Living Legend Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 First time poster here. I was directed here from the XBMC forums as I plan on creating an unRAID server to host all of my media storage. This is my first question, and I'm sure many more to follow. If I have another PC on the network that can handle the downloading of files directly to the unRAID server, will there be a need to have the server itself be anything more than hard drives with low level motherboard, CPU, RAM, etc.? I'm assuming there's minimal need for all the additional add-ons if my primary purpose for the unRAID server is store the media and to serve the clients throughout my home? The add-ons are for people who are looking to use their unRAID setup as something more than a network storage device, correct? All of these additional add ons create abilities that my regular computer on my network will already be able to handle, correct? Hope my questions are clear and look forward to hearing back so I can begin to piece out my build! Link to comment
trurl Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 There are some useful functions currently implemented as addons that cannot be handled from a client machine. UPS support is probably the most important of these. Link to comment
vl1969 Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 First time poster here. I was directed here from the XBMC forums as I plan on creating an unRAID server to host all of my media storage. This is my first question, and I'm sure many more to follow. If I have another PC on the network that can handle the downloading of files directly to the unRAID server, will there be a need to have the server itself be anything more than hard drives with low level motherboard, CPU, RAM, etc.? I'm assuming there's minimal need for all the additional add-ons if my primary purpose for the unRAID server is store the media and to serve the clients throughout my home? The add-ons are for people who are looking to use their unRAID setup as something more than a network storage device, correct? All of these additional add ons create abilities that my regular computer on my network will already be able to handle, correct? Hope my questions are clear and look forward to hearing back so I can begin to piece out my build! the add-ons are there to provide some functionality that is not part of the basic setup. you can get away with a low power setup but there are limits. as an example: you will need or want an add-on like SCREEN and S.N.A.P. you use screen to allow multi session disk preclearing and session independent disk preclearing if you start the script via telnet. you use SNAP to mount a disk outside of array for access and/or data copy with in your server. you might want to use plugin for UPS power management, so in case of power failure the server can be shutdown cleanly. for all that you will need "unMenu" plug-in as well. that said, even with all those extras you can still use relatively low-power machine. I say any dual-core CPU with 2GB RAM will suffice. you might even be able to get a way with single core CPU. keep in mind that you do not have to live with the setup for ever. the beauty and strength of the unraid is that if you want/need to upgrade you just get the hardware you want, put it together, move your drives and boot from the your usb stick and you are done. on the same note, I would really take my time to think about what my needs are for near and distant future and go from there. things as simple as how many hard drives do I need/want will affect your motherboard/CPU/RAM choice greatly, as well as PSU and case selection. good luck. Link to comment
TheWombat Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 I used my UnRaid for media storage plus: 1) secondary backup location for our digital photos from Synology NAS 2) Plex Media Server The addons I run are: A) UPS in case of power cuts B) unmenu for UI and package management C) SMTP addon to email me if there is a disk failure Other than PMS I was fine with a low power CPU HTH TheWombat Sent using Tapatalk Link to comment
Living Legend Posted August 13, 2013 Author Share Posted August 13, 2013 I used my UnRaid for media storage plus: 1) secondary backup location for our digital photos from Synology NAS 2) Plex Media Server The addons I run are: A) UPS in case of power cuts B) unmenu for UI and package management C) SMTP addon to email me if there is a disk failure Other than PMS I was fine with a low power CPU HTH TheWombat Sent using Tapatalk Why run Plex off your server instead of off a HTPC? I'm guessing it's just to consolidate and save money? Link to comment
vl1969 Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 I used my UnRaid for media storage plus: 1) secondary backup location for our digital photos from Synology NAS 2) Plex Media Server The addons I run are: A) UPS in case of power cuts B) unmenu for UI and package management C) SMTP addon to email me if there is a disk failure Other than PMS I was fine with a low power CPU HTH TheWombat Sent using Tapatalk Why run Plex off your server instead of off a HTPC? I'm guessing it's just to consolidate and save money? you would run Plex Server from server and Plex Client form PC, why not ? also you run your server 24/7 anyway but some people put the HTPC to sleep. otherwise you n=might need to run 2 machines 24/7 I personally am building a virtual server right now so I can run unraid in VM + a bunch of other VMs to spread the load. and be able to turn my HPTC down. also I can run Transmission for torrents and other downloads, and not keep my main PC running on long downloads. things like PlexMS coach potato, sick bieard, sabznb, can be run in their own VM(s) this way unraid setup can be minimum. Link to comment
