I'm new here. I bought a SFF PC about 6 years ago to use as a HTPC. After selling my 1030, it turned into an expirenmental box for learning some Debian and Ubuntu and getting used to headless operation. Time constraints mean I am barely more experienced than when I started. Probably 2 years ago I bought the hardware necessary to direct attach a bunch of HDDs via a HBA card. Finally, a couple weeks ago I started on the DAS side of things and I could see my drives in Ubuntu. I was very happy.

 

Based on my desire to use Unraid 2 years ago when I bought that hardware, I bought into Unraid a couple weeks ago with the idea it would be "easier" than building out my needs in Ubuntu. As I read and watch some more videos, I can't help but think that I will be doing the exact same thing on Unraid as I would be on Ubuntu.

 

If my use case is media consumption, photo library, restic backup to on and off site...what am I doing here (for money) that SnapRAID, mergerfs, Docker, and Linuxserver.io containers can't do for me? Is there a time and ease component to Unraid, like I initially thought, that will benefit me (hobbyist with limited freetime)?

 

This is a legitimate question, I'm truly not trying to bash anything and I have an unhealthy habit (not meant to be a part of this discussion) to second guess....well, everything.

 

Anyway, this community appears really helpful and I'm just hoping to clear this mental hurdle and continue on with a hobby that I legitimately enjoy doing and learning from - messing around with computers.

Edited December 11, 20223 yr by NAS-t_Hirsute

1 hour ago, NAS-t_Hirsute said:

I'm new here. I bought a SFF PC about 6 years ago to use as a HTPC. After selling my 1030, it turned into an expirenmental box for learning some Debian and Ubuntu and getting used to headless operation. Time constraints mean I am barely more experienced than when I started. Probably 2 years ago I bought the hardware necessary to direct attach a bunch of HDDs via a HBA card. Finally, a couple weeks ago I started on the DAS side of things and I could see my drives in Ubuntu. I was very happy.

 

Based on my desire to use Unraid 2 years ago when I bought that hardware, I bought into Unraid a couple weeks ago with the idea it would be "easier" than building out my needs in Ubuntu. As I read and watch some more videos, I can't help but think that I will be doing the exact same thing on Unraid as I would be on Ubuntu.

 

If my use case is media consumption, photo library, restic backup to on and off site...what am I doing here (for money) that SnapRAID, mergerfs, Docker, and Linuxserver.io containers can't do for me? Is there a time and ease component to Unraid, like I initially thought, that will benefit me (hobbyist with limited freetime)?

 

This is a legitimate question, I'm truly not trying to bash anything and I have an unhealthy habit (not meant to be a part of this discussion) to second guess....well, everything.

 

Anyway, this community appears really helpful and I'm just hoping to clear this mental hurdle and continue on with a hobby that I legitimately enjoy doing and learning from - messing around with computers.

 

In my opinion, the ease of configuration.

I am like you, I don't have enough time or to spend a bunch of time on configurating stuff anymore.

3 hours ago, starbetrayer said:

 don't have enough time or to spend a bunch of time on configurating stuff anymore.

Thanks. What would you say has contributed the most to saving time by using Unraid?

I find that Unraid falls in the middle between an "appliance" NAS and a full blown built from the ground up Linux system.  A base Unraid install is not very complicated to get up and running, and then you have the ability to configure much more if/when you wish.  If you are comfortable/capable of building your wanted system from a base distro, and have the time/desire to do so, Unraid may or may not be your starting part.

 

I've been running my Unraid server for about 2 years.  I would say the 2 biggest benefits are:

 

1. Ability to use mismatched size drives in the array.  Too many RAID methods have requirements which lock you into aligning your drive hardware in a specific manner.  Need more storage?  Unraid will let you add another random drive, with the only limitation being that the data drives remain equal/smaller than your parity drive(s).

 

2.  The community.  I stop by this forum nearly every day, even though my server continues to run great and I usually don't have an active upgrade or project.  There are so many good people here, knowledgeable on the system (and its issues, at times) who are quick to help.  People writing plugins, creating docker templates, even making new custom case icons and GUI banners, just to benefit the Unraid user base.  This is unlike *many* other tech forums I have visited, where a newbie looking for help is dismissed quickly and a specific technical question may have crickets for a response.

Edited December 11, 20223 yr by ConnerVT

On 12/11/2022 at 4:15 PM, ConnerVT said:

I would say the 2 biggest benefits are

I agree with your points but want to build on them.

