Juzzotec Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 TKC SERVER NAS 24/7 BUILD Hi guys, just wanted to share my story of success building my first unRAID server. After running a normal desktop workstation with many hard drives attached. I figured out quickly, that no redundancy at all could strike disaster at any time. I came across many raid solutions while searching the web, and after many weeks of planning, I decided to choose the unRAID "Plus License" option. Next came the hardware selection and learning phase which was made easy thanks to all the friendly members of this community. My goals were simple, I needed a solution that could provide: Protection against disk failure Media streaming ability to a dedicated Openelec Box, this includes full BluRay discs, MKV's 1080p & 720p Media streaming ability via DLNA or transcoding on the fly via PLEX or AIRVIDEO Torrent Client addon required Specs OS: unRAID v5.0 RC11 "Plus License" CPU: i3-3225 3.3GHz (Ivy Bridge) Motherboard: Asus P8H77-I RAM: Corsair 8GB 1600MHz LAN: Realtek 8111F Gigabit Case: Bitfenix Prodigy Fan Controller: Bitfenix Recon Touchscreen Fans: Noctua L9i CPU Cooler, Noctua NF-S12B x 2, Noctua NF-P14 Power Supply: Earthwatts 380 System Total: $612.00 Drive Configuration Parity Drive: 3TB Western Digital Red Data Drives: 2 x 3TB Western Digital Red Data Drives: 2 x 2TB Seagate Green Cache Drive: 120GB Corsair Force Series 3 Total Drive Capacity: 10TB Drive Total: $788.00 [glow=red,2,300]Grand Total:[/glow] $1400.00 "AUD" Primary Use: Media Server & Backup Likes: I love unRAID Dislikes: Plugin integration could be simpler via a dedicated manager Add Ons Used: SimpleFeatures • unMenu • Plex Media Server • Air Video Server • Transmission Future Plans: None Photos Angle Interior Front More photos below... http://35two.com/thekidcastro/uploads/IMG_0003.png http://35two.com/thekidcastro/uploads/IMG_0005.png http://35two.com/thekidcastro/uploads/IMG_0006.png http://35two.com/thekidcastro/uploads/IMG_0007.png unRAID Screenshots Main Settings Info In conclusion, I would like to say that unRAID has exceeded my expectations in more ways than one. You see, I was going to settle for an off the shelf solution, such as a QNAP, SYNOLOGY NAS. I am so happy I did not go down this route especially after weighing up the pro's and con's. What sold me on the idea of going down the software/unraid path was the assurance that if any hardware issues struck, my data would not be affected or tied down to that specific hardware. Also, drives could be individually read on any linux distro if required. If the power supply on my off the shelf NAS blows, or another fault arrises, I would be lost. The other reason is "bang for buck", the off the shelf branded QNAP, SYNOLOGY NAS cannot transcode 1080p on the fly to plex running on my iPad etc because they use really slow single core processors and only memory can be upgraded. The i3-3225 3.3GHz CPU in my unRAID build can transcode 1080p without even breaking a sweat. Future proofing is key, I will keep my data forever but my hardware requirements may change when extra space is required. So now I am pleased with how everything is running. I guess the only improvements I would like to see, are transfer speed improvement and a dedicated plugin manager. Overall, I recommend unRAID to anyone looking for the ultimate NAS/SERVER for there important data. Thanks Tom for unRAID and members of the community who create the plugins for us! Justin Quote Link to comment
Juzzotec Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 Total cost? Thanks man, I forgot about that. All updated now in my first post. (Please note, the prices listed are Australian Dollars) Quote Link to comment
blueink Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Very Nice! I was curious if you have tried transcoding more than one 1080p mkv at a time with plex? I'm looking into what processor to go with, but I'm not sure if the i3 will be able to handle it. Thanks! Quote Link to comment
Juzzotec Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 Very Nice! I was curious if you have tried transcoding more than one 1080p mkv at a time with plex? I'm looking into what processor to go with, but I'm not sure if the i3 will be able to handle it. Thanks! Thanks! Sure, I have run 2 x plex sessions at once, iPad and iPhone at the same time using 2 different 1080p mkv's. Transcoding works fine, no stutter and no issues at all. I can vouch for the fact, the i3 is an overkill cpu for these tasks. In my tests, I have seen cpu usage fluctuate from 3%-30% depending on the complexity of the particular scene in a full action movie. I would recommend this build to someone looking for a small nas server, 6 drives including parity and cache. Maximum usable storage is 12TB using 3TB drives, if you manage to source some 4TB drives, you can store up to 16TB. For such a small system, thats plenty for most users. Hope the info here helps everyone, I sure didnt have the full specific info on i3 and plex when I dived into unRAID. Quote Link to comment
caseyparsons Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Nice lookin setup. How do you like that fan controller? I need to get one after adding a few more drives. Quote Link to comment
Juzzotec Posted February 23, 2013 Author Share Posted February 23, 2013 Nice lookin setup. How do you like that fan controller? I need to get one after adding a few more drives. The Bitfenix fan controller is efficient and looks great as you can see. I leave it on Auto and it basically sets the rpm of all the fans at an optimum level depending on the temperature, you can also assign a particular rpm for each fan if required. Its well worth what I paid for it but in saying that, its more aesthetics since you could achieve this task using a normal switcher style fan controller. Those generally only give you 3 steps of adjustment, 700,900,1200 - Which is fine in my opinion as well. Quote Link to comment
tr0910 Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 I'm guessing that you are not able to set the Bitfenix for internet access and control as I only see Windows drivers availabl. It would be cool to have a internet controlled fan controller for unRaid. My unRaid box could shut most of the fans completely off, and then only start them when the drives spin up. But I haven't found a fan controller that I like yet. The Bitfenix fan controller is efficient and looks great as you can see. I leave it on Auto and it basically sets the rpm of all the fans at an optimum level depending on the temperature, you can also assign a particular rpm for each fan if required. Its well worth what I paid for it but in saying that, its more aesthetics since you could achieve this task using a normal switcher style fan controller. Those generally only give you 3 steps of adjustment, 700,900,1200 - Which is fine in my opinion as well. Quote Link to comment
Juzzotec Posted February 23, 2013 Author Share Posted February 23, 2013 I'm guessing that you are not able to set the Bitfenix for internet access and control as I only see Windows drivers availabl. It would be cool to have a internet controlled fan controller for unRaid. My unRaid box could shut most of the fans completely off, and then only start them when the drives spin up. But I haven't found a fan controller that I like yet. Yeah, I understand what you mean. To be honest, I generally leave it on Auto and it adjusts everything accordingly. Its not something that I worry about in a small box like this. As you said internet control is only available through windows and we are all using unRAID. I would call this fan controller excessive, its mainly there to auto adjust per temp requirements and for aesthetics. Those 2 key features are well done. Quote Link to comment
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