Living Legend Posted August 13, 2013 Author Share Posted August 13, 2013 Plex needs a server program running? I thought you could just install Plex on your HTPC and it would SMB the files from your unRAID server. I always thought that people attempted to keep HTCP and NAS seperate because the combined heat of the 1080p playing GPUs and running hard drives will kill your hard drives, plus the obvious noise issues you'd encounter to try and couteract all of this created heat by this all-in-one box. Link to comment
vl1969 Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 I think when you setup plex you setup both server and client on HTPC and point the server to your NAS. but you can also setup Server on separate machine and connect client to it. Link to comment
Living Legend Posted August 13, 2013 Author Share Posted August 13, 2013 I think when you setup plex you setup both server and client on HTPC and point the server to your NAS. but you can also setup Server on separate machine and connect client to it. Okay, that makes sense, but I guess would still create the same issue if my initial concerns are founded. Wouldn't running the hardware to play 1080p movies in the same chasis with all of your storage drives create intense heat and fan issues? That's why I thought people preferred to create the NAS & HTPC separate. Link to comment
switchman Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 The server pulls the file from your hard drive and then shoves it onto the network where your client then plays it. The server is also responsible for transcoding the file if needed as well as building the thumbnails etc that you see on the screen. The client does the actual rendering. The reason people put it on the server is that if it is on 24/7 multiple devices can use it and you don't have to have the PC powered up. This is the same reason people run SAB/SB/CP on there server. Link to comment
Living Legend Posted August 13, 2013 Author Share Posted August 13, 2013 The server pulls the file from your hard drive and then shoves it onto the network where your client then plays it. The server is also responsible for transcoding the file if needed as well as building the thumbnails etc that you see on the screen. The client does the actual rendering. The reason people put it on the server is that if it is on 24/7 multiple devices can use it and you don't have to have the PC powered up. This is the same reason people run SAB/SB/CP on there server. Sorry if I'm getting redundant with these questions, but I'm still a bit confused. Wouldn't you still need some sort of client PC up and running in order to receive and utilize the service that the server is providing? For instance, if you have Plex on your server and you output your server via HDMI to one TV, if you're going to view something else on another TV in another room, you're still going to need another client device in order to play this on the other tv, even if it's something simple like the Raspberry Pi, right? And if that's the case, then the only added benefit of having the server be a client as well is to save the money on getting another HTPC. But with very cheap HTPC solutions like Raspberry Pi, it seems that the pros to keeping NAS and HTPC separate may ultimately outweight the cons. Or I'm just completely lost on this and need to start from square one!! Link to comment
switchman Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 The server is not connected to your TV in any form or fashion, that is the client. The sever is a process(s) running on you unraid server. Its connectivity is Ethernet to the client. The client(s) connect to your TV/Monitor/ETc and display the video/music etc. In the classic Plex install, you install both the server and client on your pc. They are separate functions. What people do in unraid is move the server function to the server as it is on 24/7. You still need a client to display the video. There are multiple devices that can run/support a Plex client. Link to comment
Living Legend Posted August 13, 2013 Author Share Posted August 13, 2013 The server is not connected to your TV in any form or fashion, that is the client. The sever is a process(s) running on you unraid server. Its connectivity is Ethernet to the client. The client(s) connect to your TV/Monitor/ETc and display the video/music etc. In the classic Plex install, you install both the server and client on your pc. They are separate functions. What people do in unraid is move the server function to the server as it is on 24/7. I'm not doing great with words now so I drew what I was thinking: In the event that you decide to install Plex on your server, isn't the only thing you're doing allowing yourself to remove one of your clients? Link to comment
Living Legend Posted August 13, 2013 Author Share Posted August 13, 2013 The server is not connected to your TV in any form or fashion, that is the client. The sever is a process(s) running on you unraid server. Its connectivity is Ethernet to the client. The client(s) connect to your TV/Monitor/ETc and display the video/music etc. In the classic Plex install, you install both the server and client on your pc. They are separate functions. What people do in unraid is move the server function to the server as it is on 24/7. You still need a client to display the video. There are multiple devices that can run/support a Plex client. Ahhh, I see! Wasted my time on that drawing, haha. So if you installed both the server and client on your PC rather than client on PC server on server you'd have to keep your PC on at all times in order to feed other clients. I guess I was confused because I don't use Plex and use XBMC instead which I believe just installs a client and the drags media from the server. Link to comment
