First time Nas builder looking for some help and reassurance

[Charizard]

I'm looking to build my first NAS and I would like some input with my hardware decisions and some answers for the things I would like to do. 

 

Hardware:

Core i5 7500T (plan on picking this up this weekend)

Asus z270-p

16gb ddr4 2400mhz

GTX 1060 3gb gpu

Flashed LSI 9207-8i 

1 x 60gb ssd os drive

1 x 14tb parity drive

3 x 4tb drives

2 x 2tb drives

Cooler Master HAF-X case 

 

I primarily plan on using the system as a file server and a Plex server running sonarr, radarr, prowlarr, overseer, bazarr, tdarr, Plex meta manager, qbittorrent, wireguard, and a dashboard UI I see some YouTubers using for quick access and the clean look.   I will probably add some more services as time goes on but this is what I plan on running day 1 when I build my machine. I will be following A LOT of YouTube tutorials settings things up.

 

 

Now that I've listed my part selection and my use cases, I'll start with my questions now. 

 

What would be the best way to back up 13tb of data and redownload it once I build my raid z1 array?

 

Do I have to format my drives in windows before building my array or will unraid do that for me? 

 

Will a 1tb cache ssd be enough for my use case and can i install it a later date? 

 

Is there any way I can use unraid to store and stream dlc files for games like clone hero and beat saber? 

 

When I decide to 10gbe, will upgrading my machine be as simple as a plug and play or will I have to go into my service/plug in settings and update my networking settings manually?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 22, 2023 by Charizard

[veri745]

By 60gb ssd OS drive, do you mean you're going to dedicate that drive to a VM?  Otherwise Unraid doesn't need an OS drive, just a usb flash.

 

14TB parity drive is 10TB of wasted space if you only have 4TB and smaller drives connected,  unless that's what you already have, or you are imminently going to put in another larger data drive

 

1TB cache is plenty, and yes, you can install later

Edited March 23, 2023 by veri745

[Charizard]

8 hours ago, veri745 said:

By 60gb ssd OS drive, do you mean you're going to dedicate that drive to a VM?  Otherwise Unraid doesn't need an OS drive, just a usb flash.

 

14TB parity drive is 10TB of wasted space if you only have 4TB and smaller drives connected,  unless that's what you already have, or you are imminently going to put in another larger data drive

 

1TB cache is plenty, and yes, you can install later

Can I get away with a 16gb flash drive for the os?

 

The drives listed are what I currently have on hand right now. I don't mind giving up 10 tb if it means I get some redundancy. I will eventually replace all the 2TB and 4TB drives with 8TB or larger drives when I see some reasonable priced drives (the Canadian used market sucks when it comes to hard drives and server grade components). 

[itimpi]

1 hour ago, Charizard said:

Can I get away with a 16gb flash drive for the os?

Unraid does not install to a drive in the traditional sense - instead it installs fresh to RAM on every boot from the archives on the flash drive.  A flash drive that is 2GB or larger is enough.

[DrKamp]

Hello.

You already have most in the important info up top (I think).

Just be aware in the choice of your USB. I chose a metal one with 2.0 spec (not 3.0) as they tend to heat less and speed is less important than reliability.

Do also ask yourself how you'll use your cache (Speed up transfer to array - not from), or storing vms and dockers, or both.

Cache (if not redundant) exposes you to a loss of data between the time data is copied onto it and the time MOVER transfers it to the parity secured array.

 

Because I did not need a lot of hard drives, I used 2x 500Gb NVME SSDs for cache in raid 1 (vms, dockers and a few other folders) + 2x old 120Gb SSD( btrfs raid1) for cache use (ie increasing write speed)

 

Hope this helps.

[Charizard]

On 3/23/2023 at 10:22 AM, itimpi said:

Unraid does not install to a drive in the traditional sense - instead it installs fresh to RAM on every boot from the archives on the flash drive.  A flash drive that is 2GB or larger is enough.

This makes so much sense now. I was scrolling through Reddit the other day and someone recommended to install it to the ram but dude never went into any details about it. 

 

On 3/23/2023 at 5:28 PM, DrKamp said:

Hello.

You already have most in the important info up top (I think).

Just be aware in the choice of your USB. I chose a metal one with 2.0 spec (not 3.0) as they tend to heat less and speed is less important than reliability.

Do also ask yourself how you'll use your cache (Speed up transfer to array - not from), or storing vms and dockers, or both.

Cache (if not redundant) exposes you to a loss of data between the time data is copied onto it and the time MOVER transfers it to the parity secured array.

 

Because I did not need a lot of hard drives, I used 2x 500Gb NVME SSDs for cache in raid 1 (vms, dockers and a few other folders) + 2x old 120Gb SSD( btrfs raid1) for cache use (ie increasing write speed)

 

Hope this helps.

 What would happen if my usb drive were to suddenly die?

 

Can you link me to a video that shows how to set up cache drives for services and how to set up another cache drive for increased write speeds? I never knew they were multiple use cases for cache drives besides storing meta data and preventing unnecessary disk spin ups.

[DrKamp]

@Charizard , if you're new to unraid, I would recommand to have a look at most of the vidéos on the SpaceInvadersOne youtube channel.

Before bying the licence, I did 2 things. That's how I work, it might not be the best approach for everyone...

1- Created a sandbox from an old PC, old USB old drives (1 is enought, 2 is better) and the trial licence from unraid. I looked and click everywhere to get a "feel" of the global philosophy.

2- Then, I looked at videos on the SIO (SpaceInvaderOne) Youtube channel for specific topics I wanted more solid knowledge about. During the videos, you come accross terms and concepts that need explaining. Those you need to watch videos about, etc... etc...

 

And when everything was in order in my head, I then started scouring the net for parts (used) except for drives and usb stick), Then build my nas, configured it (still under trial licence, but a new one since it's a new usb stick). When I was satisfied, I bought the licence

 

As per your other question. If your stick dies, if you did a backup (manual, automatic, whatever...) you can transfer the licence to another usb (once a year I think). If you did'nt have a bakcup, you'll need to rebuild your config from scratch. That does not mean you lost your data. But You need to be extra carefull and ask for help in this forum if that where to happen