I currently run a Windows PC as a Plex server.
It serves me well for my specific needs but someone has recommended UnRaid.

Here's some background information:

• I backup DVDs and such on our Family PC and transfer them to the Plex PC and update Plex Libaries.
  

• As the Plex PC has 20TB+ of space, I have been thinking of transferring my torrent application to the same PC instead of having both computers on at the same time.
  

• Currently I do not use any Radarr, Tadarr et al but I am interested in getting them set up if I can.
  

• The Torrent and arr operation would be on a separate hard drive to where the films / TV series are stored.
  

• I currently do not have a Plex Pass and do not share media outside of the home. This may change but currently, no.
  

• I don't know ANYTHING about dockers, what they are, how they work or how useful they would be for me.
  

• I have very limited knowledge of the arrs. The only one I have set up on my Family PC (which monitors the Plex PC) is Sonarr, which sort of works but it reports some TV series are missing items when they're not. That may be my config of the Sonarr.
  

• The Plex PC is fairly simple with no graphics card, Intel CPU. I also have pretty much no programs on that PC as most of the work is done on the Family PC before transferring the files.

I guess what I am looking at is whether UnRaid will give me much difference to what I have now or is it just a fun tech way with ultimately the same output?

I don't see the need to merge different hard drives in to one large storage, so that isn't particularly a selling point - I don't mind organising my own media into folders on each hard drive.

I have always used Windows so moving to something else would be brand new learning - even something as simple as copy/paste. At the moment, spare time in life is hard to find. If the reward isn't much different, the work to get there may not be worth it but I am open to it and learning, especially as I am still keen to get torrent activity and the arrs properly running on the Plex PC.

I want UnRaid to be worth it but I also don't want to risk breaking what I have now.

As a side question, if I was to make the move, could I also run PiHole on this same machine (I guess in a docker)?

EDIT: Figured out this will cost at least £350 for me to make the move as my hard drive is 3/4 full but un-raid will want to format it (understandable). That means I'd have to buy a new hard drive (yes, another 20TB one) and format that, then move all the data across - I guess by putting the OG hard drive in a Windows machine and transferring the data over the network. Plus, not sure how much RAM is in the Plex PC but I suspect it'll be 8GB or 16GB, probably the former. Not sure if that's enough for UnRaid and with high RAM prices at the moment... the whole thing seems like a lot of money for not much gain. Hmm. Will still never say never though as the arrs may be easier to set up using Dockers instead of on Windows.

Edited January 4Jan 4 by NewUser123

On 1/4/2026 at 1:23 AM, NewUser123 said:

I currently run a Windows PC as a Plex server.
It serves me well for my specific needs but someone has recommended UnRaid.

Is there a particular need you are trying to address that may be solved by using Plex on Unraid, or, was it just a general suggestion that Unraid is a good place to run Plex?

I have run Plex on Unraid for many, many years; however, there are specific reasons why this works for me.

• I make my server available 24x7 remotely to all my children and their families. My Unraid server is the repository for the collection of all their DVDs and Blu Ray content

• I have have a couple of HDHomeRun (6 total tuners) integrated with Plex which allows everyone to watch OTA TV through my Plex server. There are some OTA content they want to watch but some live in poor OTA reception areas.

• Decades of family videos and photos are stored on Plex

• I use only the iGPU in my Intel CPU for Plex video transcoding into RAM on Unraid server

• Remote access, HDHomeRun integration and hardware transcoding require a Plex Pass (I have a lifetime pass)

I also do not use any of the -arrs. Unraid shares for me are a repository of DVDs/Blu Ray disc content and recorded OTA programs which are accessible through Plex.

I knew nothing about Linux or Docker when I started with Unraid. It is really quite easy to pick up.

The Docker logo gives you a good idea what it is all about. The Docker infrastructure is like a container ship. Individual docker "applications" are like containers on the container ship. The contents of one container (Plex, the -arrs,, etc.) can be completely isolated from one another or, they can interact if you want them to do so. The container ship (Docker infrastructure) is on the ocean of the host OS (Unraid or OSes where Docker runs). If a container on the ship breaks open, its impact on the ocean is very minimal or non-existent. Docker helps isolate individual container issues from the host OS.

It sounds like your current setup is working for your current Plex needs. Moving to Unraid will give you an easier way to manage it all and a better path to expand easily into other uses should that need arise. I do not think it is imperative to move to Unraid for Plex given your current needs, but, it is a lot more fun and easier to manage.

I run all of my self hosted stuff from UnRaid including Plex and Jellyfin