Living Legend Posted August 13, 2013 Author Share Posted August 13, 2013 The server is not connected to your TV in any form or fashion, that is the client. The sever is a process(s) running on you unraid server. Its connectivity is Ethernet to the client. The client(s) connect to your TV/Monitor/ETc and display the video/music etc. In the classic Plex install, you install both the server and client on your pc. They are separate functions. What people do in unraid is move the server function to the server as it is on 24/7. You still need a client to display the video. There are multiple devices that can run/support a Plex client. Ahhh, I see! Wasted my time on that drawing, haha. So if you installed both the server and client on your PC rather than client on PC server on server you'd have to keep your PC on at all times in order to feed other clients, and the server to share the files. I guess I was confused because I don't use Plex and use XBMC instead which I believe just installs a client and the drags media from the server. Link to comment
switchman Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 http://wiki.plexapp.com/index.php/PlexNine_PMS_Overview Link to comment
Ford Prefect Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 ...maybe off-topic but since you're using XBMC and based on your drawing....the most convenient way of controlling the HTPC (XBMC or Openelec) is with the TV remote...if your TV is CEC capable, you can ... see: http://www.pulse-eight.com/store/products/104-usb-hdmi-cec-adapter.aspx ...works like a charm. Link to comment
Living Legend Posted August 14, 2013 Author Share Posted August 14, 2013 ...maybe off-topic but since you're using XBMC and based on your drawing....the most convenient way of controlling the HTPC (XBMC or Openelec) is with the TV remote...if your TV is CEC capable, you can ... see: http://www.pulse-eight.com/store/products/104-usb-hdmi-cec-adapter.aspx ...works like a charm. Never off topic, gotta love the HTPC stuff! I'll take a look into it. So if Plex is going to run on the unRAID server, what does that change the recommended minimum system requirements for CPU and RAM? Link to comment
mobias1313 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 If you are going to run plex off the unraid server then it will depend on the number of streams you would need to transcode and what clients you are using. Is there a reason you would switch from XBMC to plex? Link to comment
Living Legend Posted August 14, 2013 Author Share Posted August 14, 2013 Switch, no. Run both, possibly. I would guess there'd never be more than 2 running simultaneously. Suggestions on RAM? Link to comment
mobias1313 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 If you aren't going to be serving to mobile devices or viewing remotely and you are happy with xbmc so far I would stick with that and not worry about plex. Unless you need it for transcoding or prefer the interface then you would be spending extra money for additional hardware that may not be needed. Ram suggestions personally I would go with 4gb minimum but if you are going to run plex and possibly other plugins 8gb should be sufficient. Plex will be more CPU intensive than ram intensive but the additional ram will help. Link to comment
Living Legend Posted August 14, 2013 Author Share Posted August 14, 2013 If you aren't going to be serving to mobile devices or viewing remotely and you are happy with xbmc so far I would stick with that and not worry about plex. Unless you need it for transcoding or prefer the interface then you would be spending extra money for additional hardware that may not be needed. Ram suggestions personally I would go with 4gb minimum but if you are going to run plex and possibly other plugins 8gb should be sufficient. Plex will be more CPU intensive than ram intensive but the additional ram will help. I could see potentially serving to mobile devices as that would be one of the few reasons to have this along with XBMC. I just don't think I'll ever be serving to more than 2 total devices, whether that be two tvs inside the house, or a tv and iPhone out of network. What type of CPU is needed to effectively do this along with the already recommended 8 GB RAM? Link to comment
mobias1313 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 Realistically you could go with a nice Xeon quad core. You shouldn't need anything really mind blowingly powerful. I believe the popular Xeons are currently the 1230v2 and the 1240v2. They come in with good power and fairly reasonable pricing. Link to comment
Living Legend Posted August 14, 2013 Author Share Posted August 14, 2013 I feel like with all these upgrades from what I had originally planned I'm building a HTPC and not a NAS anymore! Haha Link to comment
vl1969 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 I tell you LL, at the rate you are going , that TAMs system I recommended looks better and better I know this is AMD but they do get xenons as well. $349.99 - $85 shipping Case is 24 Bay Supermicro SC846 Motherboard: H8DME-2 Procs: Qty 1 AMD Opteron Quad Core 2346HE @ 1.8GHz Ram: 8GB 4x 2GB, 12 empty slots IPMI Card: Kira 100 Qty 3 SAT2-MV8 Raid cards Qty 2 Ablecom PWS-902-IR Power supplies just replace the fans and PSU should add about $130 if you can find PSU for around 85 bucks total ~$600 and add your hardrives. you can also save $50 get a dual core system do a BIOS update very easy, and replace the CPU with a pair of quadcores or six cores from ebay as needed. I have one of this now runnig with 12 cores @ 2.4gHz all for $120 including shipping :-O PS>> but I am a nutcase, what about you? Link to comment
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