akguy Posted June 2, 2022 Share Posted June 2, 2022 (edited) Goliath is a planned rebuild/upgrade of my first Unraid server. I discovered Unraid a couple of years ago while looking for an alternative to my Windows Hyper-V server. While preparing to make the switch, I read through the "Fun Things to do with Unraid during quarantine" post on Reddit at (https://www.reddit.com/r/unRAID/comments/fqmuwy/fun_things_to_do_with_unraid_during_quarantine/ My original server was running Windows Server 2019 DataCenter in core mode (no GUI) on a Dell PowerEdge T430 server which I had purchased from eBay. The primary role of this server was Hyper-V, and I had some SMB shares which I used to store backup data on my network. I used several different VMs because I like to tinker with Windows and Linux and quickly be able to fire up new instances, test them, and later destroy them. Disk performance on the Dell T430 was poor because of an unbearably slow RAID controller, but it had tons of RAM and I tried to keep everything running in RAM when possible. Eventually I started storing the VMs on an SSD and backing them up to the HDD, but I wanted the freedom to mix and match hard drives to expand when needed, so I decided to install Unraid to see how I liked it. I installed Unraid 6.9.2 and started creating the setup that I had envisioned. At this point I needed Unraid to primarily host my VMs, store backup data and recovery images for all of the computers on my network. I noticed better disk performance in the Unraid array right away, so I started adding docker images and building up my media stack and shares to add functionality beyond being just that of a normal backup and virtualization server. After running Unraid on the Dell T430 for a few months, I was able to better identify what my needs and wants were for this server, so I bought some additional components and upgraded/refreshed the system which brings me to my current build. To keep costs down, I kept the dual CPUs from the Dell and the 192GB of RAM and moved it all into a new case, new motherboard, and upgraded some of the hard drives. Here is what we ended up with: OS at time of building: Unraid 6.9.2 OS Plus CPU: 2 x Intel® Xeon® CPU E5-2609 v4 @1.7 GHz Motherboard: Supermicro X10DRL-i RAM: 192 GB DDR4 2400 (6 x 32GB SK Hynix DDR4 PC4-2400T DDR4 ECC Server RAM) Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro Full Tower with Window Case PH-ES614P_BK Power Supply: Thermaltake Smart 700W 80 PLUS Graphics Card: EVGA 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti Fans: Stock case fans + 2 x APEVIA CO212L-BL Cosmos 120mm Orange LED Ultra Silent Case Fans, 2 x Intel Corp BXTS13A Thermal Solution (CPU Fans) Extras: PCIe x1 to 19 Pin USB 3.0 Header, 2 x M.2 NVME to PCIe 3.0 x4 Adapter, various Molex Splitters/Adapters, Blank Tray Storage Box Drawer for 5.25" Bay Parity Drive: 1 x 6 TB Toshiba Enterprise 3.5’’ SATA MG04ACA600E Data Drives: 5 x 6 TB Toshiba Enterprise 3.5’’ SATA MG04ACA600E Cache Drive 1 : SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus SSD 2TB - M.2 NVMe Cache Drive 2: SP 1TB SSD 3D NAND A55 SLC Cache Unassigned Device 1 (passed through to VM): SP 1TB SSD 3D NAND A55 SLC Cache Unassigned Device 2 (presently unused): Kingston 500GB A2000 M.2 2280 Nvme Total Drive Capacity: 12 Drives, presently limited by case size Total Drives in Use: 10 Primary Use: Data storage, VMs, entertainment (media streaming), VPN to LAN Likes: Cool and silent operation. Rock solid performance (100+ days uptime) Dislikes: Mid tower size prevents me from using more than 6 x 3.5" HDDs. Plugins Used: CA Auto Update Applications, CA Backup / Restore Appdata, Community Applications, Dynamix Active Streams, Dynamix Cache Directories, Dynamix SSD TRIM, Dynamix System Buttons, Dynamix System Information, Dynamix System Statistics, Dynamix System Temperature, Fix Common Problems, GPU Statistics, iSCI plugin for Unraid Server (unused), My Servers, Nerd Tools, Nvidia Driver, Recycle Bin, Unassigned Devices, Unassigned Devices Plus, unBALANCE, User Scripts, VM Backup Dockers Used: PiHole, GluetunVPN, Jackett, DDNS-updater, Swag, Plaxt, MagicMirror-2, Qbittorrent, Ombi, Lidarr, Sonarr, Radarr, Bazarr, Plex Media Server, Plex Meta Manager, Tautulli, HomeAssistant, Tdarr, Tdarr Node, Firefox, Krusader, Autoheal Future Plans: Make better use of HomeAssistant, upgrade GPU to support transcoding Notes: I really like this server. It handles everything I have thrown at it without fail and hasn't given me any substantial problems that I wasn't able to sort out by research and testing. The Unraid and various Reddit communities have made volumes of data available to help quickly identify and resolve different issues as they come up and it is rare that I have encountered something that didn't have a readily avaialble solution archived on the internet that was ready to be found. I really enjoy being a part of this community. I am still using the GluetunVPN docker in addition