 

1. Mergerfs and SnapRAID together perform similarly, based on my understanding, to Unraid. Mergerfs lets you create an array of varying size disks, and SanpRAID puts a parity disk into action. There are differences but I only know one. With SnapRAID you don't have to send new data to a cache, then move to the array overnight to avoid the congestion of recalculating parity; parity is not calculated during write but instead when you tell it to. I think between mergerfs+SnapRAID and Unraid, I'm not sure there is a clear winner unless I start experimenting with filesystems (I think support differs).

 

2. Community is extremely important. Ubuntu, for example, has loads of support out there but for example I haven't seen a Spaceinvader One creating amazing content for this specific use-case for mergerfs+SnapRAID (videos exist, but I haven't seen constant dedication by one user). However, once beyond the storage and parity part the user is just back to using Linux where there are many community options. I wonder if that can also be a negative and part of the draw of Unraid; Unraid is purpose built, maybe with some constraints I haven't learned about yet, that is tamer, but still vast and powerful, and possibly a little bit more difficult to accidentally wreak havoc on my system.

 

I think what I need to realize is I'm in an Unraid forum. While Unraid is undoubtedly great, as many have said, I'm sure other setups are too, also as many have said. So obviously the answer is ask around multiple forums and just dig in. I don't have a lot of time to experiment, but maybe with the proper motivation to learn and a few tweaks I can find time to continue with Unraid and experiment with others to determine my best fit.

 

Thanks for your input. Much appreciated!

On 12/11/2022 at 12:16 PM, NAS-t_Hirsute said:

Thanks. What would you say has contributed the most to saving time by using Unraid?

That I plugged the drives in my server, the OS runs from a USB thumb drive, once the intial configuration is done, you just have to pay attention to the parity checks if they come with errors, and replace the drives.

Configure and forget.

7 hours ago, starbetrayer said:

Configure and forget

I only made sure my controller and expander cards were working and I could see drives on Ubuntu. From Unraid USB utility through mounting and unmointing devices has been super simple. I see that making the array will be the same way. Simplicity - I do really like that.

 

Something about that reminds me of an aspect tying back to community. I had watched a Spaceinvader One video so I knew about the preclear plugin, but the one available was different than shown in the video. A quick jump into the forums and I knew why. The idea that plugins and community apps are tied directly to this OS and community, correct or replaced as needed is a huge benefit.

13 hours ago, NAS-t_Hirsute said:

I agree with your points but want to build on them.

 

1. Mergerfs and SnapRAID together perform similarly, based on my understanding, to Unraid. Mergerfs lets you create an array of varying size disks, and SanpRAID puts a parity disk into action. There are differences but I only know one. With SnapRAID you don't have to send new data to a cache, then move to the array overnight to avoid the congestion of recalculating parity; parity is not calculated during write but instead when you tell it to.

You kind of downplay the difference here but for me realtime parity protection is an important point. For my money I want my data protected the moment it hits my NAS, either by the unRAID array or by a mirrored cache pool. And while i do make use of cache pools, for many of my home usage scenarios writing directly to the array is plenty fast enough.  

3 hours ago, NAS-t_Hirsute said:

I only made sure my controller and expander cards were working and I could see drives on Ubuntu. From Unraid USB utility through mounting and unmointing devices has been super simple. I see that making the array will be the same way. Simplicity - I do really like that.

 

One thing to note with Unraid - If you are using a RAID capable card, you want to configure it as a HBA.  LSI cards typically need to be reflashed for this.  Unraid manages drives by their serial number, and RAID controllers can get in the way, if you would, by not consistently reporting a unique S/N.

 

One of the tasks that Unraid make easy (or even possible, depending what you compare it to) is when, in the future, you need expand your array.  Everyone thinks "I'll *NEVER* fill up all of this storage!" until they do.  Adding an additional drive is very straightforward, regardless of the model or size.  Many times, the new drive you get is much larger than what you built with several years ago.  Even swapping your Parity drive out to the new one and repurposing the old Parity drive is an easy task.

 

 

3 hours ago, NAS-t_Hirsute said:

Something about that reminds me of an aspect tying back to community. I had watched a Spaceinvader One video so I knew about the preclear plugin, but the one available was different than shown in the video. A quick jump into the forums and I knew why. The idea that plugins and community apps are tied directly to this OS and community, correct or replaced as needed is a huge benefit.

 

Ah, the curse of the Internet.  There is a vast amount of information - Some correct, some outdated, some we will kindly say unreliable.  Unraid has been around for some time.  Unlike some old apps I use that haven't been updated in years, Unraid has evolved a lot, with new features to both the system and its add-ons.  It is always important to check when the information you're seeing was fresh.  I suspect you knew that, but good to remind those who might be reading.

