love it. Now I am trying to implement GPUs for transcoding.

On 10/31/2021 at 9:20 PM, [email protected] said:

What sold me was the way the raid parity protection worked.  It means: 

1.   There is no raid performance penalty.  (ZFS and software RAID have major disadvantages including complexity)

2.  You can mix and match different size disks.

 

-Clayton

 

I agree 100% with this comment.

 

As well as ease of use and stability sold me on Unraid.

Allow the use of SSDs to install Unraid so I don't have to worry about the reliability of USB drives and the picky protocol that randomly disconnects my drive, requiring a reboot and parity check. 

2 hours ago, BWBama85 said:

Allow the use of SSDs to install Unraid so I don't have to worry about the reliability of USB drives and the picky protocol that randomly disconnects my drive, requiring a reboot and parity check. 

Not an Unraid feature so, not really something on which Unraid can be sold.  This is more appropriate for the Features Requests discussion.

Edited April 12, 20251 yr by Hoopster

It is a modular server OS (think RISC) rather than windows server OS (think CISC) with its initial (and core) feature being network attached storage server.  So the overriding "feature" is that it is modular and can be customized to the needs of the owner.  As many videos say if only the storage server component is used then TrueNAS is a generally better choice with sufficient RAM - its stays closer to its intended purpose and is free.  Adding modules does add to the strain on the hardware and management and if too many are added then the owner would find the complexity would be to the level of windows server and that then windows server would have been and will be a better choice - an OS designed to be complex in the first place is more efficient than and OS designed to combine modules.

Hi there,

I hope this message finds you well and in the holiday spirit.

As someone who’s been eagerly anticipating setting up my first Network Attached Storage (NAS), LAN cache, and Plex Media Server—without breaking the bank—I’ve found Unraid to be the ideal choice. However, I did have some concerns about the payment options. Initially, my plan was to use a 256GB Adata SSD as primary storage, paired with 16GB of RAM and two 2TB SSDs in a mirrored configuration to meet all of my needs. However, when I came across your lifetime license offer for $300, it seemed a bit much.

That said, I was curious—do you accept Virtual Cards from Visa or MasterCard for payment?

Looking forward to your response.

Best regards,
Bijesh Amatya

On 11/30/2025 at 10:42 AM, B1jesh3m7ya said:

Hi there,

I hope this message finds you well and in the holiday spirit.

As someone who’s been eagerly anticipating setting up my first Network Attached Storage (NAS), LAN cache, and Plex Media Server—without breaking the bank—I’ve found Unraid to be the ideal choice. However, I did have some concerns about the payment options. Initially, my plan was to use a 256GB Adata SSD as primary storage, paired with 16GB of RAM and two 2TB SSDs in a mirrored configuration to meet all of my needs. However, when I came across your lifetime license offer for $300, it seemed a bit much.

That said, I was curious—do you accept Virtual Cards from Visa or MasterCard for payment?

Looking forward to your response.

Best regards,
Bijesh Amatya

Probably the wrong thread for You to be asking this but the lifetime is only $250.00/USD not $300.00/USD but regardless if You buy or upgrade Your server every 5 years (which is pretty standard from my research) then in 5 years Your license cost You only $4.17/m (rounded up) and Your data stays with You. You then just transfer Your license to the new server and continue on. No extra fees etc leaving You all Your money to do with what You want.

My "one feature" selling point would just be that its Your server so You can do with it as You wish and with proper security Your data will never leave Your control, be used as advertising products/services etc.

You own and control all Your data. That's the real reason I feel people self host their own servers.

Just my opinion though.