to the new Wireguard VPN implmentation because GluttunVPN lets me connect using my third-party VPN provider's different servers and randomly selects a different server from a pool each time I make the connection. When I tried to setup this same function in the VPN Manager of Unraid, I could only enter one peer endpoint instead of a pool of them. I also use VPN Manager to configure my remote access tunnels so my mobile devices and other computers can connect to the LAN while I'm on the road, but I find that the combination of the docker image and VPN Manager best suits my needs. The server has two onboard gigabit ethernet ports which I have connected to my router which is firewalled behind my ISP's 2 gig internet connection. Using Unraid and my Plex stack, I have been able to save the $15 each month that a Spotify subscription used to cost and I can stream my own music to my car through Android Auto and Plexamp to listen to ad-free music as I drive. This alone makes my Unraid server worthwhile, and I justify the expenses because it will have fully paid for itself within about 10 years as long as nothing needs to be replaced or upgraded. I am always on the lookout for new and fun things to do with this server, and haven't found a way to max it out, so I am open to suggestions or ideas if anything stands out that I have missed. The upgrade from 6.9.2 to 6.10.0 and then 6.10.1 and finally 6.10.2 went off without a hitch. I read the release notes and didn't encounter any issues. I'm sorry that the photos below are a bit dark and dusty but I wanted to take them without shutting down the server so this is the best I could do. https://imgur.com/a/nBCZJJk Edited June 2, 2022 by akguy Add main photo 5 Quote Link to comment
doobyns Posted June 13, 2022 Share Posted June 13, 2022 great server, how is power consumption in idle and at full load ? Quote Link to comment
akguy Posted June 28, 2022 Author Share Posted June 28, 2022 On 6/13/2022 at 10:29 AM, doobyns said: great server, how is power consumption in idle and at full load ? I just bought an smart plug energy meter and will update this post after I have run it for a bit of time and have power consumption numbers for you. Quote Link to comment
akguy Posted July 9, 2022 Author Share Posted July 9, 2022 It's averaging about 125 watts when idle. Peak usage was 229 watts. Over the past week, it has averaged about 2.6 kWh per day. Quote Link to comment
craigr Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 (edited) On 7/8/2022 at 9:33 PM, akguy said: It's averaging about 125 watts when idle. Peak usage was 229 watts. Over the past week, it has averaged about 2.6 kWh per day. That's much lower than I would expect! Awesome! Do you have a UPS? What does it say you are using in the unRAID info bar (or whatever it's called) on the bottom of the web GUI? Below power usage is with opnSense downloading at 300 MB/s (not a typo) and NZBGet is unpacking a 10GB file. Nice build. I'd like more cores, but I haven't been willing to jump to two CPU's due to power consumption, but your server doesn't use much more than mine at idle. Granted, I'm running opnSense and that can be CPU intensive. Also, 20x spinners and 5x SSD's adds up to when they are active. I could do without all the RGB s*it, but to each his own 😜 craigr Edited October 15, 2022 by craigr details Quote Link to comment
akguy Posted October 19, 2022 Author Share Posted October 19, 2022 On 10/15/2022 at 8:31 AM, craigr said: Do you have a UPS? What does it say you are using in the unRAID info bar (or whatever it's called) on the bottom of the web GUI? Below power usage is with opnSense downloading at 300 MB/s (not a typo) and NZBGet is unpacking a 10GB file. craigr Mine shares a UPS with another computer, my router, modem, VOIP, and some other devices so when the power goes down I have about 8 minutes to haul ass and get everything safely shut down because I haven't figured out how to have Unraid shut down automatically (or become aware of the power outage) yet. How do you get that power consumption info in the info bar? Mine doesn't have that at all and I wonder if it is because your server is aware of the UPS, but mine is not. I get my power usage stats from the smart plug I have the server connected to. Quote Link to comment
craigr Posted October 19, 2022 Share Posted October 19, 2022 (edited) Depending on your UPS and whether or not it's buggy with unRAID you have two options to monitor power and shutdown unRAID. This first is built in; Settings > UPS Settings: That worked for me until I upgraded my UPS and unRAID thought the UPS was disconnecting multiple times each day. I then switch to the app call NUT which you may download and install through community applications. It has more capabilities and has worked much better for me: Both are pretty easy to setup and use. Enjoy and let me know! Edited October 19, 2022 by craigr Quote Link to comment
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