3 hours ago, primeval_god said:

You kind of downplay the difference here

Yeah, I really did. Immediate parity protection is extremely valuable. My use case doesn't need immediate parity protection. I do plan to test and see how recalculating parity affects my use. If the affect is unnoticeable, I won't be using cache the same as I currently plan. That doesn't diminish the fact that immediate parity recalculation and protection is critical in certain use cases or just to some people. Users should understand the level of protection they are getting.

 

1 hour ago, ConnerVT said:

If you are using a RAID capable card, you want to configure it as a HBA

I've got a Dell H200e I crossflashed to LSI IT mode years ago. I'm only just now getting around to using it.

 

1 hour ago, ConnerVT said:

It is always important to check when the information you're seeing was fresh. 

This reminds me of clickbait articles that are years old and no longer applicable. Timestamps are the key!

In Unraid, cache isn't an all or nothing proposition.  It can be configured by Share, where each share can be written directly to the parity protected array, cached first then using Mover moved to the parity protected array, or even reside exclusively in the cache pool.  I do a bit of all of these.

 

For my Backup and Media shares, I write directly to the array.  To me, neither are speed critical.  Backup is for the other systems on my LAN, so already limited by Ethernet speed and how fast the client can generate the compressed file.  Almost all of the media is already downloaded and processed to the faster Cache pool, so would be redundant to rewrite it to cache before moving it to the array.

 

Photos, Downloads, Nextcloud and Parking shares I do cache.  Generally small files I will need access to right off or don't want to sit and wait for them to complete copying.

 

On Cache pools I have my Appdata for Dockers, VM vdisks (currently running a small Home Assistant VM ) and a Transcode share (for Plex and Unmanic running on an ancient SSD I had kicking around).  These always reside in cache for the speed.  Keeps everything running snappy.  Anything important gets backed up regularly, so easy to put things back and running in case of failure (equipment or human).

 

The one weakness of Unraid is the speed writing to a parity protected array.  When Unraid was created, everything in the world of computers was slow compared to today.  The addition of cache, Turbo Write (an improved methodology for writing parity protected data), cache pool capabilities, all have helped speed data write speeds.  Out of the box, it is a capable system for most users.  But there are a number of configuration changes that can be made to fit most use cases.

Edited December 13, 20223 yr by ConnerVT

On 12/11/2022 at 4:15 PM, ConnerVT said:

2.  The community.  I stop by this forum nearly every day, even though my server continues to run great and I usually don't have an active upgrade or project.  There are so many good people here, knowledgeable on the system (and its issues, at times) who are quick to help.  People writing plugins, creating docker templates, even making new custom case icons and GUI banners, just to benefit the Unraid user base.  This is unlike *many* other tech forums I have visited, where a newbie looking for help is dismissed quickly and a specific technical question may have crickets for a response.

I noticed this a little before going into my build, but wasn't sure if I was getting ahead of myself as I have many times in the past with communities.  I asked a question on here the other day, and in one hour I got replies and was pretty happy about that. It made me feel welcome early on, and it seems like a place I'm going to really enjoy. It's very rare I ask for help in tech forums because of poor results in the past, and I feel like embarrassed to even ask a question. Here I felt my question could help anyone in the future who might experience my dilemma.  

On 12/26/2022 at 2:05 PM, MedicalDetective05 said:

I feel like embarrassed to even ask a question.

Please don't.

 

On 12/26/2022 at 2:05 PM, MedicalDetective05 said:

Here I felt my question could help anyone in the future who might experience my dilemma.  

It might not always be the case, especially on the Hardware subforum, but if no one answers after a day of two, do not hesitate to ask again in the same thread.

On 12/26/2022 at 8:05 AM, MedicalDetective05 said:

It's very rare I ask for help in tech forums because of poor results in the past, and I feel like embarrassed to even ask a question.

I feel I've been lucky in that regard. I certainly had this feeling plenty when I was younger and the internet was entering homes. My jobs demanded I shed that feeling, so if I don't understand something, I just ask. However, I completely understand your feelings.

 

When time is available, I research with the goal of asking more pointed questions. I also find that writing out the question, then reading to weed through my gobbledygook, helps me better understand the subject and pare down into a concise question - a practice I'm still improving. Some context only matters to me....if someone is going to help me, what information do they need?

 

All this to say, I agree with ChatNoir, please don't feel embarrassed to ask questions. It seems you don't have that problem here at Unraid, so I'm happy you've found a tech community you feel welcome in. Personally, I have also had great experiences at ServerBuilds and Self-Hosted - great content and communities.