Need advice for my first time on Media & File Server NAS build (UNRAID, 10Gbps, 4K Sreaming)

[tomjal]

Hi, I'm looking for advice and feedbacks for my upcoming UNRAID NAS setup. Before I ask the questions, I'm gonna share my intention for the setup, the specs, last, the reasons I chose those specs and the questions releated.

 

First, my intention are to use this as Plex Media Server, 4K streaming across the house, and file server for 4K Video Editing and Audio Productions. I aim this setup for a long long term use, like 5-10 years, then maybe i'll upgrade the GPU along the way if I need. Also, based on my work and data usage management, I need at least 50+ TB to start, and I will definitely add more drives 

 

Second, the specs are:

1. Processor: Intel i7-4790K.
2. MB: ASUS Z97-K : 4xSATA ports (the other 2 ports are unusable because i'm using the M.2 port for cache), 1xM.2, 2xPCIEx16 (1 for GPU, 1 for 10Gbps Ethernet card), 2xPCIEx1 (Both for SATA card, 4 HDD each Card), 2xPCI (Both for SATA card, 2 HDD each). **The PCIe x1_1 and PCIe x1_2 slots share the bandwidth with the PCIe x16_2(@x4) slot.
3. RAM: 8GBx4 DDR3 2400 MHz (I have no other reason than this is the capacity I have from my previous setup)
4. GPU: MSI 1060 3GB
5. ETHERNET: Intel X540-T2 10Gbps
6. SATA Cards: Both PCIEx1 and PCI cards are from my area's marketplace, if you want to suggest any brand or type, please do.
7. M.2 : WD Black SN850 - 500GB (This is for cache, if you think the size is overkill, please let me know).
8. HDD : 16x10TB Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM ST10000DM007 (2 are for Parity. And, I won't start by filling all of them at once, I'll start from 6, and will add more as I need more.
9. OS: UNRAID OS (USB 3.0 Flash Drive)

 

Third, my reasons and questions:

1. I need that GPU to transcode my 4K streamings, and that what I currently have. I've googled something and I learned that this GPU might be able to do atleast 2x4K streams simultaneously, is this true?
2. Earlier, I wanted to buy an SAS card instead, I think this card is much faster and could provide me with 8 SATAs out of the box. The problem is, if I use this, I wouldn't be able to use my 10Gbps Ethernet card, and that's why I decided to use PCIEx1 and PCI cards instead. My questions are: Based on the speed of PCIEx1(2.5Gbps) and PCI(1.3 or 2.6Gbps), would I bottleneck my HDD speeds? Do you have any other ideas for the better HDD setup? or maybe I should not use all the SATA ports instead to reach max speed? or maybe, it doesn't really matter at all anyway? I really need an enlightment for this.
3. Is there anything else I need to add or remove for a better performance, or maybe a better setup.
4. Will it be enough for me to use the data to edit 4K?

 

That's all, maybe I'll add more questions if I do have more. Thank you so much in advance!

[chadskie]

Quick question on your 4K streaming intentions.. If you're using this as a Plex server for 4K streaming throughout the house and not outside your LAN, then why are you wanting to transcode the 4K files? Wouldn't you want to stream the best quality possible if it's all at home? Just trying to understand why you're wanting to transcode.

 

Can't offer any help for your other questions. Sorry!

[tomjal]

On 4/24/2022 at 7:21 AM, chadskie said:

Quick question on your 4K streaming intentions.. If you're using this as a Plex server for 4K streaming throughout the house and not outside your LAN, then why are you wanting to transcode the 4K files? Wouldn't you want to stream the best quality possible if it's all at home? Just trying to understand why you're wanting to transcode.

 

Can't offer any help for your other questions. Sorry!

 

Because I don't know what other option I have to stream it to my TV from the server. Is there any other way? Yes, the tvs are connected to LAN, and i'm planning to connect them via Chromecast. What do you think?

[ConnerVT]

It isn't as no one wants to answer your question.  It is that it is impossible to answer, without knowing much more information, and then, it becomes a best guess.  The devil is in the details.

 

It is like answering the question, "I need to bring some stuff to a friend's house.  What do I need to take it there?"   Without knowing what you are bringing, or how far it need travel, the question can't be answered.  Will it fit in your pocket?  Is your friend far away?  You may be able to walk it over to him, you may need to put it in your car, or you may need a semi-trailer truck.  Without details, no one can begin to guess.

 

There are basically 3 ways a media file gets sent to a display - Direst Play, Direct Stream, or Transcoded.  Each has a different load that is put on the media server.

 

Direct Play, Direct Stream, Transcoding Overview

 

A modern smart 4K TV, using a native app, will direct play or stream most 4K media files without transcoding (those that don't are 4K files that may have been created with some uncommon methods).  Your listed server hardware should be able to handle this easily, as it is basically just moving a file from one place (the server) to another (the TV).  This is especially true if the TV (or display adapter such as an Apple 4K TV, Roku, etc) are connected to your network via wired LAN.  It also applies if using WiFi, as long as the load on your WiFi isn't overloaded with other traffic.

 

Transcoding does need more server work, as it is basically shrinking the file (compressing it) to be smaller, or into a different format.  This is needed if you are sending the data over the internet (watching a movie at a friend's house) or to a TV or device that doesn't support the format the video file is encoded.  Plex will do this either in software (by your CPU) or with external hardware (GPU + Plex Pass).

 

Software encoding works fine, especially for 1 or 2 users at the same time (assuming light/normal server usage, not running a busy commercial web server or such).  The i7-4790K, while an older CPU, should be enough for two people to easily watch Direct Play or Stream at home, or transcode the movies on the fly.

 

A note, real time (on-the-fly) transcoding 4K down to a smaller resolution is *never* a pleasant thing to do, regardless of how much hardware you throw at the task.

 

So it basically comes down to evaluating what display hardware you have, and how you plan to consume your media.  Then you can evaluate what is needed in your server.

 

Edited April 25, 2022 by ConnerVT
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