I'm in the process of moving from Synology to a custom-built Unraid server, and I think I've finally made it to the funnest part: the software setup.  After trying a default Unraid array and determining that the performance wasn't quite what I expected for my main storage share, I decided to go with a ZFS pool (ten HDDs set up as RaidZ2 with two vdevs).  I have two 2 TB NVME drives that I had originally intended to use as the cache for the Unraid array and that the system set up as a mirrored pair (raid 1), but since I'll be using a ZFS pool primarily, I figured the drives would house my Docker apps and possibly come into play when I add on a standard Unraid array.

 

This is where I wanted to check in with the community before I begin installing things.  I never got on with Docker in Synology, and just installed applications directly; the application data went onto the main volume, and while I had NVME accelerators, Synology's operating system chose how to utilize it.  I'd like to give Docker another go, and will probably automate backups of the applications sitting on the NVME.  Since the NVME might not be heavily utilized as a cache, I may be better off splitting the two drives such that one is for applications and one is for cache.  Docker applications I am looking at include Plex, Homebridge, Immich, and a game server or two (think Minecraft).

 

I guess there are really three questions here:

1) How should I structure the NVME drives?  (File system and relation to each other)

2) Is there anything that I should pay attention to when it comes to organizing where things are, or how data is laid out?

3) Is there anything you wish you knew before you started your own Unraid server - things you had to go back and redo, or things that would have made your life easier if you had done it from the start?

 

I have tried to read through a few guides, but I noted that some guides seem to disagree with the way others do things.  That said, if you feel that many of these questions would be answered by a particular guide, feel free to link it my way and I will go through it.

 

Thank you in advance for any advice you have to offer!

I suggest mirroring the NVME drives as well as keeping a backup of the data on your HDDs

 

Definitely keep the appdata and dockers on the NVME mirror.

 

i personally have two mirror vdevs instead of a raidz2 as I found doing 4x 1TB SSDs in a raidz2 too slow. Same capacity but much faster IOPS

 

i keep all my dockers and appdata on there as well as using it for sabnzbd and VMs

Edited March 30, 20251 yr by MowMdown