Cache drive size and setup??

[ingeborgdot]

What is the typical cache size most people are using? How many are you using? What setup are you using? Raid 1 or ?

I have an NVME Seagate Firecuda 1TB at this point, but just want to make it right when I get it all setup. This is my first build, and I'm getting it all set and ready to go. 

Thanks.

Edited November 7, 2022 by ingeborgdot

[dandirk]

Short answer: Since you are starting with unraid, you will be fine with 1 cache @ 1TB.

 

Longer answer:  Loaded question, as you didn't give enough info to properly answer.  How do you plan to use Unraid? Though I will try and give you my personal usage/thoughts and what I have seen others do in the forum.

 

BIAS Warning:  I am what I would consider a "power user", someone that knows/desires enough to do some limited tweaking and config with ease of use, simplicity as a priority.  So this means limited to GUI configurations, using plugins and dockers available from the app store.   Avoid manual cfg file editing etc...

 

I would guess most people use 1 cache drive, I do. 

 

There are 2 major uses for the cache drive:

• Speed up, uploads to the server.  The "Mover" then will copy them to the protected array at a time/interval you set.
• Store docker/VM files.   Cache is faster at writes, so if you are running apps/VMs, you don't want them running directly on your protected shares.  So cache is the perfect "home".  Though I highly suggest backing up these files, CA appdata backup is a great plugin!

Cache Size?  Completely dependent on what and how you plan to use your cache.

 

I use a few of the major starr app dockers (Sonarr, Radarr etc) and Plex Server, so I have my docker appdata and any "working"/temp download directories on my cache.  It is common for me to get ~1TB of content a month.  My cache usage fluctuates, right now it's ~50GB, but can get in the 100-200GB range.   I have yet to turn on advanced Plex metadata, but plan to... this will use up more of my cache.

 

The rest is purely for temporary storage of new files I have uploaded.  I personally have my Mover running nightly, so really only need enough space for expected new content for 24 hours.  So this completely depends on how much are you going to upload to unraid and how often you want the mover to run (even then Unraid has the option to go direct to protected if your cache gets full so it's not like things will fail, just slow down).

 

Cache in Raid/Redundancy?   Again, completely dependent on your usage/needs and desires.

Cache content usually is fairly temporary, or small enough to easily backup.  So, a Raid 1 setup is really dependent on how comfortable you are with failure risk.  While Raid 1 will give you redundancy for your cache, do you really want/need it?   AppData backup for your Dockers is most likely going to be enough.  Though if you are running Windows VMs where backup/recovery will be more resource/time-consuming maybe Raid is for you.  Not to mention you do risk any files on cache before mover runs.

 

Raid 0:  Valid option if you are running VMs or other disk performance apps or want to use 2 smaller nvme's.

 

Number of Cache drives/configs? 

I would consider this advanced usage, not entirely required and if you are starting out probably not suggested until you know you need it.

I have seen people use multiple cache drives and even the unassigned device plugin to segment and tweak usage.   Some will have a dedicated cache for those uplaod files another for their dockers/appdata.  Have seen some people use 3 disks keeping VMs on another drive entirely for performance.

 

 

 

[ingeborgdot]

I rarely give enough info when I ask a question on something. I guess I don't know the info needed, but will add that now.

 

At this point, since I am totally new to unRAID, I am only planning on using it as a Plex server. I will probably use some of the arr stuff along the way, since it seems to be what almost everyone is using, especially if they are running a Plex server.

I have a large TV Show accumulation over the years. I have TV shows dating back into the 50's, and up to present day. My movie collection is not as big, but it is filled with movies dating back to the 30's up until 2022. I have collected for a long time, but actually just started using Plex about 3 years ago.

 

If I understand it right, someone said that you can update your movie & TV list to better quality somehow, but I may have misunderstood.  I think I even heard that you can even get more movies and shows by using a program with unRAID. I'm not sure if I heard right, but when I read and watch more, I'm sure I'll find out what was meant by that.  unRaid seems to be well done, and people tend to help one another out without berating them for asking questions.

Thanks for taking the time to give me some good info. Every little bit helps out.

[dandirk]

ah welcome!  If you are looking for a rabbit hole, Unraid and media is a great one to fall into😀.

 

In my opinion the 1TB nvme is going to be plenty for a cache drive as you get comfortable with Unraid.

 

Unraid is pretty forgiving, hardware and setup is pretty easy.  I haven't really had any serious software/config issues in years (well that wasn't my own fault).

 

Installing and setting up plugins or apps (dockers) is about as easy as it gets.  Plex is a pretty standard and simple docker to learn with (at least to get installed/running).

 

Some personal tips:

• Use shares! Read up on share "split level" and "Allocation method" options on the shares.  These determine where and how files fill the drives in your array.  Do you spread files out, fill up one drive at a time? etc
• Think about your media/file organization and use multiple shares (lots of guides and discussions of different methods)
  • Movies
  • TV
  • Appdata (for dockers)
  • Files

 

So get your server up and running, setup an array with a parity disk and your cache drive.  Play around with copies of some of your media to see how things work and the way you like it.  Test out the cache and mover features.  Get the "file" stuff working, then move on to Docker and apps like Plex.

 

Sonarr (TV) and Radarr (Movies) are part of a family of apps people refer to as starr apps or *arr apps.  These are the apps people are talking about that watches your media collection.  Like plex these are apps (dockers) that you install on unraid.  Though I wuold suggest getting your collection and plex running first, those are a whole other rabbit hole

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 13, 2022 by dandirk

[Lolight]

9 hours ago, ingeborgdot said:

I have collected for a long time, but actually just started using Plex about 3 years ago.

 

If I understand it right, someone said that you can update your movie & TV list to better quality somehow, but I may have misunderstood.  I think I even heard that you can even get more movies and shows by using a program with unRAID. I'm not sure if I heard right, but when I read and watch more, I'm sure I'll find out what was meant by that.

Maybe it's just my impression but you seem to be unfamiliar with certain ways of collecting copyrighted material.

Yes, many people around here are using the *arr app dockers.

Just a word of caution.

Depending on the country of your residence this practice can be deemed illegal.

You'd have to make sure to learn all about this method and potential consequences, before blindly jumping on the bandwagon.